Michigan LIFT Launches to Accelerate Industrial Innovation, Scale Manufacturing Growth and Strengthen U.S. Competitiveness

JPMorganChase’s supplier-financing target is part of a platform built around potential manufacturing contracts, not awarded business.

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• Ford Motor Company, JPMorganChase, the State of Michigan, Michigan Central and Newlab have launched Michigan LIFT to help innovative suppliers win business from leading manufacturers and access the financing and state support they need to expand production
• Over the next decade, Ford aspires to award up to $1 billion in contracts to participating suppliers; JPMorganChase aspires to provide up to $1 billion in financing to suppliers on Michigan LIFT; and Michigan Central, Newlab and MEDC aspire to attract additional industrial buyers representing more than $1 billion in annual demand by 2036.
• Michigan LIFT is calling on additional industrial buyers and innovative suppliers across critical sectors to join the platform.

DETROIT--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ford Motor Company, JPMorganChase, the State of Michigan, Michigan Central and Newlab today announced the Michigan Launchpad for Industrial Innovation & Transformation (Michigan LIFT), a public-private initiative designed to strengthen manufacturers’ competitiveness and supply-chain resilience while accelerating the growth of innovative suppliers expanding production in Michigan.

The platform translates manufacturing and supply-chain challenges identified by industrial buyers into “Open Calls” for innovative suppliers that can address them. Where a solution shows a credible path to adoption, Michigan LIFT helps connect customer demand, financing, public resources, workforce support, and commercialization services to scale production.

“Michigan has always been a state that builds, and we’re going to keep leading the next generation of American industry,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “Michigan LIFT will bring together our world-class manufacturers, innovative companies, skilled workers and capital to turn big ideas into real products, new investment and good-paying jobs. By working together, we can bring more critical supply chains home, help Michigan businesses grow and show the world that the future is built right here in Michigan.”

Over the next decade, the founding participants aspire to use the platform to connect customer demand, mobilize capital and provide ecosystem support, subject to each participant’s standard qualification, sourcing and approval processes:

• Ford, serving as the anchor industrial buyer, aspires to award up to $1 billion of business to innovative suppliers through opportunities advanced by Michigan LIFT, which reflects the same focus on practical solutions for America’s industrial future featured at Ford’s ACCELERATE The Essential Economy conference.
• JPMorganChase, the founding capital provider, aspires to finance up to $1 billion of debt capital to Michigan LIFT suppliers on the platform as part of its Security and Resiliency Initiative , a $1.5 trillion, 10-year plan to facilitate, finance and invest in industries critical to national security and economic resilience.
• State of Michigan, through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), will serve as the public-sector participant, deploying the state’s economic development tools and resources to support innovation-driven companies with credible pathways to commercial and industrial scale.
• Michigan Central will provide the physical testing and scaling environment across its 30-acre innovation district, offering purpose-built infrastructure, industry expertise and a collaborative platform to help companies move from prototype to production
• Newlab aspires to contribute $20 million of in-kind support focused on translating industrial demand into commercialization opportunities for high-growth companies and providing the execution capacity needed to deliver the platform.
• Michigan Central, Newlab and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation aspire to attract 10–20 additional industrial buyers representing over $1 billion in annual demand commitments by the end of 2036.

Innovative suppliers often struggle to reach or expand production because steady customer demand is uncertain, financing arrives too late, trained workers are scarce, supplier qualifications are complex and support is scattered across multiple organizations. Michigan LIFT is designed to address those barriers while helping expand U.S. production of critical technologies, components and capabilities.

Michigan LIFT grew out of the Michigan Resiliency Summit, jointly hosted by JPMorganChase and the State of Michigan in Detroit in June, where industrial, financial and government leaders identified the practical hurdles preventing promising companies and technologies from reaching production scale.

“For over a decade, Detroit has shown what is possible when business, government and community leaders work together for the long term,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorganChase. “Michigan LIFT builds on that same model of public- private collaboration by connecting customer demand, capital and public resources so more companies can grow, more workers can participate and more critical capabilities can scale here in the United States.”

The launch also continues JPMorganChase’s long-standing engagement in Detroit. The firm’s $200 million commitment to the city combined business and philanthropic investment, research, employee expertise and collaboration with local partners. Lessons from that work have informed the firm’s approach in other communities and reinforce the importance of pairing capital with sustained local partnership.

Michigan offers an ideal proving ground because it brings together manufacturing depth, skilled talent, a broad supplier base and a growing innovation ecosystem. The founding participants intend to evaluate how lessons learned in Michigan could inform similar efforts elsewhere.

“Ford is America’s automaker, and we believe American manufacturing’s best days are ahead,” said Jim Farley, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company. “Michigan LIFT is about helping solve real manufacturing challenges faster. It connects innovators, suppliers and manufacturers with the support they need to scale. As we gather this week at Ford ACCELERATE to focus on practical solutions for America’s industrial future, Michigan LIFT is one example of how we're taking action to strengthen the Essential Economy and build a more resilient manufacturing base.”

Alongside the platform launch, Ford Philanthropy and JPMorganChase announced $550,000 in collective support for Focus: HOPE, a Detroit-based nonprofit providing education and job training.

The grant will strengthen Focus: HOPE's industrial manufacturing training program — teaching manufacturing skills, robotics, and welding, while expanding employer connections, career placement support, and transportation assistance for trainees. It connects the Michigan LIFT platform's innovation and manufacturing goals with the talent needed to strengthen Michigan's supplier network and drive long-term industrial growth.

How Michigan LIFT will work

Michigan LIFT starts with priority manufacturing and supply-chain challenges or Open Calls identified by industrial buyers. Those challenges will initially be based on focus areas aligned with Michigan’s industrial strengths and JPMorganChase’s Security and Resiliency Initiative priorities:

• Robotics and advanced manufacturing automation
• Advanced energy, including nuclear; semiconductors; and battery storage
• Advanced mobility, aerospace, propulsion and critical components
• Critical minerals mining, processing, and recovery
• Life sciences manufacturing, including pharmaceutical precursors, sterile injectables, medical isotopes, and precision medical devices

Innovative suppliers that can address these needs – including companies seeking to establish or expand production in Michigan – can respond to the Open Calls through michiganlift.org. Eligible applicants will be referred to the relevant industrial buyer for evaluation. For opportunities that move forward, Michigan LIFT will help coordinate potential financing, public resources and industrialization support, subject to each participant’s standard qualification and approval processes.

Industrial buyers do not need to be based in Michigan. Companies with priority manufacturing or supply-chain challenges, and suppliers or technology companies with solutions, can learn more and apply at michiganlift.org.

MEDIA ASSETS: Visual assets from the Sept. 29 joint announcement will be available at fromtheroad.ford.com

Additional Supporting Quotes

“Detroit’s manufacturing expertise didn’t just make cars; it made the modern industrial world possible. At Michigan Central, we believe that legacy will be the foundation for Detroit’s future, which is why we are supporting Michigan LIFT and its work to strengthen American manufacturing,” said Awenate Cobbina, CEO of Michigan Central. “Every lab, partnership, and piece of infrastructure across our innovation hub is designed to help founders, innovators, and manufacturers turn ideas into products and scale them here in Detroit. Michigan LIFT will bring even more partners and capabilities together to accelerate that progress.”

“Hundreds of high-growth companies are developing technologies that could change the economics of domestic production but face significant barriers to scaling. Michigan LIFT establishes a powerful new public-private model to address those barriers, bringing industrial demand, private capital, and state resources together to give companies a structured pathway to customer validation, investment, and production at scale,” said Liz Keen, Chief Strategy Officer at Newlab.

“Michigan’s opportunity is to become the place where hard technologies go from prototype to production,” said Ben Marchionna, Chief Innovation Ecosystem Officer at MEDC. “Michigan LIFT is a new model for innovation-led economic development: start with real industrial demand, then connect the companies solving those problems to capital, public tools, workforce and the infrastructure they need to scale. That can help ambitious companies grow in Michigan while strengthening the industries that matter to America’s long-term competitiveness.”

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan, committed to helping build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams. The company’s Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines existing strengths, new capabilities, and always-on relationships with customers to enrich experiences for customers and deepen their loyalty. Ford develops and delivers innovative, must-have Ford trucks, sport utility vehicles, commercial vans and cars and Lincoln luxury vehicles, along with connected services, including BlueCruise (ADAS) and security. The company offers freedom of choice through three customer-centered business segments: Ford Blue, engineering iconic gas-powered and hybrid vehicles; Ford Model e, inventing breakthrough electric vehicles (“EVs”) along with embedded software that defines always-on digital experiences for all customers; and Ford Pro, helping commercial customers transform and expand their businesses with vehicles and services tailored to their needs. Additionally, the company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. Ford employs about 169,000 people worldwide. More information about the company and its products and services is available at fromtheroad.ford.com.

About JPMorganChase

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorganChase had $5.0 trillion in assets and $375 billion in stockholders’ equity as of June 30, 2026. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Threads.

About Michigan Central

Michigan Central is a 30-acre technology and cultural hub in Detroit, where leaders, thinkers, communities and creators come together to accelerate bold ideas and technologies that shape our collective future. By providing access to world-class infrastructure, tools, and resources, Michigan Central inspires innovators and community members to collaborate on real, ground-breaking solutions to global problems. Since opening in April 2023, Michigan Central has grown into a diverse ecosystem of nearly 250 companies and startups working at the intersection of mobility, technology and society. Learn more at michigancentral.com.

About Newlab

Newlab is a global commercialization platform for critical technology startups transforming core industrial sectors. Underpinned by more than $300M in public-private partnerships, Newlab reduces friction for high-growth companies to get to market while building durable technology ecosystems that strengthen regional competitiveness. Since its founding, Newlab has supported hundreds of companies that have raised more than $9.5Bn in venture capital and driven more than $13.5Bn in localized economic impact. Its platform is anchored by a growing network of locations in strategic geographies including Brooklyn, New York (USA); Detroit, Michigan (USA); New Orleans, Louisiana (USA); London, England, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929773901/en/

Contact: press@michigan.gov; media@ford.com; charlotte.f.powell@jpmorgan.com

Source: JPMorgan Chase & Co.