Pete Martin of MSU Research Foundation at PitchMI 2025

The MSU Research Foundation's PitchMI competition arrived in and according to Pete Martin, if the energy in the room is any indication, Michigan is ready to put a national spotlight on its founders. Five startups took the stage to pitch for a $250,000 prize and a ticket to the statewide championship in April for an additional $1 million. Framed as a statewide, $2 million pitch competition, the series aims to do far more than crown a single winner: it’s designed to pull more talent, capital, and attention into Michigan’s startup economy - especially in sectors where the state already punches above its weight, like health and life sciences.

The funnel feeding that spotlight is already wide. Organizers received 375 applications from more than 100 cities across both peninsulas, including 100+ just for the Grand Rapids stop. This is what “Michigan startup events” look like when the ecosystem gets coordinated: founders meet Midwest investors, students see career paths, and corporates get a front-row seat to emerging solutions. For anyone tracking “Michigan startups” or the broader “Midwest startups” picture, PitchMI offers a crisp, real-time snapshot of momentum.

Grand Rapids was the right place to kick off a life sciences focus.

The event sits on the city’s famed Medical Mile, a corridor that pairs world-class health systems with university research and a deep bench of clinical partners. MSU alone spends tens of millions each year on Medical Mile research. It’s also hallowed ground for medical breakthroughs: Michigan helped pioneer the flu vaccine and, in Grand Rapids, an all-female research team developed the whooping cough vaccine. The takeaway for founders and funders alike: Michigan innovation isn’t new, it’s compounding.

Zoom out and the capital story matches the vibe on the ground. According to Pete in this video, since Michigan startups first surpassed $1 billion raised in 2020, the state has repeated that mark every year even as national venture volumes cooled. That consistency has helped draw more Midwest investors back into the state and convinced out-of-state funds to add regular Michigan trips to their calendars. It’s also strengthening a more durable form of Midwest entrepreneurship, where founders build near customers, partners, and talent and stay rooted as they scale.

Behind the mic, the MSU Research Foundation’s portfolio team describes how PitchMI fits a larger builder’s toolkit: structured talent support, warm introductions to a 600+ co-investor network, and a storytelling drumbeat that keeps founders in the news cycle. The Foundation has deployed more than $40 million into Michigan companies that have collectively raised about $1.3 billion and hired thousands across the state. For the Michigan university pipeline, that matters: students can now see clear on-ramps to join growth companies without leaving home.

After years building on the coasts, Pete returned to Michigan and found a thriving founder community hiding in plain sight and became obsessed with telling that story so others wouldn’t miss it. That sentiment fuels the event’s broader call to action: investors, corporates, and community leaders should plug in where they can. If you can write a check, great. If you can’t, make an intro. Open a lab. Host a demo. Record a case study. This is how regional flywheels accelerate.

For corporates, the invitation is explicit. Michigan’s enterprises - think Stryker and other R&D-rich leaders—are encouraged to judge, mentor, host, and partner with PitchMI companies. That kind of collaboration is where the Midwest excels, and it’s a powerful differentiator for founders weighing Michigan startup investment options against coastal alternatives. The more collisions between startups and enterprises, the faster new products validate, scale, and export to the world.

If you’re a founder, investor, student, or operator curious about what’s next in Michigan innovation, start here. Watch the conversation, meet the teams, and then get involved. PitchMI returns next year with the statewide finals - and you can learn more, sign up, or raise your hand to participate at pitchmi.org.

Today, the message is simple: you don’t have to leave to build something big. In Michigan - and across the Midwest - the future is already under construction.