1,000+ Opportunities
Find the right grant
Search federal, foundation, and corporate grants with AI — or browse by agency, topic, and state.
This listing may be outdated. Verify details at the official source before applying.
Find similar grantsPitchMI Startup Competition (AI & Software Semifinal) is sponsored by Michigan State University Research Foundation in partnership with Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.
Get alerted about grants like this
Get emailed when new opportunities from “Michigan State University Research Foundation in partnership with Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)” or related funders appear. Free, weekly, unsubscribe anytime.
Or search similar grants →Extracted from the official opportunity page/RFP to help you evaluate fit faster.
Michigan Startup wins $1 Million Investment at Second Statewide PitchMI Competition | Michigan Business Thousands of Resources. Ready to help. Michigan Startup wins $1 Million Investment at Second Statewide PitchMI Competition Adrenaline Interactive of Ann Arbor, a startup specializing in dynamic in-game advertising, was named the winner of the 2026 competition which saw 375 applicants from around the state.
LANSING, Mich. – Yesterday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer joined the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Michigan State University (MSU) Research Foundation to announce Adrenaline Interactive as the grand prize winner of the 2026 PitchMI Championship.
Following a high-stakes "Shark Tank" style competition at Grewal Hall in Lansing, the company was awarded a $1 million investment, bringing its total PitchMI winnings to $1. 375 million . “Winning feels surreal.
To be honest, I still don't really believe that I won, because the other companies were just so phenomenal,” said CEO and founder of Adrenaline Interactive, Max Albert. “There were four great companies up there, and I feel so lucky to share the stage with all of them. In terms of the future, this check is so meaningful to help us bring back advertising dollars to the state of Michigan.
” PitchMI (pronounced “Pitch-Me”) is one of the nation’s largest founder-focused startup competitions, designed to identify and invest in Michigan’s most promising startups.
The PitchMI Championship served as the culmination of a statewide search for Michigan’s most innovative startups, highlighting the state’s commitment to fostering a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem and supporting founders who want to make a career or business in Michigan.
Gov. Whitmer and members of the MSU Research Foundation, Michigan State University and MEDC celebrate with the PitchMI finalists, judges and winner Max Albert, CEO and founder of Adrenaline Interactive. “Michigan is a place where big ideas come to life, and today’s PitchMI Championship is yet another example of how Michigan is creating the jobs of the future,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
“Congratulations to Adrenaline Interactive and all of the competing companies. By investing in our homegrown entrepreneurs, we are creating high-tech jobs and ensuring Michigan remains the best place in the world to innovate, grow a business, and dream big.
” The road to the championship began in the fall of 2025 with four regional pitch events across the state, which saw 375 applications from founders in more than 100 Michigan communities. These regional competitions focused on key growth sectors: Healthcare & Life Sciences (Grand Rapids): Won by BedConnect , an online system streamlining hospital discharge processes.
Cleantech & Outdoor Innovation (Traverse City): Won by Electric Outdoors, Inc. , creators of a portable off-grid power and water canopy system. Mobility, Defense & Advanced Manufacturing (Detroit): Won by General Orbit , developers of simplified satellite navigation hardware and software. AI & Software (Ann Arbor): Won by Adrenaline Interactive.
“ Adrenaline Interactive , and all the PitchMI finalists, represent the kind of companies Michigan wants to elevate and celebrate more: ambitious, high-growth, and built by founders with the talent and drive to scale,” said Ben Marchionna, Chief Innovation Ecosystem Officer at the MEDC. “PitchMI gives these entrepreneurs a stage that matches the quality of what they’re building.
Companies like these are how Michigan attracts and retains exceptional people, creates high-wage jobs, and builds a durable, innovation-driven economy.
” Michigan’s entrepreneurial landscape continues to thrive with the addition of critical tools, including a $60 million investment in early-stage startups through the Michigan Innovation Fund, an R&D tax credit for small businesses, and increased access to resources to close the gap for underrepresented founders.
Over the past five years, state investments in entrepreneurship and innovation helped catalyze more than 15,800 jobs and over 1,400 high-tech companies. Additionally, for every $1 the state invested, founders leveraged roughly $85 from other sources, which is an exceptional leverage ratio for public capital.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programs and Impacts Organized by the MEDC and the MSU Research Foundation, PitchMI is designed to provide serious capital, rigorous evaluation, and meaningful visibility to Michigan’s most promising startups. More than 75 investors and venture capitalists from around the country were in attendance at the championship.
“Our goal is to create a seamless pathway for founders to move from early traction to global scale without ever having to leave Michigan,” said David Washburn, CEO of the MSU Research Foundation . “The level of talent we saw across this year’s PitchMI cohort–from the Top 20 through today’s finalists–was extraordinary.
While we’re excited to support Adrenaline Interactive as they reach their next milestone, all four finalists will continue as part of our Michigan Rise investment portfolio, and we look forward to working alongside each of them as they grow and scale here in Michigan.
” Adrenaline Interactive is a startup specializing in dynamic in-game advertising which lets advertisers place in-game ads inside titles such as Fortnite and Roblox. Their platform, Brand Fusion AI, automates in-game product placement to increase engagement and provide measurable ROI for brands.
The Ann Arbor-based company was founded in 2024 by Max Albert and has received past MEDC support through the Michigan Rise Pre-seed Fund and from eLab through MEDC's SSBCI 2. 0 Venture Capital initiative. “Ads in video games today are frustrating to the player: pop up ads and billboard ads that don't stylistically look like they belong.
That's why more and more brands are turning to product placement, but these are built by hand, every step of the way, from planning to placing to proving… all manual. Manual doesn't scale. Adrenaline Interactive is aiming to build the first authentic and scalable solution for in-game advertising.
” In total, the 2025-2026 PitchMI competition awarded more than $2. 3 million in investment capital with $250,000 for the winner of each regional event, the $1 million grand prize, additional investment totaling $325,000 from Corewell Health Ventures, Assembly Ventures, and eLab Ventures, and an added $400,000 in Google Cloud credits.
Watch Highlights from the 2026 PitchMI Championship PitchMI is set to continue in 2026-2027, beginning with four industry-specific semifinal rounds: Sept. 15, 2026: Defense & Aerospace, to be held in Grand Rapids Sept. 22, 2026: AI & Software, in Kalamazoo Sept.
24, 2026: Advanced Manufacturing, Materials, & Outdoor Innovation, in Marquette Oct. 1, 2026: Healthcare & Life Sciences, in Detroit More information, including how to apply to compete, will be released in the coming weeks. Learn more about Michigan’s entrepreneurial resources and PitchMI .
About the Michigan State University Research Foundation The Michigan State University Research Foundation connects researchers and entrepreneurs at MSU and across the state to the resources, relationships and capital they need to drive real-world impact.
The Foundation achieves its mission through grant programs that contribute over $15 million annually to the University, entrepreneurial programming and early-stage investments that accelerate technology transfer and startup growth throughout Michigan, and environments where startup businesses and collaborators can thrive.
The Foundation’s work is made possible through its stewardship of a flexible and sustainable endowment, nourished by over 50 years of licensing revenues and investment returns. Learn more about the MSU Research Foundation and its impact at msufoundation. org .
About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www. MichiganBusiness.
org . For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www. michigan.
org . Join the conversation on: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn , and Twitter. Midland receives Certification as Redevelopment Ready Community More than 550 New Jobs Coming to Oakland and Macomb Counties, Small Business Support Hubs PitchMI opens applications for 2026-27 startup competition
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Michigan startup founders developing the next generation of artificial intelligence and software technologies. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows $250,000 (Regional Winner), $1,000,000 (Grand Prize Winner). Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Applications for PitchMI Startup Competition (AI & Software Semifinal) are due August 10, 2026. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, and final submission checks.
PitchMI Startup Competition (AI & Software Semifinal) is funded by Michigan State University Research Foundation in partnership with Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
This opportunity targets applicants in Michigan. If your organization operates elsewhere, check the official notice for location requirements.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
The Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities Initiative returns for a seventh round with $49.2M for the Appalachian, Delta, and Northern Border regions — awards of $2M to $8M, an estimated 6 to 24 grants, and a July 23, 2026 deadline. Here is how the three-commission structure works, who is eligible, why WORC 7's shift toward large-scale regional sector partnerships changes who should apply, and how to build a proposal that survives the competition.
Read articleOn June 1, DARPA and NSF announced AI Forge — a jointly governed forum that will fund university-led research on three thrusts: AI interpretability, AI control, and adversarial robustness. The RFI on sam.gov closes June 22, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET. Project Ventures awards run roughly $750K to $3M with one-year durations and multiple awards expected annually. Administration runs through a nonprofit, intellectual property will be shared via open-source licensing, and CAISI at NIST is the third partner. Here is what the 15 priority research challenges look like and how U.S. universities should respond.
Read articleA new Interior Department policy routes every grant and cooperative agreement of $50,000 or more through two political appointees for manual review. The result is a backlog of roughly 1,400 grants and $362 million in delayed funding — up from fewer than 10 two years ago. Here is how the bottleneck works, why it matters even for recipients who already have an award letter, and what nonprofits, universities, states, and tribes should do to protect projects that depend on Interior dollars.
Read article