Ford Motor Company, JPMorganChase, the State of Michigan, Michigan Central, and NewLab on September 29, 2026, announced the Michigan Launchpad for Industrial Innovation & Transformation – Michigan LIFT, which is a public-private effort aimed at improving the level of competition and supply-chain durability of manufacturers, whilst fostering the growth of innovative suppliers scaling manufacturing in Michigan.
The platform transforms problems in manufacturing and the supply chain highlighted by industrial buyers into open calls for innovative suppliers who can provide solutions. Where a solution demonstrates a trustworthy path to adoption, Michigan LIFT assists in linking customer demand, financing, public resources, and workforce support, as well as commercialization services, to scale production.
According to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, “Michigan has always been a state that builds, and we’re going to keep leading the next generation of American industry,” said Gov. 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 ten years, the founding participants intend to use the platform to match customer demand, mobilize capital, and offer ecosystem assistance with respect to each participant’s standard qualification, sourcing as well as approval processes –
- As the anchor industrial buyer, Ford is looking to award as much as $1 billion in business to creative suppliers by means of opportunities advanced by Michigan LIFT, reflecting a similar focus on practical options for America’s industrial future highlighted at Ford’s ACCELERATE The Essential Economy conference.
- JPMorganChase, the founding capital provider, plans to make available as much as $1 billion of debt capital financing to Michigan LIFT suppliers on the platform as a component of its Security and Resiliency Initiative, a $1.5 trillion, 10-year effort to help, finance and make investments in industries which are critical to national security and financial resilience.
- The public-sector participant will be the Michigan Economic Development Corporation – MEDC that will leverage Michigan’s economic development tools and resources to promote innovation-driven companies with solid paths to commercial and industrial scale.
- Newlab will provide $20 million in-kind support to help high-growth companies translate industrial demand into commercialization opportunities and the operational capacity to implement the platform.
- Michigan Central, Newlab, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation aim to secure another 10-20 industrial buyers with more than $1 billion in yearly demand obligations by the end of 2036.
Innovative suppliers often have difficulty getting to or expanding production because steady demand from customers is uncertain, financing comes too late, there is a shortage of trained workers, the requirements for being a qualified supplier are complicated, and support is divided among several organizations. Michigan LIFT is meant to help break down those barriers and grow U.S. production of critical technologies, components, and capabilities.
Michigan LIFT was born from the Michigan Resiliency Summit, co-hosted by JPMorganChase and the State of Michigan in Detroit in June, where leaders from industry, finance, and government identified the practical barriers that keep promising companies and technologies from reaching production scale.
It is well to be noted that for more than a decade, Detroit has demonstrated what can be accomplished when business, government, and community leaders collaborate for the long term, said the Chairman and CEO of JPMorganChase, Jamie Dimon. He adds, “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 marks JPMorganChase’s continued established engagement in Detroit. The firm’s $200 million pledge to the city encompassed business and philanthropy investment, research, employee expertise, and partnership with local partners. Learnings from that work guided the firm’s approach in other communities and reinforced the value of combining capital with a long-term local partnership.
The fact is that Michigan is a great test ground because it has deep manufacturing, skilled workers, and an extensive supplier base, along with a growing innovation environment. The founders hope to take lessons learned in Michigan and apply them to similar efforts elsewhere.
Says Jim Farley, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, “Ford is America’s automaker, and we believe American manufacturing’s best days are ahead. 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.”
In conjunction with the platform launch, Ford Philanthropy and JPMorganChase announced a combined $550,000 in support of Focus-HOPE, a Detroit nonprofit that offers education and job training.
The grant will help bolster Focus-HOPE’s industrial manufacturing training program — teaching manufacturing skills, robotics and welding, and growing employer connections, career support for placement, and transportation support for trainees. It connects the innovation and manufacturing goals of the Michigan LIFT platform with the talent required to grow Michigan’s supplier base and support long-term industrial growth.
How Michigan LIFT will function
Michigan LIFT begins with priority manufacturing and supply chain issues or open calls identified by industrial buyers. These challenges will first focus on areas that align with Michigan’s industrial strengths and the priorities of JPMorganChase’s Security and Resiliency Initiative –
- Robotics as well as advanced manufacturing automation
- Semiconductors and battery storage, which include nuclear and advanced energy
- Mobility, aerospace, and propulsion as well as critical components that are advanced
- Mining, processing, and extraction of critical minerals
- Life science manufacturing comprising pharmaceutical precursors, sterile injectables, and medical isotopes, as well as precision medical equipment
Companies that can address these needs, including innovative suppliers looking to start or grow their production operations in Michigan, can submit their responses. Qualified applicants will be referred to the appropriate industrial buyer for review. Michigan LIFT will help coordinate potential financing, public resources, and industrialization support for those opportunities moving forward, subject to each participant’s standard eligibility requirements and approval procedures.