Powering the Future of Sports: A Draft Week Showcase and Pitch Competition
Presented by Carnegie Mellon's Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship & AI Strike Team
Robotics Innovation Center, Hazelwood Green
Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Powering the Future of Sports: A Draft Week Showcase and Pitch Competition brings global investors, founders, innovators and sports leaders to Pittsburgh—a city defined by grit, competition, and reinvention. Long a sports capital and now a global hub for AI, this invite-only gathering convenes the builders and backers driving the historic platform shift in how sport is trained, played, and experienced. From Physical AI to real-time performance, intelligent infrastructure and next-generation fan experiences, technologists and CEOs will showcase live systems moving from lab to field to market.
Hosted at ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV ’s newly opened Robotics Innovation Center—the nation’s premier facility for next generation Physical AI research and commercialization — this Draft Week event culminates in a Shark Tank–style $1.5 million pitch competition spotlighting the nation’s top AI companies ready to scale in sports.
Pitch Competition Judging Panel
Mark Cuban
Entrepreneur & Investor
Mark Cuban is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, best known for disrupting industries from tech to sports and for his long-running role as a judge on Shark Tank. As a champion of bold ideas and founder-first thinking, he brings sharp insight, direct feedback, and real-world experience to every stage he steps onto.
Ed Stack
Executive Chairman and Chief Merchant, DICK'S Sporting Goods; Foot Locker
Ed Stack is the Executive Chairman and Chief Merchant of DICK’S Sporting Goods and the visionary leader who transformed a small family bait-and-tackle shop into the nation’s largest sporting goods retailer. Known for pairing disciplined growth with values-driven leadership, he brings decades of retail expertise and a deep commitment to community impact to every conversation.
Will Allen
Founding Partner, Magarac Venture Partners, NFL Athlete
Will Allen is a founding partner at Magarac Venture Partners (MVP), an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in market-defining technology companies. Allen has over a decade of experience as a business leader, investor, nonprofit founder and professional athlete managing high-performing teams and producing outsized returns on investments. He has led investments, advised companies and up-starts on market-growth strategy, business analytics, facilitation of strategic partnerships and leadership development.
Deap Ubhi
Director and Global Head of Solutions Architect for Startups, AWS
Deap is a technology leader focused on helping startups build and scale on AWS. He currently leads technology for AWS Startups, bringing hands-on product and developer experience expertise across the GenAI and developer lifecycle space. Deap co-founded Flip AI where he focused on putting advanced AI tools into the hands of builders. Prior to Flip AI and AWS, Deap served at the U.S. Digital Service, giving him a strong mix of startup, product, and public-sector operational experience. Deap writes and speaks regularly about practical patterns for building agentic AI, model selection, inference economics and developer tooling.
Troy Demmer
Co-Founder and President of Gecko
Co-Founder and General Partner of First Order Fund
Troy Demmer is the co-founder and President of Gecko Robotics, the company combining
advanced robotics and AI-powered software to help ensure the availability, reliability and
sustainability of the critical infrastructure that powers our world - today and tomorrow.
At Gecko Troy focuses on product and growth evolving Gecko’s robotics and software platforms to meet the demands of critical industries in a time of widespread transition.
Concurrently, he is also the co-founder and General Partner of First Order Fund - a venture fund focused on early stage investments in startups who are creating and leveraging data moats.
Pitch Competition: Rules, Eligibility, & Location Preference
WHO SHOULD APPLY
ELIGIBILITY
Entities that meet all of the following criteria are eligible and encouraged to apply: (i) the entity is incorporated or organized in a jurisdiction located within the United States of America, and (ii) the entity is building at the intersection of leading-edge technology and sports, and (iii) the entity has raised/received pre-seed, seed or Series A stage funding, but has not raised/received Series B or later stage funding.
We’re looking for those building in AI, robotics, physical AI, computer vision, digital twins, and more to tackle:
Athlete performance, training, and athlete safety
Game and athlete analytics
Fan engagement platforms
Venue technology, broadcast
Health & Wellness
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA PREFERENCE
While the Pitch Competition is open to eligible entities across the U.S., since the goal of the Pitch Competition is to accelerate real company formation, job creation and Physical AI deployment in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania, entities that have or commit to establishing a substantial and sustained operating presence in Western Pennsylvania will be given a preference in the selection of competition finalists. A “substantial and sustained operating presence” in Western Pennsylvania may include, but is not limited to:
Establishing a headquarters or primary office in Western Pennsylvania
Opening a significant satellite office in Western Pennsylvania
Locating engineering, R&D, manufacturing, or deployment operations in Western Pennsylvania
Hiring a meaningful number of employees based in Western Pennsylvania
FINALIST REQUIREMENTS
The prize sponsors may require the conduct of due diligence before, during or after the Pitch Competition and/or prior to awarding the prize(s) to validate the applicant entity’s representations and/or information provided in the Pitch Competition application or throughout the Pitch Competition, including conducting a background check on the entity and/or its founders.
Finalists are required to present in person at the Pitch Competition event, held at the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Innovation Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 22, 2026.
PITCH COMPETITION RULES
The Pitch Competition is subject to the Pitch Competition rules, which can be found here: full set of rules and AWS Cloud Computing Rules. The Pitch Competition rules are subject to change.
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Applications for the Pitch Competition must be submitted by eligible entities on or before 11:59PM east coast time on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
The Prize Pool
Total Prize: $1,500,000
- $1,000,000 in cloud compute credits powered by AWS
- $500,000 in investments
*Note: AWS Activate Credits: Prize winners will receive AWS Activate credits from a total pool of up to $1 million, with distribution amounts determined by AWS at its sole discretion. Credits are subject to , are non-transferable, and winners must meet program eligibility requirements including lifetime credit limits. Startups already enrolled in AWS Activate remain eligible to win, with previously received credits deducted from any award.
The total prize pool will be allocated among the winners of the competition. Prize allocations will be decided and disbursed directly by the prize sponsors.
The prize sponsors have committed to ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV to award and disburse the prizes directly to the winners (subject to the terms of the prize set by the prize sponsor for the relevant prize). ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV is not responsible for deciding or disbursing the prizes to the winners.
Other prizes may include:
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Access to premier Physical AI workspace at ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV’s Robotics Innovation Center, subject to availability and standard CMU terms
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Direct mentorship and advisory access to leading roboticists, AI researchers and applied-AI operators from Pittsburgh’s ecosystem
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Founder and team access to Pittsburgh’s sports culture, including season passes to Pittsburgh Steelers games for founders or key employees, subject to availability and team policies
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Warm introductions to league partners, healthcare systems, investors, and compute platforms operating in Pittsburgh
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Invitations to ecosystem events connecting sports, technology, and innovation leaders
LIMITATION
Participation in the Pitch Competition does not imply endorsement by ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV, the National Football League or any of the prize sponsors, including the Pittsburgh Steelers. All prizes are non-transferable and provided at the discretion of prize sponsors.
Sports Ecosystem Access
As part of the founder experience, winning companies may receive access to Pittsburgh’s professional sports ecosystem, which may include opportunities such as:
- Attendance benefits for founders or employees at select Pittsburgh Steelers games, subject to availability and applicable team policies
- Invitations to ecosystem events connecting sports, technology, and innovation leaders
Participation does not imply endorsement by the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League. All benefits are non-transferable and provided at the discretion of event partners.
WHERE ‘SERIOUS AI’ GETS BUILT: AMERICA’S MOST AFFORDABLE TECH CITY
Build with the best
Unmatched access to mentorship from the world’s leading roboticists and AI researchers at ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV—the global epicenter of robotics, autonomy, and real-world AI, and the birthplace of autonomous driving and embodied intelligence.
Deploy where it’s real
Direct access to the Robotics Innovation Center and Pittsburgh’s live deployment ecosystem—where founders test drones, train robots, simulate environments, integrate hardware and software, and move from prototype to field-ready faster than anywhere else.
Live where builders thrive
America’s most affordable major tech city—where founders can focus on building, not burning capital. A legendary sports town with real culture, great neighborhoods, and energy. Pittsburgh is livable, human, and built for people who want to stay.
Thank you to the sponsors who are making this event possible!
Hall of Fame Sponsors
Pro Bowl Sponsors
Thank you to our Swartz Center Patrons
