Tech and innovation: Even the Swiss are talking about Detroit
Michigan Central, Newlab continue to attract investors
Detroit is directly competing with New York and Silicon Valley.
While global uncertainty increases with every day, businesses continue to eye the Motor City as a smart play for innovation and investment.
Frank Muller, honorary consul of Switzerland in Detroit, told me that Europeans know New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Silicon Valley but often overlook the Midwest.
“Detroit has a very positive momentum through various public and private initiatives,” he said. “It has removed a kind of stain.”
Key to the city’s image and future growth, Muller said, is the Michigan Central Station campus in Corktown and the 100-plus companies locating at the billion dollar mobility innovation district.
It’s where investors are coming together with entrepreneurs to develop pilot projects and go-to-market strategies.
“I think Michigan is back as a major player. I’ve been working with Swiss businesses, promoting the exchange. This is about establishing a presence in the U.S., and Michigan specifically, for commercial collaborations. Not only large companies but startups. They would never have thought of this five years ago,” Muller said. “You now have young companies in Switzerland considering Detroit, thanks to the investment of Ford at Michigan Center, Newlab and the city.”
Muller, who travels nationally and internationally meeting with global trade partners, is CEO of Exlterra. His is a soil management company based in Hazel Park that specializes in issues such as tree nutrition, chemical reduction and groundwater and stormwater re-use.
Detroit is felt at CES
The topic of Detroit, and Michigan overall, actually surfaced in Las Vegas during the annual CES (Consumer Electronics Show) held just before the Detroit Auto Show in January, Muller said. Investors noticed the state’s presence — especially in the area of green hydrogen production — and it generated substantive buzz, he said. “It’s all about innovation.”
Bill Ford, executive chair of Ford Motor Co. who led the Michigan Central project, said he’s delighted to hear news about potential Swiss investment.
“I hope they do come,” he told me in an interview during the Detroit Auto Show. “The international acclaim we’re getting now is really wonderful.”
Press outlets from around the country have flown reporters to Detroit to interview executives attending innovation events at Newlab. Anyone who spends time at the train station can witness firsthand (as I have) the tours in various languages as government officials from all over the world consider investing in Detroit.
The latest player
In late January, Newlab announced news of a collaboration with Femology, Detroit’s first co-working space for female entrepreneurs that includes a podcast studio and accelerator bootcamps and educational workshops.
“With less than 3% of women-led high-growth ventures receiving adequate capital, we are determined to change that narrative,” said Meagan Ward, founder of Femology, which launched in 2017. “Together, we’re building a curriculum that equips women to rise, thrive, and leave an indelible mark on the world.”
She currently serves as Community Builder in Residence at Michigan Central with investment from the Michigan Strategic Fund as part of the overall public-private partnership between the State of Michigan, the City of Detroit and Michigan Central.
Carolina Pluszczynski, chief operating officer of Michigan Central, said. “We are building one of the most inclusive and equitable tech hubs in the world, modeling Detroit’s innovation ecosystem as a framework for national change.”
Newlab, a 30-acre technology and cultural hub that opened in 2023 next door to Michigan Central Station, now attracts leaders, thinkers, communities, and creators to accelerate bold ideas and technologies.
The once abandoned post office-turned-book depository designed by famed architect Albert Kahn is the second Newlab tech hub in the U.S. Their overall focus is mobility, energy and materials such as textiles and food.
130 startups at Corktown site and growing
“We erected Newlab from the ruins of a turn-of-the-century naval shipyard in Brooklyn because we knew that from adversity and diversity comes invention,” Newlab says on its website. “We saw the need for something new: A place for the people crazy enough to build hardware in NYC to find the tools, space, and community to supercharge their ambition and create a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable world.”
In Detroit, the site now has 130 startups, many led by female, Black, and/or Indigenous founders. Diversity is often critical say investors, including those in Silicon Valley, because they want to harness all different perspectives during the innovation and creation stages.
One thing keeping Detroit in the spotlight is tourism.
An incredible 53,641 people visited Michigan Central Station between Nov. 22, 2024 and Dec. 28, 2024 — which put the site past 220,000 visitors since opening in June, Alyssa Strickland-Knight, Michigan Central spokeswoman, told me.
The highest attendance day during Winter at The Station fell on Dec. 27, 2024 with 6,915 visitors. During its peak period between 1913 and 1988, daily foot traffic averaged 4,000 passengers.
Until now, Michigan Station has not been accessible to the public every day.
Hours: Michigan Central, 2001 15th Street is open daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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