AWS & CMU Powering the Future of Sports: Draft Week Showcase

This month, America’s most promising prospects will gather in Pittsburgh to undergo a rigorous and highly competitive selection process. Chosen from hundreds, they will step into the spotlight to demonstrate their preparation, defend their potential, and compete for the opportunity to progress to the next level. The event will mark a defining moment, enabling participants to accelerate careers and gain recognition on a national stage.

The NFL Draft is coming to Pittsburgh. And so is the Draft Week Showcase.

Six finalists have been chosen from nearly 100 qualified applicants located in more than 10 tech hubs across the country. On April 22, all six startups will meet in Pittsburgh — a premier ecosystem for physical AI — to vie for a part of a $1.75 million prize pool, including up to $1 million in AWS cloud credits.

AI prospects go pro

Hosted by Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and AI Horizons, and in partnership with AWS, Powering the Future of Sports: Draft Week Showcase will bring together selected startups working at the intersection of AI, robotics, physical AI, and sports-adjacent applications including performance, training, safety, logistics, media, and fan engagement. The high-stakes pitch competition will include founder presentations of their innovations to industry leaders, including Mark Cuban, Ed Stack and leaders from AWS, the NFL and the Steelers. Successful startups will win big, but with a packed agenda and expert speakers, the Showcase isn’t solely focused on competition. It’ll grant attendees and founders greater recognition, wider access, and closer connections to a community building the next generation of AI technology.

“We are bringing together world-class technologists, industry leaders, and serious capital to spotlight the most promising companies at the intersection of AI, robotics, and sport in Pittsburgh, the beating heart of AI and robotics research and commercialization,” said Meredith Meyer Grelli, managing director and interim executive director, Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, Carnegie Mellon University.

Those promising companies are the following six startups:

Flowstate — AI agents that analyze live and file-based video to automate workflows across sports content, sponsorship, media operations, and fan-facing distribution. Mission: become the intelligence layer for video.

MyoVerse — A wearable neuromuscular sensing and AI analytics platform that transforms muscle activity into objective, real-time biomarkers for performance, rehabilitation and clinical decision-making.

Peachy Day — A migraine prevention app with predictive health tracking, coaching and neurologist-led care that can help to reduce pain, fast-track speed to care by years and fundamentally lower healthcare cost.

Perforated AI — Bringing a neuroscience breakthrough into live sports, powering faster, leaner, and more accurate AI that turns real-time player data into immediate injury risk signals, enabling intervention before small issues become season-ending injuries.

ServeSense — Hardware-software products for racket sport athletes, including a sensor that captures precise swing mechanics and feeds an AI coaching engine that delivers individualized feedback.

Sensi Fit — An all-in-one sports performance system with cutting-edge sensors that track game-like drills and provide coaches, athletes and parents with the most comprehensive and accurate athlete data to elevate their competitive edge.

Winning big

In addition to an investment prize, winning teams will receive an AWS Pittsburgh Landing Kit, designed to accelerate experimentation, deployment, and market engagement. The Kit will include US $1million in AWS Compute Credits to enable rapid prototyping, model training, simulation, and deployment. Winners will also receive investment and access to the new Carnegie Mellon Robotics Innovation Center.

The Showcase is about far more than final picks. Bringing together league leadership, global brands, investors, and CMU’s top technologists, it will be an opportunity to explore what’s next in AI innovation. The day will include fireside conversations on the future of AI in sport, panels exploring the rise of physical AI, and candid discussion between technology experts, journalists, AWS execs, and others. Founders and attendees alike will also get exclusive, hands-on access to CMU’s world-renowned robotics and cutting-edge technology.

Engineering competition

Infusing new talent into a league drives competition, and by equipping participants with tools and resources, the Showcase aims to foster innovation in the AI industry, while streamlining progress for the nation’s most creative inventors, dynamic developers, and visionary thinkers. This commitment reflects the broader mission of AWS, to power and support startup innovation at every stage, from early experimentation to worldwide scale.

Looking to go global, or simply searching for support to take your ideas to the next level? Startups can unlock up to US $100,000 in AWS Activate Credits through AWS Activate, a dedicated program supporting founders seeking to build, grow, and scale. Since its inception in 2013, AWS Activate has provided more than US $8 billion in credits to startups around the globe. AWS Activate also provides access to the AWS Startup Loft, exclusive offers, resources, go-to-market support, the latest cloud technologies, and more. Join AWS Activate today and discover how you can build faster, reduce costs, and better collaborate with the global startup community.