Venture 313·2026
Tech Founders to Watch
Venture 313, powered by the Gilbert Family Foundation, is proud to announce its Tech Founders to Watch for 2026, a recognition of Detroit-based entrepreneurs building the next generation of technology companies. Venture 313 is an initiative consisting of TechTown Detroit, ID Ventures and Detroit Development Fund. The coalition works to support and accelerate local early-stage tech founders, and has deployed more than $6M in direct funding across more than 100 Detroit companies since its inception in 2022. Those companies have gone on to secure more than $60M in follow-on investment.
Something powerful has shifted in the four years since this began. Detroit is no longer only producing founders. It is attracting them, and pulling its own back home. Companies recognized this year either moved their headquarters here or were built by founders who chose to move to Detroit from locations ranging from Los Angeles to Houston and Zimbabwe. They came for talent, cost, proximity to manufacturing and an ecosystem that moves faster than its size would suggest.
Nox Metals
Zane Hengsperger
Aerospace-grade aluminum plate, quoted automatically and delivered next day, in an industry that still takes three to five days to price a job.
BRCĒ
Madhav Aggarwal and Tanvi Gadamsetti
Mechanically programmed fiber and textile architectures for footwear, apparel, outdoor gear and protective applications, built by two athletes whose careers ended in preventable injury.
Reportwell
Jacob Allen
One platform for the document-heavy compliance work that public agencies, healthcare systems and education systems still run on email and spreadsheet.
Hush
Mykolas Rambus
Scans thousands of data brokers, public records and dark web sources for a person’s exposed details, removes them, and watches for re-exposure.
Total Analysis
Darrell Marshall
A countertop instrument that reads the molecular fingerprint of one swab and screens it for multiple pathogens, where a rapid test checks one.
ChurchSpace
Emmanuel Brown
The average church building sits empty roughly 70% of the week. ChurchSpace turns that property into ready-to-run sites for delivery and logistics operators.
General Orbit
Parker Boundy
Position without a signal from space: small sensors and signal-separation algorithms that read Earth’s magnetic field when GPS is jammed, spoofed or unavailable.
Maka
Isabel Sheinman
A streaming app for ages zero to six with no ads and no engagement algorithms, built on a framework vetted by child development experts.
Bhadala
Farai Gundan
Fare payment infrastructure for transit systems that still run on cash, plus a way for employers to distribute transit benefits to staff.
Onsite
Jacob Levine
An AI-native operating system for contractors that runs every step of a job, from the first phone call to the final payment.
These founders were chosen for traction, timing, and execution, not ambition alone. They build navigation that works when GPS is jammed, aerospace-grade aluminum, a countertop device that screens one swab for dozens of pathogens, software that strips a family's personal data from thousands of broker databases, a patented composite that keeps an athlete from rolling an ankle, software that answers a contractor's phone and books jobs, a children's streaming service designed against engagement, and fare collection and processing for multi-modal transit realities. Their verticals span applied AI, advanced manufacturing and materials, aerospace, life sciences, education, media and finance.
Detroit has long been known as a city of builders. What is newer, and worth marking, is that builders are now choosing it on purpose, with options elsewhere and reasons to stay. By elevating these founders, Venture 313 aims to celebrate their progress, encourage others to pursue their own entrepreneurial paths, and make the case that a technology company can be started, funded and scaled here without leaving.
We are excited to follow their journeys and to continue supporting the growth of Detroit's tech ecosystem. To learn more about these founders, and to connect with the broader network of innovators making moves in Detroit, visit Venture313.com and join us in celebrating the people who are building the future right here at home.
For more information, email info@venture313.com.