Yes/Detroit Innovation Challenge ​ | Michigan Central

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Yes/Detroit Innovation Challenge ​

RESILIENCE, ENGINEERED BY DETROIT.​

We built the machines. Now let’s rebuild the city’s infrastructure. Yes/Detroit is calling on innovators and local institutions to close the gap between what tech can do and what Detroiters experience every day.​

Startup applications close December 22, 2026.​
APPLY
AMPLIFY
COLLABORATE
​

GET INVOLVED

It takes a village to keep a city running. Whether you’re building the technology, spreading the word or opening doors, there’s a role for you in Yes/Detroit.

APPLY: For startups​

Building robotics, autonomy, sensing, simulation or connected tech that can make cities work better? Bring it to Detroit, with the testbeds, the talent and the track record to lead what comes next.​

Who you are:​

    • Seed through Series A, with a proven deployment plan​
    • Ready to deploy in Detroit within 18 months​

What you get:​

    • $25,000 in non-dilutive deployment funding, testing infrastructure and deployment support​
    • Michigan Central membership and workspace ​

​
Deadline: December 22, 2026

APPLY

AMPLIFY: For partners + supporters​

The best founder for Detroit might be one share away. Help us reach innovators in Detroit, across Michigan and around the world.​

  • Share the challenge with your networks, portfolio companies and newsletters
  • Use our ready-made Yes/DET social posts, graphics and copy​
  • Tag #YesDetroit

AMPLIFY

COLLABORATE: For regional orgs​

Join us. Become part of the coalition of companies, institutions and community organizations shaping the initiative and helping ventures deploy in Detroit.​

ADVISE​: Mentor innovators, review applications, provide technical expertise and/or serve as pitch judges.​

CONNECT​: Make strategic introductions to customers, industry leaders, government, investors and ecosystem organizations.​

ENABLE​: Support pilots and real-world testing or provide funding, technology, tools and other resources.​

AMPLIFY​: Promote the challenge and help identify qualified innovators.

COLLABORATE

WHAT IS YES/DETROIT?​​

Yes/Detroit is an initiative building a cross-sector collaboration focused on tackling pressing local issues in Detroit and supporting startups to scale and deploy impactful solutions. The first major milestone is a global innovation challenge to find and deploy technology that makes the infrastructure Detroiters rely on every day more affordable, reliable, safe and sustainable.

Detroit is the fourth city in the World Economic Forum’s Yes/Cities programme, joining San Francisco, Boston, and Bengaluru. Yes/Detroit is an initiative led by Michigan Central  in collaboration with Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Deloitte, and Oracle. The initiative also works in close collaboration with the City of Detroit, the State of Michigan, and more than two dozen local organizations.

Detroit built the machines and methods that built the modern world. Today, it runs on infrastructure engineered for nearly three times as many people as live here now, some of it relying on technology more than 100 years old. Physical AI–intelligence applied to machines that operate in the real world–is maturing fast enough to change what it takes to build, move, power and sustain a city.

The challenge calls on seed through Series A startups using robotics, autonomy, sensing, simulation and connected technologies to close the gap between what tech can do and what residents experience every day. Selected ventures get deployment funding, deployment support and access to Michigan Central and Newlab Detroit, so they can prove their solutions in Detroit and create good jobs for the people who live here. Solutions that work here can become models for cities around the world.

​Applications open November 10, 2026, and close December 22, 2026. The cohort will be announced in March 2027.​

WHY INFRASTRUCTURE. WHY NOW.​

Some of Detroit’s infrastructure still runs on technology that’s more than 100 years old. When a 1930s-era water main burst in Southwest Detroit in February 2025, hundreds of homes flooded. Storms and fallen trees drive roughly half of the city’s power outages. Rough roads cost the average Detroit-area driver an estimated $2,921 a year.​

The gap between what technology can already do and what residents experience every day? That’s the opportunity. And there’s no better place to close it than the No. 1 U.S. metro for deployed industrial robots.​

The work at the heart of Yes/Detroit builds on existing city and state policy frameworks including Project 1,000, a comprehensive citywide strategy to build the public and private-sector capacity needed to deliver 1,000 new infill homes in Detroit neighborhoods. 

FOUR FOCUS AREAS

Across every focus area: Work and workers. Show us how your solution affects Detroit workers, whether through new or retained jobs, transferable skills, training pathways, safer tasks or higher productivity.

Housing & the Built Environment​

Let’s build homes faster and more affordably, for a city that needs 1,100 new units a year and the skilled trades to deliver them. Think robotic fabrication, modular and additive construction, autonomous site equipment, and AI-assisted design and permitting.​

Transportation & Mobility​

Let’s move people and goods more reliably, for the 36% of Detroiters facing transportation insecurity. Think autonomy, routing intelligence, connected corridors, microtransit, and drone inspection of roads and bridges.​

​

Energy & the Grid​

Energy & the Grid. Let’s power a more efficient, resilient grid by bringing modern technology to century-old systems. Think distributed energy and storage, grid hardening, line inspection, load management, and community microgrids.​

Water & Waste Systems​

Let’s make water and waste systems sustainable with new ways to sense, manage, and care for them. Think inspection robotics, sensor networks, predictive maintenance, digital twins, and recovering value from electronics, batteries, and magnets.​

DETAILS

Every venture should make Detroit’s infrastructure more affordable, reliable, safe or sustainable. It should also create or sustain local jobs and work with the neighborhoods and workers its deployment affects. ​

WHAT SELECTED VENTURES RECEIVE​

  • $25,000 in non-dilutive deployment funding
  • Selected innovators will gain access to Michigan Central district with expedited review of Newlab membership.
  • Deployment support 
  • Access to Michigan Central’s physical AI testing infrastructure
  • Expedited permitting through the City of Detroit’s Transportation Innovation Zone for qualifying deployments
  • Amazon Web Services cloud credits
  • Oracle Cloud infrastructure credits, AI consumption credits, and Oracle training 
  • Introductions to corporate collaborators, community organizations, and policymakers
  • ​Potential selection to the Yes/Cities Innovator Portfolio providing: greater visibility and stronger market intelligence on relevant innovation ecosystems, actors and city-level priorities; and potential pathways to partnerships, pilots, investors, events and market-entry opportunities across the Network

WHO SHOULD APPLY

  • Seed through Series A for-profit ventures or social enterprises with revenue-generating models or funded deployments
  • Proven solutions that can deploy in Detroit within 18 months of selection (no idea-stage or pre-prototype submissions)
  • Solutions aligned with one or more of the four focus areas
  • Active or planned engagement with the Detroit/Michigan ecosystem
  • A credible path to a Detroit host site. You don’t need a signed deployment partner to apply.
  • Previous Yes/Cities Innovators are not eligible​

KEY DATES

Nov. 10, 2026: Applications open​

Dec. 22, 2026: Applications close​

Early 2027: Expert review and shortlist​

March 2027: Cohort announced​
​
Have Questions Before You Apply?​

Join a virtual Yes/Detroit Applicant Information Session to learn more about the challenge and get your questions answered before submitting your application.​

November 16 | 10:00 AM – Info Session Virtual Link: Join Here​

December 9 | 1:00 PM – Info Session Virtual Link: Join Here​

We’ll walk through the challenge, who we’re looking for, the application and selection process, and what participation in Yes/Detroit looks like.​

Our Partners

Yes/Detroit is a local initiative of Yes/Cities, a global program of the World Economic Forum. Supported by more than two dozen organizations spanning technology, mobility, startup innovation, workforce development, energy and more. Want to join them?

  • Co-Sponsors

    Amazon Web Services
    Cisco
    Oracle

  • Government & Public Infrastructure

    City of Detroit
    Wayne County Public Services
    SE Michigan Council of Governments
    Michigan Municipal League
    Great Lakes Water Authority

  • Universities & Philanthropy

    Wayne State University
    University of Michigan
    Michigan State Research Foundation
    Ford Philanthropy

  • Community & Civic Organizations

    Black Tech Saturdays
    Femology
    Boys & Girls Club
    Detroit Future Ops (DFO313)

  • Business & Industry

    Detroit Regional Chamber
    MichAuto
    Michigan Manufacturers Association
    Ford Land

  • Innovation & Entrepreneurship

    TechTown
    Invest Detroit
    Newlab
    Centrepolis
    Aqua Action
    Claude Hackathon
    Nvidia

DETROIT BUILT THE MODERN WORLD. LET’S BUILD WHAT’S NEXT.​

Bring the technology, spread the word or open the door. Say yes to Detroit. #YesDetroit​

APPLY
AMPLIFY
COLLABORATE

FAQs

What are the eligibility requirements?

Selection Criteria

I. General Eligibility

  • Local presence: The innovator must show active or planned engagement with the Detroit and Michigan industrial and/or civic ecosystem, evidenced by customers, pilots, partnerships, or a Detroit-focused go to-market plan.
  • Deployment pathway: A credible path to a Detroit host site – evidence such as a target sector and operator type, prior pilot experience, or early conversations. A signed pilot partner is not required at application; Michigan Central provides concierge support to match selected ventures to the right site, collaborator, and implementation path during the program.
  • Operating model: For-profit ventures or social enterprises with revenue-generating models or funded pilots.
  • Scale and replicability: Ventures with proven pilots that can be deployed in Detroit within 18 months of selection.
  • Stage: Seed through Series A. Idea-stage and pre-prototype submissions will not be considered.
  • Solution focus: Solutions directly aligned with one or more of the four focus areas.
  • Previous Yes/Cities innovators are not eligible.
II. Business Performance
  • Commercial viability: Financial maturity, defined target market, credible business case, and go-to market strategy. Hardware-inclusive innovators should be explicit about unit economics and capital requirements.
  • Scalability: Credible plan to hire and deploy, with potential to expand across sites, sectors, and geographies.
  • Traction: Fundraising pathway and revenue history or projections as evidence of momentum.
III. Innovation
  • Real-world applicability: Clear demonstration of how the technology performs outside controlled conditions and what measurable change it produces against the focus areas.
  • Market need and ability to deploy: Evidence of demand from operators who own the asset or the process, and a realistic path to installation in Detroit's operating context.
  • Feasibility: A realistic implementation pathway with local partners, including any permitting, safety certification, labor agreement, or regulatory step the pilot will require.
  • Use of technology: Effective application of AI, robotics, sensing, autonomy, simulation, or connected infrastructure to operationalize the solution and deliver measurable results.
IV. Impact
  • Clear impact pathways: Demonstrated partnerships with Detroit stakeholders enabling both scaling and measurable community and economic impact within 18 months.
  • Clear impact metrics: Concrete indicators such as cost per unit delivered, downtime or outage hours avoided, construction cost or schedule reduction, trips enabled, tons diverted from landfill or materials recovered, injuries prevented, emissions reduced, and jobs created or upskilled.
  • Defining "better": Every venture must demonstrate resilience impact – advancing at least one of: affordability, reliability, safety, or sustainability – and create or sustain local jobs.
  • Community engagement: Evidence of engagement with the neighborhoods and workers affected by the deployment, not only the institutions that own the asset.
V. Team
  • Team dynamics: Balanced team with complementary technical, business, and operational capability. Physical AI ventures should show hardware, safety, and field-operations experience alongside software depth.
  • Team structure: A team that prioritizes inclusivity and demonstrates a positive company culture.
  • Cross-sector collaboration: Demonstrated ability to work with industry, public agencies, organized labor, academic institutions, and community partners.

Who can apply?

Yes/Detroit is open to innovators developing technologies that can address urban infrastructure challenges within one or more of the program’s four focus areas. Ventures should be beyond the idea stage and have a solution that can credibly progress toward deployment in Detroit.

Does my company need to be based in Detroit? ​

No. Yes/Detroit welcomes local, national, and global innovators who see an opportunity to bring their solutions to Detroit and work toward meaningful deployment in the city.​

What stage does my company need to be at? ​

Yes/Detroit is designed for ventures that are beyond the idea stage. Applicants should have a technology or solution that can credibly progress toward deployment in Detroit within 18 months

What kinds of technologies? ​

We are looking for technologies that can improve urban infrastructure, including Physical AI, robotics, autonomy, sensing, simulation, connected technologies, and related solutions.

Is this just for software companies? ​

No. Yes/Detroit is open to a range of technology solutions, including hardware and software-enabled technologies such as Physical AI, robotics, autonomy, sensing, simulation, and connected technologies.​

Does my solution need to address every focus area? ​

No. Your solution should address at least one of the four Yes/Detroit focus areas:​

  • Build:Housing and the Built Environment​
  • Move:Transportation and Mobility​
  • Power: Energy and the Grid​
  • Sustain: Water and Waste Systems​

Do I need a confirmed deployment plan? ​

You do not need to have a deployment underway when you apply, but you must have a credible path to deployment in Detroit within 18 months.​

What do selected innovators receive?

Selected innovators will receive:​

  • $25,000 in non-dilutive grant/deployment funding​
  • Newlab/Michigan Central membership​
  • deployment mentorship​
  • Amazon cloud credits​
  • Focused programming​
  • Networking and connections across the Yes/Detroit ecosystem
    • ​

How will applications be reviewed? ​

Applications will be evaluated by a Yes/Detroit review panel with relevant subject-matter and industry expertise. Selected applicants will advance through the review process to the pitch stage.​

When is the application deadline? ​

Applications are due December 22, 2026.

Will you host information sessions? ​

Yes. We will host two virtual Yes/Detroit Applicant Information Sessions where prospective applicants can learn more about the challenge, application process, and program and ask questions before submitting an application.​
November 16 | 10:00 AM​
Join the November 16 Applicant Information Session​
December 9 | 1:00 PM​
Join the December 9 Applicant Information Session

What happens after I apply? ​

After applications close, eligible applications will move through the Yes/Detroit review and selection process:​

  1. Applications close: December 22, 2026​
  2. Application review: Applications are evaluated by the Yes/Detroit review panel​
  3. Pitch Day: Up to 20 selected applicants advance to Pitch Day on March 4, 2027​
  4. Cohort announced: 10 innovators are selected in March 2027​
  5. Program begins: April 2027​
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