Detroiters build solutions to city challenges at the 2026 Venture 313 Buildathon & Showcase

Presenting to hundreds of audience members at the 2026 Venture 313 Buildathon & Showcase, a finalist demonstrated an AI-powered platform that connects Detroit residents with essential social services. Speaking naturally, he told the tool he was hungry and needed help finding food. Within seconds, it identified nearby food pantries and community resources.

Then he introduced a second challenge. "That's great," he said, "but for a lot of food insecure people in Detroit, English is not their first language. They may not have the confidence or ability to find these resources as a result. What then?"

The finalist spoke to the app again, this time repeating the same request for food resources in perfect Spanish. He and the audience watched as the platform responded with the same information in Spanish, without requiring a settings toggle or third-party translation tool. No matter what you spoke, you could get what you needed, he explained.

The crowd buzzed and applauded; they were witnessing a working solution capable of addressing a real community need. Just five days earlier, it had not existed. But here it was, brought to life.

For Venture 313's Caleb Conley, growth capital manager, the demonstration illustrated how Detroiters can use accessible tech tools to make an immediate difference in the city they love. It also helps people see themselves as builders, founders and problem-solvers, regardless of their background or prior experience.

"The big word we use at Venture 313 is belief," Conley said. "Technology like AI can feel intimidating, but it's important to help people believe they can build something meaningful, because if they believe and have support, they can."

Sparking community-led, tech-driven innovation

Held Sept. 17-22 at Jefferson Hub, the third annual Venture 313 Buildathon & Showcase brought Detroit residents together to work with AI-assisted development tools, form teams and create solutions that address city-wide challenges in areas such as neighborhood development, public health, transportation, education and government accessibility.

Organized by Venture 313 and the City of Detroit, the buildathon is one of many Detroit-driven efforts to expand who gets to participate in entrepreneurship and innovation. Backed by the Gilbert Family Foundation, Venture 313 brings together TechTown - Wayne State's entrepreneurship hub - alongside Invest Detroit Ventures and Detroit Development Fund to provide founders with coaching, education and access to capital. Since launching in 2022, Venture 313 has supported 127 companies whose founders have secured more than $62 million in follow-on funding.

At this year's event, 96 participants - representing 40 solo builders, 14 duos, five teams of three, and three teams of more than four people - submitted more than 60 projects for consideration, an event record. Roughly 75% of all participants considered themselves "non-professional developers."

The team designed the buildathon to be accessible to participants of all backgrounds and levels of expertise, Conley noted. Programming included beginner, intermediate and advanced learning tracks covering AI tools, development workflows and product-building strategies. Participants could move between sessions before spending the weekend building solutions.

"There were people who came in with fully formed ideas, and there were people who showed up saying, 'I don't have an idea, I just want to be a builder,'" Conley said. "Watching those people find teams, contribute and become part of something bigger was extremely rewarding."

Venture 313's emphasis on accessibility reflects a broader shift throughout the technology landscape. As AI tools lower technical barriers, more people - including more "non-specialists" - can participate in product development, entrepreneurship and startup creation. For Wayne State and TechTown, that trend aligns with priorities around AI literacy, entrepreneurship and workforce development. By helping residents develop entrepreneurial and technology skills, programs like the buildathon expand economic opportunity across Detroit.

"Our goal was to make the buildathon accessible, so no matter if you were completely new to AI or a veteran technical expert, you had a space to learn and contribute," Conley said. "I think that focus is part of what made this year's edition the best one yet."

Built by Detroiters

Rather than asking participants to build hypothetical startup concepts, organizers centered the competition around challenges identified through city engagement efforts and resident feedback.

"We were intentional about making it for Detroiters because we wanted the community to feel empowered and responsible for the issues that are near and dear to them," Conley said. "It was exciting to see an initiative built with the City [of Detroit] that allowed residents themselves to create solutions and see the impact they could have in just a few days of building."

The event also highlighted collaboration across sectors. Representatives from the City of Detroit, Google, Henry Ford Health, SMART, and a range of technology, health care, community and entrepreneurial organizations worked alongside participants throughout the week, providing feedback, office hours and technical guidance. The Gilbert Family Foundation, Google and SMART sponsored the event.

According to Conley, that direct engagement gave participants opportunities to refine their ideas while building relationships that extend beyond the event.

"These people were in the room right alongside participants. They weren't just logos on a flyer," Conley said. "Events like this break down barriers. When you have all these diverse organizations interacting in the same space, you create collisions can lead to meaningful relationships and future opportunities."

Participants included individuals from different age groups, professional backgrounds and communities, demonstrating that innovation opportunities can reach far beyond traditional technology circles.

The event culminated Sept. 22. With $52,500 in prize money on the line, seven finalists pitched their solutions before a panel of judges and a public audience. Winners were:

• First place ($25,000): Inspiry, developed by Jamal Carter. Inspiry makes Detroit's legislative record answerable across three systems that don't talk to each other, including the years that exist only as 2,500-page PDFs. Focused on the open, accessible and responsible government problem pillar.
• Second place ($15,000): CommuniTV, developed by Evol Johnson-Winter. CommuniTV is a front door for city services: ask in your own words, by phone or web, in five languages, and the right Improve Detroit request gets filed. Focused on the open, accessible and responsible government problem pillar.
• Third place ($10,000) and People's Choice ($2,500): WattUpDoe, developed by Zanne Ngatchou. This tool improves energy reliability for Detroit residents and utility companies by scoring outage risk. Focused on the reliable transportation and infrastructure, and sustainability problem pillar.

For organizers, the buildathon serves as an entry point into a much larger and fast-growing ecosystem throughout the city.

"Our focus is on continuing to grow Detroit's innovation ecosystem," Conley said. "It's not just about supporting startups that already exist. We have to think about how we create and nurture the next generation of companies coming out of Detroit, the next wave of talented leaders and innovators."

By connecting residents, students, entrepreneurs and industry partners around emerging technologies, initiatives like Venture 313 Buildathon & Showcase show how community-driven innovation can create opportunities for both individual founders and the region more broadly.

"What I'm most proud of is that we didn't build these products ourselves," Conley said. "This is all a product of environment. We created the space, brought the right people together and provided support. From there, the participants took ownership and turned their ideas into something real."

Ultimately, Conley noted, the goal is for Detroit to become one of the strongest innovation ecosystems in the country.

"Every grand future starts with helping people take their first step," Conley said. "That's what this event did, and what we're doing every day."

Learn more about Venture 313.

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