Michigan to host the nation’s richest state-based startup pitch comp

The MSU Research Foundation is scaling up its PitchMI competition into one of the nation’s largest state-restricted startup prize pools, with a total of $4 million to be awarded to Michigan-based companies over the next 16 months.

The expansion is backed by $3 million from the Michigan Innovation Fund, administered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), alongside a co-investment from the MSU Research Foundation’s Michigan Rise Evergreen Fund and early partners. Organizers say this will create a competition unlike anything the state has seen: eight regional winners across 2025–2026, each receiving $250,000, and two statewide champions who will each walk away with an additional $1 million for a $1.25 million total to each.

“We’re going to be investing $4 million in startups across Michigan,” said Pete Martin, Director of Portfolio Management at the MSU Research Foundation and Michigan Rise. “The winner of this pitch competition in Michigan will get $1.25 million. They will have won a quarter million dollars. They will get another million dollars.”

Beyond the check

In an interview, Martin said that what excites him, though, is what happens in between a business winning the regional pitch, “joining our portfolio” and the state wide final.

“When we give them the $250,000, we actually write that check and invest in these companies. It gives them time. It gives them time to show momentum, to hire people, to change lives,” he said. “But also (it) gives the regions the ability to get behind the winners of their region’s pitch competition.”

Those regional winners will then return six months later to compete for the million-dollar state prize. Martin described it as a chance not just to measure business progress but also to ask, “What did you do? What support did you get? Who rallied behind you? When they're there at that million-dollar championship, we get to actually see just how much the state is supporting these founders.”

Regional strengths, open to all

The first four contests this fall highlight distinct city-industry pairings, with Healthcare and Life Sciences businesses asked to pitch in Grand Rapids, Cleantech and Outdoor Innovation in Traverse City, Mobility, Defense and Advanced Manufacturing in Detroit, and AI/Software in Ann Arbor.

Doug Snitgen, Director of Communications at the MSU Research Foundation explained the reasoning: “You think Grand Rapids, you think medical mile, so we’re going to really focus on Healthcare and Life sciences in that region. Traverse City is Clean Tech and Outdoor Innovation. Detroit is Mobility, Defense, and Advanced Manufacturing.”

But, as both Martin and Snitgen acknowledged, startups don’t have to be from those regions to compete. “If you are in Detroit but you’re in healthtech, we want you to pitch in Grand Rapids with the healthtech folks,” Snitgen gave by way of example.

Naturally, this may result in a company which specializes in one of the verticals, winning in a region where it isn’t headquartered. Martin admitted he’s curious to see how those dynamics play out “I’m actually really excited to see what happens there”, he added.

One of the biggest prizes in the country

The approach being taken in the PitchMI competition in Michigan, stands in contrast to other state-focused competitions. In Indiana, for example, there is a similar million-dollar pitch comp, however this is open to those outside the state who must then relocate. PitchMI, by contrast, is only open to those already headquartered in Michigan.

The scale, he added, is rare: “The biggest individual prize that I’ve seen is a million dollars. The winner of this pitch competition in Michigan will get $1.25 million… I can easily say this is one of the biggest prizes in the country.”

Shifting perceptions

Despite the notable size of funding and investment on offer, the organizers see PitchMI as about more than just the funding. 

Martin argued that the competition can change how Michigan entrepreneurship is perceived nationally: “The perception of Michigan was legacy automotive and the Detroit bankruptcy and that was it. And we’re moving beyond that now,” he said. “This is our opportunity to shine a very bright light on Michigan to say look at all of the great companies… and how the state is supporting our startups maybe better than any other state.”

That spotlight effect, he said, may prove as valuable as the investment itself: “The storytelling aspect of this, the perception-changing effects of this pitch competition on a statewide, on a regional, and on a national level will be just as valuable, if not more, than the capital itself.”

Who can apply

Applications are open now until September 12th through the MSU Research Foundation website. Eligible startups must be headquartered in Michigan (or relocate before the application deadline), have raised no more than $2.5 million, and have revenues under $1.5 million in the last 12 months.

Five companies will be selected to pitch at each regional competition. Four events run back-to-back in late September and early October, with the first statewide championship in April 2026 during 517 Entrepreneurship & Innovation Week in East Lansing. Another cycle of regionals and a second statewide winner will be crowned later in 2026.

Beyond that? The hope is that this becomes an annual event for which the state can become known. “We’re trying to line this up so that it does go beyond 2026,” Martin said. “My hunch is we’ll do it annually after that.”