(Photo: CMU)
Pittsburgh, PA — May 22, 2025
Carnegie Mellon University has just wrapped up what is believed to be the first National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I‑Corps) regional cohort in the United States focused specifically on artificial intelligence and robotics, a program designed to help researchers and early‑stage teams better understand the commercial potential of their technologies.
The AI & Robotics I‑Corps cohort, hosted by CMU’s Project Olympus in partnership with the NSF I‑Corps Mid‑Atlantic Hub, brought together 25 research‑based teams from universities including Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Sessions were held virtually throughout April 2025, with participants engaging in customer discovery interviews, business model development, and guidance from experienced entrepreneurs and investors. The program aims to help teams move beyond academic research to understand real market needs and potential customer bases.
“The cohort was the first NSF I‑Corps program in the country to focus specifically on AI and robotics,” said Meredith Meyer Grelli, director of Project Olympus and assistant dean of entrepreneurship initiatives at CMU’s School of Computer Science. “Teams worked intensively on customer discovery with mentors and experts in the fields to bring their ideas closer to product–market fit.”
Projects spanned a wide range of technologies and applications, from AI‑based solutions to robotics platforms, and included teams working on autonomous robots, assistive technologies, and systems that rely on machine learning and advanced sensing.
Participation in an I‑Corps regional cohort can also make teams eligible for the national I‑Corps Teams program, through which they may receive grants to continue customer discovery and move more directly toward commercialization.
The NSF I‑Corps program — established in 2011 — has been a key mechanism for helping U.S. researchers assess the commercial viability of their work. By applying it specifically to AI and robotics, Carnegie Mellon and its regional partners are pushing forward new pathways to help North American research spin out technologies with real economic and societal impact.