HEADRACE FOUNDRY
Hard-tech venture studio and incubator · Grand Rapids, Michigan

Hard tech, built where things are made.

Each year, 10 hardware and embedded-systems companies spend 12 weeks at our Grand Rapids hub. Some we build from corporate partners’ problems; others are startups that come to build where the supply chain is. Working with regional manufacturers' equipment and engineers, they build a minimal viable solution, open a corporate pilot and raise a pre-seed round from investors across the country. Then they headquarter in West Michigan.

Join the mission How it works
2 × 12 wksCohorts per year
10 a yearStudio-built and incubated companies
$100K + $100KCash plus partner services
Fall 2027First cohort
Engineers reviewing a build on assembly rigs at a manufacturing plant
AWhy now

The next great companies will be built where bits meet atoms.

Intelligence is becoming infrastructure. In a March 2026 Forbes piece, Amir Husain argues that AI applications will commoditize, and that durable value will sit in compute infrastructure, energy, proprietary data and physical deployment.3

His conclusion: the leading firms of the next decade will be integrated industrial platforms that own the stack from software to physical hardware. Computation is moving out of data centers into devices, vehicles and sensors, and robotics is moving into commercial settings, starting where environments are controlled.

“Whoever controls the substrate controls the intelligence that runs on it.”
Amir Husain, Forbes, March 2026 · Read the article
Where value moves

Compute infrastructure

Boards, edge devices and controllers that run intelligence close to the work.

Where value moves

Energy systems

Generation, storage and power electronics that keep the compute running.

Where value moves

Proprietary data

Sensors on real machines produce data that no model can scrape from the web.

Where value moves

Physical deployment

Robotics, autonomy and controls installed in plants, fields and fleets.

Each of these needs firmware, electronics and a factory. That is the founder we back: algorithms to actuators.

BWhy West Michigan

The factories, engineers and buyers are here. The venture outcomes haven't been.

Software-enabled hardware companies need buyers, suppliers and engineers within a short drive. West Michigan has all three. What it lacks is a program built to turn that into companies worth $100M or more.

Palletized goods on a production and warehouse floor at sunset
Close-up of a populated circuit board with chips and surface-mount parts
Prototyping parts laid out: a microcontroller board, sensors, servos, breadboards and a battery pack
127,000+advanced manufacturing jobs in West Michigan1
2,626advanced manufacturing establishments1
17%of all jobs in the region are in manufacturing1
01

Production at the door

Grand Rapids–Kentwood has had the most manufacturing jobs per capita of any large U.S. metro, at twice the national concentration.1 A prototype can move from CAD to a partner’s machine within a short drive.

02

Engineers who work in both worlds

Michigan has the most engineers per capita of any state.4 Automotive, aerospace and medical-device work has built a deep bench in firmware, controls and validation.

03

Buyers who need intelligence on the floor

Automotive, aerospace, medical devices, office furniture, plastics and production technology are national-leader sectors here, home to companies like Gentex, Steelcase and Haworth.1 Pilots start with a plant manager down the road.

04

Partners who bring the capital equipment

Local manufacturers contribute equipment time and engineers, about $100K of services per company, so founders spend their cash on the product instead of a machine shop.

Most regional programs

  • Measured on companies served and jobs
  • Little or no equity, so no stake in the outcome
  • Small grants and local demo days
  • Eligibility based on where founders already live

Headrace Foundry

  • Measured on institutional capital raised, follow-on rounds and exits
  • Meaningful equity, so Headrace wins only when founders do
  • $100K–$250K cash plus about $100K of partner services, then a venture-arm follow-on
  • Selected for venture potential; founders relocate to build here
CHow it works

Three tracks, two gates, one Demo Day.

Every company is measured against the same three tracks.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
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12
Customer
Discovery with buyers
Pilot scoping
Pilot terms or LOI
Build
Spec and partner match
MVS build at a partner plant
Design for manufacturing
Capital
Unit economics and plan
Data room and story
Investor preview
Gate 1
Gate 2
Demo Day
Week 4 · Gate 1

Problem validated

A named buyer at a corporate partner confirms the problem and the budget.

Week 8 · Gate 2

MVS tested

A minimal viable solution, built with a manufacturing partner, tested in conditions close to the customer's.

Week 12

Demo Day and roadshow

Demo Day in Grand Rapids, then investor dinners in Chicago, New York and the Bay Area.

Studio path · about 3 a year

Companies we build

Started from a corporate partner’s problem and led by an entrepreneur-in-residence CEO. $250K from Headrace plus about $100K of partner services.

Incubator path · about 7 a year

Startups that come to build

Founder-led hard-tech teams from anywhere that move here for the supply chain. $100K plus about $100K of partner services, then up to 12 months at the hub.

DThe facility

A hub in Grand Rapids. The heavy equipment is at partner plants.

A converted factory hall with an overhead crane, steel trusses, skylights and long shared workbenches

Illustrative layout, 10,000 sq ft total. Zone areas come from the space plan; the building is still to be selected.

Open workspace with desks, lounge seating and exposed brick

Onsite equipment

  • 3D printers (resin and FDM)$60K
  • Electronics benches (scopes, power, rework)$60K
  • Basic test equipment$40K
  • Hand tools, fixtures, safety$25K
  • CAD and firmware software$15K

Machining, molding, sheet metal, PCB assembly and testing happen at partner plants, on their equipment and with their engineers. Each company gets about $100K of that time and expertise.

EWhat we measure

Venture outcomes first, published every cohort.

A founder presenting to his team in a brick-walled open office
60–70%

of graduates close a pre-seed round of $750K or more within 6 months of Demo Day

50%+

of pre-seed dollars come from investors outside Michigan

75%+

of companies still headquartered in West Michigan 3 years after Demo Day

$8–$10

raised from outside investors for every $1 Headrace invests

The typical 2026 pre-seed round runs $500K–$2.5M, with a median around $1.2M.2 The 12 weeks are built to hit the milestones hardware investors back: a tested minimal viable solution, a pilot path and real unit economics.

GJoin the mission

Six ways to build this with us.

People gathered at long tables in a restored industrial hall
Foundations and economic development

Fund the operating platform

What it does
Runs the facility, lab, team and program through a nonprofit operating entity.
What you get
Published venture and regional outcomes each cohort, and companies that hire and buy locally.
$4.3M over 5 years
Corporate partners

Join the Corporate Council

What you give
Real problems from your operations, a pilot site and a named sponsor.
What you get
First look at every cohort, pre-agreed pilot terms and a co-investment right.
$30K–$50K a year
Manufacturers and engineering firms

Build with your own equipment

What you give
Equipment time and engineers, about $100K of services per company each cohort.
What you get
A share of a partner equity pool, first right to quote production, and an early look at new technology.
About $100K in services per company
Investors

Back the companies

What it does
Invests $100K in each incubated and $250K in each studio-built company, then about $250K follow-ons in companies that land a pilot and raise pre-seed.
What you get
Equity in the holding company, or co-investment and a seat at Demo Day.
$10.8M over 5 years
Founders

Apply to a cohort

Who fits
Technical teams building industrial IoT, machine vision, embedded controls, autonomy or electrification for B2B buyers, including startups ready to move to West Michigan to build near their suppliers.
What you get
$100K plus about $100K of partner engineering and equipment time, a corporate pilot path, a national pre-seed raise, and a venture-arm follow-on when you land a pilot and anchor here.
Applications open May 2027
Universities and mentors

Send founders and expertise

What you give
Technical founders, licensable IP, test labs or mentoring hours.
What you get
A path to market for research and early access to the region's hard-tech companies.
Mentor bench of 40–60
Downtown Grand Rapids arena with an Our City, Our Future banner across its glass facade
HTimeline

Prove it in partner space, then open the lab.

  1. Nov 2026 – Mar 2027Entities and first funders

    Legal structure, operating funding, first Council members.

  2. May – Jul 2027Cohort 1 applications

    National recruiting; target 75+ qualified applicants.

  3. Sep – Dec 2027Cohort 1 in partner space

    5 companies, Demo Day in December.

  4. Nov 2027Lease decision

    Committed only when funding, partners, Council and Cohort 1 results are in.

  5. Feb 2028Cohort 2 at the hub

    5 companies per cohort, 10 a year.

Three founders working on laptops around a shared table
Founders talking at desks in an open office with exposed ceilings
A converted industrial building with brick walls, concrete stairs and cafe tables
JGet involved

Tell us how you'd like to take part.

We're assembling founding funders, Council members and partners ahead of Cohort 1. Share a few details and the Headrace team will follow up with the full business plan.

A glowing filament inside a clear light bulb against a dark background