DNewTech September 2026

Assembly Summit 2026 — From Thesis to Throughput Together with the Automotive News Congress, we're bringing our 5th annual Assembly Summit back to Detroit on September 30, 2026. This year's theme — From Thesis to Throughput — is about the leap from bold ideas to real-world execution: the founders, operators, and investors turning frontier technology into industrial reality. Across a full afternoon of panels, live demos, and fireside discussion, we'll dig into the hidden champions of the industrial economy, the next frontiers of AI, the infrastructure powering space, and embodied AI moving from lab to line. Expect candid conversations, sharp company-building insights, and the kind of room where the mobility, automotive, defense, space, and industrial-AI worlds actually meet. 🕚 Assembly LPs & Portfolio (private) Doors open at 11:00 AM for a private LP and portfolio session, including lunch and our annual Assembly LP Update. This portion is invitation-only for Assembly LPs and portfolio companies and wraps at 12:30 PM. 🕐 Summit — General Admission Doors open to all guests at 12:30 PM, with the Summit and Partner Welcome kicking off at 1:00 PM and programming running through 5:00 PM. 📍 Detroit, MI · September 30, 2026 🔗 LEARN MORE: www.assemblysummit.xyz

Join us for an afternoon of pitches from 20 innovative startups, followed by a networking reception bringing together founders and Detroit’s broader innovation ecosystem across industry, investment, and entrepreneurship. From 3:45 - 6:00 PM, we’ll showcase a delegation of Korean startups visiting Detroit in partnership with KOSME, Korea's SMEs and Startups Agency. Startups across Physical Industries, Health & Life Sciences, and Enterprise & AI will pitch their companies to a panel of investors, corporate leaders, and ecosystem partners, with a focus on opportunities for partnerships, pilots, investment, and customer connections. Guests will also have the opportunity to hear feedback and insights from the judges and vote for their favorite startup pitches. At 6:00 PM, the event will open into a larger networking reception, also serving as the BorgWarner Pitch Day after-event. Stay to connect with the innovation ecosystem over light bites and refreshing beverages, with startups from both the KOSME Program and BorgWarner’s Pitch Day hosting tables where attendees can stop by, learn more about the companies, and continue conversations from the pitch showcase. Agenda:

Join the MSU Research Foundation and Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) for the PitchMI Healthcare and Life Science Semifinal, where five of Michigan's most promising startups will compete live for $250,000 in prize funding and the opportunity to advance to the PitchMI Championship for an additional $1 million. PitchMI is one of the nation's largest founder-focused startup competitions, designed to identify, support, and invest in Michigan's most promising early-stage companies. * Finalists will deliver a 7-minute pitch followed by a 5-minute Q&A with an accomplished panel of investors and industry leaders. * One startup will earn the $250,000 in prize funding and secure its place in the PitchMI Championship. Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, student, researcher, business leader, or simply passionate about innovation, this event offers a front-row seat to the founders and technologies shaping Michigan's future.