Sep 09, 2016
An Open Letter to Silicon Valley about the Benefits of Working with Michigan
Okay, Silicon Valley. Are you listening?
We may have the better part of the continental United States separating us, but we are about to get a lot closer.
Rumors of Michigan being stuck in the automotive past have been greatly exaggerated. We’ve literally transformed the space previously home to a General Motors Powertrain plant into the future American Center for Mobility at Willow Run: a world class autonomous and connected vehicle testing ground and development center. Still think we’re late to the self-driving party? Mcity, the 32 acre facility at the University of Michigan, opened in 2015 and is continuously booked solid for state-of-the-art research and testing.
The area is saturated with auto companies and is now burgeoning with tech start-ups. Pair that with the resurgence happening in Detroit and there’s no contest that this is the place to be.
We’ll sweeten the deal for you: United Airlines just made it even easier for you to get here with added non-stop flights between Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) starting in June.
In case you are still questioning coming out to the D, let us further clarify the trend happening here. “We are seeing increased development of autonomous vehicle applications expanding ties between Detroit’s automotive engineering base and the technology centers around San Francisco,” said Airport Authority Director of Air Service Development Joe Cambron. “This trend towards greater integration of technology and manufacturing is increasing the need for additional service between the Motor City and Silicon Valley.”
See that? Responsiveness to our needs. Just imagine what we can do when we stop high-fiving from afar and get our hands dirty together. There’s a lot that can be learned from each other. You may know us as a largely manufacturing area, but, according to Brookings, “over 32,000 professionals in the Detroit metro area are employed in the computer systems design sector alone — many of which feed into the larger automotive supply chain.
The EE Times points out three noteworthy startups that should be considered an inspiration to Silicon Valley when it comes to diversity:
- SPLT is a mobile carpooling app run by Anya Babbitt a graduate of TechStars Mobility, one of Detroit’s newer accelerators.
- NextEnergy is a nonprofit with labs and offices in downtown Detroit that supports work in a wide variety of areas from energy storage to power electronics. Since it was founded in 2002, it has attracted a whopping $1.5 billion in investments.
- Loveland Technologies aims to create a digital real estate map of America, starting with Detroit where the work aims to reduce tax foreclosures and urban blight. The local Wayne County Treasurer’s office has already embraced the service.
What are you waiting for? The time to get here is now. We’ll show you around, and it won’t take long for you to fall in love with our Midwestern lifestyle and work ethic.
