Detroit's emerging tech savvy is no secret anymore, and that point was driven home as Mayor Mike Duggan and the bigwigs at the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) unveiled the lucky 13 recipients of its $700,000 Startup Fund, according to news shared on the official City of Detroit website. The Jefferson Hub in Midtown hosted the big reveal, where $300,000 was divvied up, with a trio of more mature businesses pocketing $50,000 each and 10 early-stage ventures snagging $15,000 a pop.
Out of the 600 hopefuls that cast their lot in July when the fund's application window flung open, the chosen reflect a medley of industries, some stepping outside Motown's automotive shadow – think biotech, environmental monitoring, and edtech, with 11 of the 13 startups proudly calling Detroit their home and a shared ambition to make good things happen for the city. "These founders are building jobs and proving Detroit is where the future gets built," Mayor Duggan said, per the City of Detroit, highlighting both the entrepreneurial spirit and the jobs sprouting up as a result.
On the higher end of the funding spectrum, stories of innovative grit abound with CircNova developing drugs for tough-to-tackle diseases, JustAir Solutions keeping an eye on air quality with their nifty tech, and Motmot sending robots down into the watery depths of municipal pipelines, all without a pause in service; these firms, each detailed by the city's official announcement, are showcasing what it means to be a scale grant winner.
But let's not overlook the seed grant awardees – they're pushing the envelope in their own right; there's a battery-powered cooking system from Lectric Boil, Fluoroscreen's unique take on cancer detection, an edtech company named Spelling Safari revolutionizing literacy, and Boone Productions spreading educational content through streaming, all as reported by the City of Detroit. "Detroiters have always had the creativity, grit, and vision to build something out of nothing," City Council President Mary Sheffield mused in her interview, giving a hat tip to the initiative that's turning ideas into realities that in turn prop up local hires and serve the community.
