Pittsburgh Showcases Real-World AI with $1.275 Million Prize and Draft Week Showcase

As the upcoming NFL Draft brings national and global attention to Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, in partnership with the AI Strike Team and Pittsburgh Steelers will host a national showcase highlighting the next era of AI systems designed to operate in the real world, at scale.

The event, Powering the Future of Sport: A Draft Week Showcase, will take place on Wednesday, April 22, at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Innovation Center (RIC) in Hazelwood Green. The showcase is anchored by the $1.275 Million Forge AI Prize, a national startup competition, convened by CMU’s Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and the AI Strike Team, designed to attract leading founders, investors, and companies to Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania.

A panel of high-profile judges—including hometown entrepreneur Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner and Shark Tank investor, and Ed Stack, Executive Chairman of Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker—will join leaders from Carnegie Mellon, the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and top AI companies. Governor Josh Shapiro will deliver brief remarks, underscoring the Commonwealth’s commitment to positioning Pennsylvania as a national leader in AI and next-generation economic competitiveness.

The prize includes $1 million in AWS compute credits and $275,000 in investment capital, with Pittsburgh-based Magarac Venture Partners providing the majority of the investment capital portion of the award. One of the firm’s partners, tech entrepreneur and former Pittsburgh Steeler Will Allen, will also serve as a judge for the competition, underscoring the event’s unique intersection of sport, technology, and venture capital.

Hosted at one of the nation’s most advanced facilities dedicated to robotics, applied AI, simulation, and real-world deployment, the showcase positions Pittsburgh at the center of the national conversation about how AI is designed, tested, and deployed in complex, real-world environments.

“Pittsburgh’s strength has always been translating ideas into impact,” said Farnam Jahanian, President of Carnegie Mellon University. “With the NFL Draft coming to our city, it is a fitting moment to highlight how sport—through play, performance, engagement, and entertainment—has become a proving ground for the next era of AI. There is no better place to tell that story than the Robotics Innovation Center, where CMU is convening partners to advance AI systems that are designed to operate in the real world.”

The Robotics Innovation Center is a cornerstone of Carnegie Mellon’s global leadership in AI, robotics, and autonomy. Purpose-built to support large-scale experimentation, industry collaboration, and real-world testing, the RIC brings together researchers, startups, and partners working across robotics, simulation, digital twins, intelligent infrastructure, and AI systems that interact continuously with the physical world.

This work is often referred to as Physical AI—a class of AI that moves beyond pre-programmed systems to sense, reason, and adapt in dynamic environments. At Carnegie Mellon, leadership in this domain is defined not by hardware alone, but by software-driven intelligence deployed reliably at scale.

A National Convening with Long-Term Impact

Building on the AI Strike Team’s flagship platform, AI Horizons, the Draft Week Showcase brings Pittsburgh’s AI ecosystem into the national spotlight.

“Artificial intelligence is transforming the NFL, with millions of data points each game reshaping how teams compete and how fans engage,” said Steelers Vice President of Strategy Dan Rooney. “It’s fitting that the NFL Draft is coming to Pittsburgh at such a pivotal technological and economic moment. Built on steel and reinvented through robotics and AI, this region is leading again. Today, we are the Steel and AI City, and the Steelers are proud to help showcase how Pittsburgh is shaping the future of sport and technology.”

Aligned with the Draft, the invitation-only, three-hour program convenes founders, investors, technologists, and Pittsburgh diaspora leaders—alongside executives from government, industry, academia, and professional sports—for live demonstrations and senior-level discussions on AI deployment, performance, and competitive edge.

A centerpiece of the Draft Week Showcase will be finalist pitches for the $1.275 Million prize, a national startup competition spotlighting companies deploying AI in real-world environments across performance analytics, simulation, robotics, smart venues, digital twins, and intelligent operations.

The pitch competition will leverage the expertise in company-building from CMU’s Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and Magarac Venture Partners  and Magarac Venture Partners.  Special consideration will be given to applicant companies that commit to establishing a meaningful presence in Pennsylvania, reinforcing the region’s focus on long-term company formation, talent attraction, and economic growth.

“This is bigger than a single event — it’s about winning the next era of innovation,” said Joanna Doven, CEO of the AI Strike Team. “More than ever, we have to connect our AI builders with industry — here in Pennsylvania and across global sport. Pittsburgh is outperforming major tech hubs in AI venture investment, and we’re the most affordable major tech city in America. Founders here don’t just talk about innovation — they build it, test it, and deploy it in the real world. The Draft gives us a national stage to show that Pittsburgh isn’t chasing the future of AI — we’re leading it.”

The event is made possible through the generosity of AWS, Magarac Ventures, and Blue Tree Venture Partners.