LANSING, Mich. — Five Michiganders have been chosen to advance as finalists in the Michigan EdTech Innovation Pitch Contest. Each of the finalists will advance to a pitch presentation on June 26, where first, second, and third place winners will be chosen. Finalists will share $22,000 in business startup grants and receive additional legal and creative startup assistance to implement their ideas. These finalists were chosen out of a pool of entrants in the EdTech Innovation Bootcamp, which ran through May and June.
“As this contest has entered its fourth year, I’m heartened and inspired by the submission ideas we continue to see from Michiganders with a desire to say, ‘I wish there was an app for that’ in an educational setting,” said Jamey Fitzpatrick, President and CEO at Michigan Virtual. “This contest is an opportunity for Michigan educators to directly impact classrooms by turning their dreams into reality. I wish our five finalists all the best in the next round of this contest.”
Michigan educators and innovators must have submitted a written pitch by May 26 for finalists to be selected on June 20. The Michigan EdTech Innovation Pitch Contest finalists and proposals are:
- RASTA, (Real-time AI Shooter Threat Alert) is a cutting-edge AI-powered gunshot detection and response system that transforms public safety in schools and community institutions, detecting gunfire in under one second to send verified alerts to first responders.
- Creativity Apps for Teachers and Students draws from over two decades of teaching experience and research to foster creativity in K-12 classrooms by helping students strengthen divergent thinking while giving teachers tools to assess and track creative development.
- Helio, an AI-powered learning platform that acts as a personalized homework coach for middle schoolers, absorbs classroom data, mimics the teacher’s style, and supports students with curriculum-aligned guidance.
- The Identity Resource Screening Tool (IRST) is a web-based platform that helps educators prevent curriculum harm and teach diverse histories with integrity. IRST evaluates instructional texts for representation and portrayal, flags harmful narratives, and suggests empowering alternatives, all while aligning with academic standards.
- FirstWord is an AI-powered communication coach built to level the playing field for early-career professionals, international students, and non-native English speakers. Using real-time voice analysis, professional roleplay simulations, and AI-driven feedback, FirstWord improves fluency, confidence, and delivery for high-stakes situations like interviews and presentations.
Winners will be chosen during the live pitch competition on June 26 from 3-5 pm online.
The Michigan EdTech Innovation Pitch Contest is the result of a partnership between Michigan Virtual, MSU Research Foundation, Michigan State’s Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Michigan SBDC. The first-place winner will receive $10,000 in business startup grant funding, plus branding and logo design support, and legal consultation. The second-place winner will receive $6,000 in business startup grant funding, plus logo design support and legal consultation. The third-place winner will receive $4,000 in business startup grant funding, plus logo design support and legal consultation. The fourth and fifth place finalists will each receive $1,000.
Branding and legal support are being donated by Michigan Creative and Foster Swift. All monetary prizes will be made available in the form of grants from Michigan Virtual to the winners.
To learn more about the contest, visit michiganvirtual.org/pitch.
