Red Bull Basement World Final decided after Detroit pitch event

The Red Bull Basement 2026 National Final was held at Hudson's in Detroit today, with three teams earning a trip to San Francisco next month to compete against more than 40 countries for a $100,000 grand prize.

The winning teams were:

• Neurosense turns everyday data into early warning signs of neurologic events. Founders Xuelong Mu and Hayoung Ahn attend Columbia University.
• Lifeline AI which allows a user to notify others in an emergency without removing their phone.Founder Darnell Adler is from the University of Southern California, 
• Safestep Secure which monitors phone interactions and looks for red flags of fraud. Founder Sahasra Upputuru is from the University of South Florida. 

These teams now enter a development phase running May 18 through May 30, during which they will turn their prototypes into a Minimum Viable Product before pitching at the Red Bull Basement World Final in San Francisco from June 1 through June 3.

The single-day event in Detroit drew finalist teams from across the country - selected from over 24,000 entries which were narrowed down to an initial pool of 65 video pitches - and pitched their ideas in front of the local Detroit innovation community. Teams arrived with prototypes built using AI tools provided through the competition's partnerships with Microsoft and AMD, including access to GitHub Student Developer Pack and Microsoft Azure credits. Red Bull said in its submission FAQs that no prior technical experience was required to enter.

Two of the finalists came from Midwest universities, Healthmax, founded by University of Michigan students, pitched a mobile app designed to encourage healthier daily habits and combat the physical and mental health effects of sedentary screen time. While Campus Fix from Iowa State University, presented an app that colleges modernize campus mainrtenance. 

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Why Detroit?

This is the third time the U.S. has held a national competition and the first National Final to be hosted in the Midwest.

“Detroit was a natural fit given its accelerating reputation as a center for innovation and entrepreneurship … bringing the [Red Bull Basement] National Final here reflects that momentum.” said Scott Fox of the Startup Council, who helped organize the event, adding that the city “stands out as a comeback story, re-emerging on the global stage as a former hub for industry and technology that is once again shaping the future of innovation.”

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What is Red Bull Basement?

Red Bull Basement began in 2014 in Brazil, before expanding to Germany and 16 other countries one year later. Its global reach accelerated during the pandemic and this annual competition now takes place in 45 countries. The U.S. version was open to those 18 and over, who could compete as solo founders or in two-person teams with over 100,000 ideas submitted world-wide, according to a Red Bull spokesperson. The concept of Red Bull Basement is that those that enter start with an idea, rather than a pre-built product. The idea could be a pre-existing one or they were able to use the competition's AI tool to brainstorm something new. The top 65 were then invited to submit a one-minute video pitch, from which the field was selected for today’s National Final in Detroit.

The winners in the National Final received an AMD AI laptop, additional Microsoft Azure credits for the development phase, and will now have access to mentors during the run-up to the World Final. The grand prize at the World Final includes $100,000, $25,000 in Microsoft Azure credits, and mentorship from Red Bull Ventures.

Last year’s U.S. National Final winners were Argus, a visual aid device that attaches to glasses, founded by Stanford University students Arjun Oberoi and Daniel Kim. The 2024 World Final was won by Soj Gamayon of the Philippines for AGRICONNECT.

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