Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus has announced a $110 million gift from alumnus Ratmir Timashev (’96) and his family to expand entrepreneurship opportunities for students and advance education in software innovation, product management, sales, and marketing.

Awarded through the Timashev Family Foundation, the largest single gift in university history will establish the Center for Software Innovation, a hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, and product development activity. The center will bring together partners including the College of Engineering and the Fisher College of Business and support endowed professorships, academic offerings, student scholarships and internships, an incubator program for students and faculty, and other hands-on industry experience for students. In addition, the gift will provide initial funding for the center to be housed on two floors of a new entrepreneurship and research-focused building.

Previous gifts to OSU from Timashev include $17 million in 2020 from the family foundation in support of the Timashev Family Music Building and $5 million in 2016 from Veeam, a software company he founded, to bolster student scholarships, teaching, and research in data analytics and chemical physics. He serves on the Ohio State University Foundation board of directors.

“It is my privilege to give back to the Buckeye community, which has played a tremendous role throughout my life and career,” said Timashev. “Bringing together the best of academia and startup innovation will empower the dreams of future generations of students, and I look forward to helping bring this vision to reality for Ohio State and Columbus.”

(Photo credit: Ohio State University)