Tech startups and founders now have the chance to apply for as much as $50,000 in grant money to create jobs and stay in Detroit.
City officials announced on July 28 the launch of the Detroit Startup Fund at Newlab Detroit at Michigan Central Station, a hub for mobility businesses in the Corktown neighborhood, and touted the initiative as the first of its kind. The new program — supported by $700,000 of the city’s general fund dollars approved by the Detroit City Council — will award 26 grants across two rounds into next year, including $15,000 seed grants for 20 recipients and $50,000 scale grants for 6 startups that have already secured outside investments in the past 18 months.
Mayor Mike Duggan, speaking to a packed room of entrepreneurs, tech founders and reporters on July 28, highlighted the track record of Motor City Match, a program designed to fund and support businesses in commercial corridors. The new program, which Duggan cautioned would be competitive, will build a culture supportive of Detroit startups and the tech sector.
“If this takes off, it is my hope that the City of Detroit funds it just as consistently as they funded Motor City Match,” Duggan, who is serving his last term as mayor, said.
Detroit City Council members applauded the launch and said it would spur innovation and help retain talent in the city.
“Detroit has always been a place of innovation and today we are doubling down on that legacy,” said Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, who is running for mayor. “We are building an emerging startup hub, a place where ideas can become impact and where dreams can become economic engines.”
Detroit City Council At-Large Member Mary Waters said that when Detroit entrepreneurs succeed, entire neighborhoods benefit, with new storefronts, services, local hiring and economic activity. The program gives local founders the spark they need to grow companies, create jobs and remain in Detroit, she said.
“We’re making sure that access to funding, opportunities and mentorship isn’t just reserved for Silicon Valley or Wall Street. It belongs on Livernois, 7 Mile and Jefferson Avenue, too,” Waters said.
District 7 Council Member Fred Durhal III, another mayoral candidate, also said the city is dedicated to supporting startups and businesses, whether its through the new fund or Motor City Match.
“When we talk about how we’re going to advance this city for generations to come, it is going to involve new jobs, new thinking; not the jobs of the past, where we were just considered an automotive industry here in the city of Detroit. But we are saying that Detroit is the home for tech and mobility here, and you guys are making it happen,” Durhal said.
Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), singled out Detroit as a city that cares for businesses. He listed off several programs and initiatives, including Motor City Match, the Detroit Legacy Business Project, NextUp 313 and Detroit Means Business.
“The city of Detroit opens its wallet for us. Now, I only have one charge: try. That’s the only thing I’m asking you to do. Try. If you try and you fail, try again,” Johnson said.
The launch of the startup fund was welcome news for Arabia Simeon, co-founder and CEO of Politics on the Go (POGO) that aims to simplify civic engagement for Gen Z and millennials with a dating app-style mobile application, where users can swipe left and right on candidate profile and build a sample ballot, all the way down to the local level.
Simeon told the Free Press she plans to apply for the new startup grant program.
“It would help incredibly. I would be able to bring on more engineers, so that’s hiring directly in the city and from the state of Michigan, and we would also be able to expand our marketing efforts so that we can reach a larger demographic of Gen Z and millennials,” said Simeon, who is originally from New York but moved to Detroit in 2021. The civic tech startup, based in Detroit, would also be able to cover more elections in Michigan and create a more efficient app.
The app is currently in test mode and available on iOS devices. For the general election, POGO is releasing a web app for all devices, Simeon said.
The eligibility requirements
Applicants must meet the following criteria to qualify for the startup fund, according to a news release and Justin Onwenu, the city of Detroit’s director of entrepreneurship and economic opportunity:
- Be a Detroit-based start up or founder building in Detroit that’s been established for up to a decade.
- Be a “scalable, venture backable company” — meaning companies, typically tech or software-enabled, that can grow quickly — with a service or product that improves residents lives or enhances city services or operations.
- Become certified as a Detroit-based business.
- Share progress and outcome data with the city and DEGC.
There are two types of awards: $15,000 “seed grants” and $50,000 “scale grants” for applicants who have raised at least $100,000 in outside investment in the past year or so and are actively seeking at least $250,000 in private capital. Grantees can use the money to develop their product, hire and retain staff, test and pilot, among other needs.
The program is taking round one applications from July 28 to Aug. 25.
The first 13 grantees are expected to be announced this September. The second round, for the next 13 awardees, is slated to open in Feb. 2026.
How to apply
For more information, and to apply, go to detroitmi.gov/startup.