Yes/Detroit, part of the World Economic Forum’s global Yes/Cities initiative, has launched. It is the fourth city after Boston, San Francisco, and Bengaluru, India to do so.
As its first major activation, Yes/Detroit is launching a global innovation challenge to identify and deploy technologies that can make the infrastructure people rely on in Detroit every day more affordable, reliable, safe, and sustainable.
Yes/Detroit, led by Michigan Central in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco, Deloitte, and Oracle, is a local initiative of Yes/Cities, a global program of the World Economic Forum. The initiative also works in close collaboration with the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan and more than two dozen local organizations.
The initiative’s inaugural innovation challenge will attract startups from around the country and world to Detroit to address four areas of resilient urban infrastructure: housing and the built environment, transportation and mobility, energy and the grid, and water and waste systems.
Selected innovators will have the opportunity to deploy their solutions in Detroit, drawing on the region’s longstanding manufacturing strengths and real-world testing capabilities.
“Detroit has always been a city of builders and problem-solvers, and today we’re inviting innovators from around the world to build with us,” says Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield. “Like many older cities, Detroit faces real infrastructure challenges, and we look forward to seeing which solutions can be tested here and make a difference for our residents and neighborhoods.
“To the innovative thinkers, we are making Detroit a great place in the country to start, grow, and scale a business or idea.”
Awenate Cobbina, CEO of Michigan Central, says, “At Michigan Central, we’ve built an ecosystem that brings together entrepreneurs, industry, and community around Detroit’s long history of making and problem-solving. Yes/Detroit gives us an opportunity to bring those strengths to some of the challenges cities face every day. By helping develop solutions that work here in Detroit, we can make an impact locally while creating models that can be applied in communities far beyond our city.”
Detroit built machines and methods that helped shape the modern world, and it remains a center of industrial innovation, according to the Yes/Detroit team. The metropolitan region is number one in the United States for deployed industrial robots, home to 96 of the top 100 global automotive suppliers, and ranks in the top 10 nationally for AI and machine learning patents.
Michigan Central partnered with Newlab, a global commercialization platform for critical technology startups, to provide the physical foundation needed to take Yes/Detroit’s urban infrastructure challenge from idea to real-world application. Selected cohort innovators gain direct access to a state-of-the-art prototyping facility and specialized fabrication shops.
“Lasting impact happens when industries and cities connect policy, investment, and innovation to local priorities,” says Ramya Krishnaswamy, senior director at the Center for Experience Economy and Cities at the World Economic Forum. “Detroit helped build the last century on manufacturing and Yes/Detroit is how it builds the next one — through innovation and resilient infrastructure.”
Detroit also faces a challenge shared by many older cities: it was built to serve 2 million people, with a current population of 700,000. As the city’s population has decreased, the deficit in tax revenue isn’t able to cover the maintenance and modernization of the city’s infrastructure.
Together, Detroit’s industrial strengths and its infrastructure needs make it a proving ground for solutions with relevance for cities facing similar challenges around the world.
“At AWS, we believe technology should be a powerful equalizer, and through our work with Yes/Detroit, we’re putting the power of cloud innovation directly into the hands of social enterprises, community leaders and individuals who are driving Detroit’s future forward,” says Kat Esser, head of global impact accelerators at Amazon Web Services.
David Parent, Michigan managing principal at Deloitte, says, “Detroit has an amazing ecosystem of organizations, assets, and talent. Deloitte is pleased to be part of this collaborative effort to mobilize these resources to promote innovation and advance growth for our region.”
The Yes/Detroit Innovation Challenge is seeking early-stage innovators applying novel technologies including robotics, autonomy, sensing, simulation, and connected systems.
Innovators should have the potential to deploy in Detroit within 18 months. They also will be evaluated on how their solutions can support Detroit workers, including through new or retained jobs, transferable skills, training pathways, safer work, or increased productivity.
Selected startups will participate in an 18-month program led by Michigan Central designed to support deployment and commercialization in Detroit, including opportunities for funding, introductions to corporate collaborators and mentors, community organizations, and policymakers, as well as access to physical AI infrastructure, Newlab’s member ecosystem, and other benefits.
Select participants will also have access to the World Economic Forum’s Yes/Cities Innovator Program, providing additional visibility, connections, and resources to support growth beyond Detroit.
“The path from a successful pilot to broader adoption can be challenging for an emerging company to navigate,” says Dounia Senawi, U.S chief commercial officer at Deloitte. “Yes/Detroit connects innovators with collaborators, testing opportunities, and local expertise to help them solve real infrastructure challenges here — and help build a platform to grow their businesses and scale those solutions to communities across the country and around the world.”
Yes/Detroit is designed to build on Michigan’s broader push to help new companies start, scale, and stay in the state, including investments in emerging sectors such as advanced mobility and autonomous systems, as well as the statewide Innovation Alliance of more than 100 partners launched earlier this year.
Yes/Detroit is supported by a growing coalition of more than two dozen organizations spanning the public, private, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors. The full list can be found on the challenge website here.
Applications are now open and due by Dec. 22, with a cohort announcement planned for March 2027.
For more information about the Yes/Cities initiative, visit here.
