Oakland had the eyes of the football world on it during NFL Draft Week. Carnegie Mellon University made sure the city's technology community got its share of the spotlight. On April 22, CMU's Robotics Innovation Center hosted "Forge to Field," a Shark Tank-style AI pitch competition organized by the university's Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and the AI Strike Team, drawing investors, athletes, and executives from across the country to watch six sports-tech startups compete for a prize pool worth more than $1.8 million in cash investments and Amazon Web Services cloud credits.
By the time the last pitch landed, every competing startup had walked away with a commitment. Three companies that hadn't even taken the stage received AWS credits as well, underscoring the depth of investor appetite for what Pittsburgh's innovation ecosystem is producing.
"Carnegie Mellon and Pittsburgh have long been a hotbed of innovation. Our research is at the leading edge of economy-building applications, including in AI, autonomy, and robotics, and so it's natural that we're at the center of the intersection of sports and tech during draft week with the world watching."
Meredith Meyer Grelli, Managing Director, CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship
The event was the centerpiece of a full-day showcase titled "Powering the Future of Sport," which featured panels, live robotics demonstrations, and expert discussions on how artificial intelligence is reshaping professional and amateur athletics. The afternoon pitch competition drew judges including entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban, Ed Stack, executive chairman and chief merchant at DICK'S Sporting Goods and Foot Locker, and Troy Demmer, co-founder of Pittsburgh's own Gecko Robotics and general partner at First Order Fund.
The Startups That Rose to the Top
CMU's Swartz Center had narrowed the field to six finalists from an applicant pool that included more than 30 semifinalists, each of which had undergone multiple evaluation rounds. The final presentations were three-minute rapid-fire pitches followed by Q&A from the judges.
MyoVerse, which builds a wearable neuromuscular sensing and AI analytics platform that converts muscle activity into real-time biomarkers for athletic performance and rehabilitation, received a $75,000 commitment from UPMC Enterprises, a $125,000 commitment from First Order Fund, and $200,000 in AWS Startups Activate Credits. "Now is one of the most exciting times in the history of sports," said co-founder Jonathan Shulgach. "Teams are investing in data and technology more than ever to keep athlete performance and development at their best."
Perforated AI, which applies neuroscience principles to live sports broadcasts by turning real-time player data into immediate injury-risk signals, earned a $125,000 commitment from Magarac Venture Partners, an additional $50,000 in AWS credits, and direct commitments from both Mark Cuban and UPMC Enterprises.
Sensi Fit, an all-in-one sports performance system that captures biometric data and delivers instant coaching feedback for athletes at every level, drew one of the event's most memorable moments. Co-founder Izzy Hunter marched onstage hoisting an orange construction cone, a nod to a tradition embraced by Pittsburgh Pirates fans, before making her pitch. The company secured a $125,000 commitment from Magarac Venture Partners, a $125,000 potential investment from UPMC Enterprises, and a testing environment commitment from Ed Stack.
ServeSense, which builds hardware-software tools to measure and track improvement in racket sports, had co-founders David Hershenson and his partner pitch while wearing headbands and carrying tennis rackets. "We measure every swing you take," Hershenson told the judges. "People blink, but our sensors don't." The startup earned a $125,000 commitment from First Order Fund and direct commitments from both Mark Cuban and Ed Stack. Demmer, after asking the audience how many played racket sports and nearly every hand went up, turned to the finalists: "All right, we got 100 customers right here!"
Peachy Day, a migraine-prevention app that uses predictive health tracking and neurologist-led care to reduce pain and speed treatment access, received a $125,000 commitment from UPMC Enterprises, $50,000 in AWS credits, and access to UPMC's virtual de-identified healthcare data testing environment.
What It Means for Pittsburgh's Innovation Economy
The Forge to Field competition arrived at a moment when Pittsburgh's technology ecosystem is drawing sustained national attention. In the first quarter of 2026, companies in the Pittsburgh metro area raised a combined $1.7 billion across 26 venture deals, and the city has become a hub for physical AI, robotics, and autonomous systems research anchored by CMU and the University of Pittsburgh.
Deap Ubhi, director and global head of technology for startups at AWS, emphasized the significance of that infrastructure. "Our commitment to startups is longstanding and a key tenet of how we serve the tech entrepreneurship ecosystem," Ubhi said. "We have deep and abiding faith at AWS that startups are the lifeblood and really act as the inspiration for other tech and business leaders."
For CMU's Meredith Meyer Grelli, the day illustrated something Pittsburgh has quietly been building toward for years: the convergence of world-class research, a maturing venture capital community, and a city willing to stake its identity on innovation. "The investments announced today," she said, "underscore the unique power of this moment and the incredible innovative spirit that the Forge to Field AI Pitch Competition captured."
Three additional companies, Deleon, Oryn AI, and Pierogi Therapeutics, received AWS credits even without pitching: $200,000 for Deleon and $100,000 each for Oryn and Pierogi. That the judges committed capital to companies that never took the stage may be the clearest signal yet that Pittsburgh's startup pipeline has more depth than any single afternoon can contain.