Powering the Future of Sport: A Draft Week Showcase
Presented by ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ and the AI Strike Team
Wednesday, April 22
The Powering the Future of Sport: A Draft Week Showcase is an invitation-only event that brings together global investors, AI founders, CEOs, civic leaders and sports leaders during NFL Draft Week for a day of engaging discussions, live demonstrations and industry innovations on AI’s extraordinary potential to transform the future of sports.
Forge to Field AI Pitch Competition
Emerging AI companies from across the nation will pitch their scale-ready sports innovations to a panel of high-profile judges, including entrepreneur and Pittsburgh native Mark Cuban, and Dick’s Sporting Goods Executive Chairman Ed Stack. The finalists will vie for a chance to win from a $1.75 million prize pool, including up to $1 million in AWS cloud credits. This competition is hosted by ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿’s Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and the AI Strike Team.
Pittsburgh: A Global Hub for Physical AI and Innovation
Pittsburgh has emerged as a pioneering city for physical AI, entrepreneurship, and sports technology by combining world-class research, real-world deployment, and industrial scale in one ecosystem.
Anchored by Carnegie Mellon’s leadership in AI and robotics, the University of Pittsburgh’s strengths in healthcare and life sciences, and catalyzed by AI Horizons, the region functions as a living lab where technologies are tested across sports, healthcare, and infrastructure
With three major professional teams providing continuous environments for innovation, breakthroughs can quickly translate into broader applications. Supported by strong AI investment, energy capacity, and a cost structure that enables rapid execution, Pittsburgh stands out as a place where intelligent systems are not just developed but deployed.
Competiton Location
Robotics Innovation Center, Hazelwood Green
The Draft Showcase event will unfold in ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿’s newly opened Robotics Innovation Center (RIC), the nation’s premier facility for next-generation physical AI research and commercialization.
Powering the Future of Sport: A Draft Showcase Sponsors
The organizations supporting Powering the Future of Sport: A Draft Showcase are not just sponsors—they are builders, investors and operators helping shape where the industry goes next. Their presence extends beyond visibility—they contribute to the conversations, the energy in the room and the ideas that continue long after Draft Week.
Event Sponsors
Field Goal Sponsors
First Down Sponsors
Kickoff Sponsors
Forge to Field AI Pitch Competition Sponsors
Hall of fame Sponsor
Pro Sponsors
Thank you to our Swartz Center Patrons
