This month, America’s most promising prospects will gather in Pittsburgh to undergo
a rigorous and highly competitive selection process. Chosen from hundreds, they
will step into the spotlight to demonstrate their preparation, defend their
potential, and compete for the opportunity to progress to the next level. The
event will mark a defining moment, enabling participants to accelerate careers
and gain recognition on a national stage.
The
NFL Draft is coming to Pittsburgh. And so is the Draft Week Showcase.
Six finalists have been chosen from nearly 100 qualified
applicants located in more than 10 tech hubs across the country. On April 22,
all six startups will meet in Pittsburgh — a premier ecosystem for physical AI
— to vie for a part of a $1.75 million prize pool, including up to $1 million
in AWS cloud credits.
Hosted
by Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Swartz Center for
Entrepreneurship and AI Horizons, and in partnership with AWS, Powering the Future of Sports: Draft Week Showcase will
bring together selected startups working at the intersection of AI, robotics,
physical AI, and sports-adjacent applications including performance, training,
safety, logistics, media, and fan engagement. The high-stakes pitch competition
will include founder presentations of their innovations to industry leaders,
including Mark Cuban, Ed Stack and leaders from AWS, the NFL and the Steelers.
Successful startups will win big, but with a packed agenda and expert speakers,
the Showcase isn’t solely focused on competition. It’ll grant attendees and
founders greater recognition, wider access, and closer connections to a
community building the next generation of AI technology.
“We
are bringing together world-class technologists, industry leaders, and serious
capital to spotlight the most promising companies at the intersection of AI,
robotics, and sport in Pittsburgh, the beating heart of AI and robotics
research and commercialization,” said Meredith Meyer Grelli, managing director
and interim executive director, Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, Carnegie
Mellon University.
Those promising companies are the following six startups:
Flowstate — AI agents that analyze live and file-based video to
automate workflows across sports content, sponsorship, media operations, and
fan-facing distribution. Mission: become the intelligence layer for video.
MyoVerse — A wearable neuromuscular sensing and AI
analytics platform that transforms muscle activity into objective, real-time
biomarkers for performance, rehabilitation and clinical decision-making.
Peachy Day — A migraine prevention app with predictive
health tracking, coaching and neurologist-led care that can help to reduce
pain, fast-track speed to care by years and fundamentally lower healthcare
cost.
Perforated AI — Bringing a neuroscience breakthrough into live
sports, powering faster, leaner, and more accurate AI that turns real-time
player data into immediate injury risk signals, enabling intervention before
small issues become season-ending injuries.
ServeSense — Hardware-software products for racket sport
athletes, including a sensor that captures precise swing mechanics and feeds an
AI coaching engine that delivers individualized feedback.
Sensi Fit — An all-in-one sports performance system with
cutting-edge sensors that track game-like drills and provide coaches, athletes
and parents with the most comprehensive and accurate athlete data to elevate
their competitive edge.
In
addition to an investment prize, winning teams will receive an AWS Pittsburgh
Landing Kit, designed to accelerate experimentation, deployment, and market
engagement. The Kit will include US $1million in AWS Compute Credits to enable
rapid prototyping, model training, simulation, and deployment. Winners will
also receive investment and access to the new Carnegie Mellon Robotics
Innovation Center.
The
Showcase is about far more than final picks. Bringing together league
leadership, global brands, investors, and CMU’s top technologists, it will be
an opportunity to explore what’s next in AI innovation. The day will include
fireside conversations on the future of AI in sport, panels exploring the rise
of physical AI, and candid discussion between technology experts, journalists,
AWS execs, and others. Founders and attendees alike will also get exclusive,
hands-on access to CMU’s world-renowned robotics and cutting-edge technology.
Infusing
new talent into a league drives competition, and by equipping participants with
tools and resources, the Showcase aims to foster innovation in the AI industry,
while streamlining progress for the nation’s most creative inventors, dynamic
developers, and visionary thinkers. This commitment reflects the broader
mission of AWS, to power and support startup innovation at every stage, from
early experimentation to worldwide scale.
Looking
to go global, or simply searching for support to take your ideas to the next
level? Startups can unlock up to US $100,000 in AWS Activate Credits through AWS Activate, a dedicated program
supporting founders seeking to build, grow, and scale. Since its inception in
2013, AWS Activate has provided more than US $8 billion in credits to
startups around the globe. AWS Activate also provides access to the AWS
Startup Loft, exclusive offers, resources, go-to-market support, the latest
cloud technologies, and more. Join AWS Activate today and discover how you can
build faster, reduce costs, and better collaborate with the global startup
community.
