Michigan VC firm to award $50,000 in pitch competition, judged entirely by AI

Agent-First Startup Challenge winner judged by AI and announced at ClawCon Michigan 4/16 at the U of M; Michigan ClawCon biggest anywhere in the world.

This event allows us to rethink how startups communicate and how investors evaluate, because we believe Venture Capital itself is at an inflection point”

— Doug Neal

ANN ARBOR, MI, UNITED STATES, April 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- An Ann Arbor Venture Capital firm is putting up $50,000 in a competition for early-stage businesses, and the judges won't be human. eLab Ventures will host the “Agent-First Startup Challenge”, a first-of-its-kind startup competition for early-stage, agentic AI startups, judged live and entirely by AI.
The winner will be announced as part of the ClawCon event, taking place at the University of Michigan’s Crisler Center on April 16th, and will receive a $50,000 uncapped SAFE note.

Even the submission process for the Agent-First Startup Challenge is AI-native. Founders submit a .json package, a deck, and a short video via this link. To be eligible, submissions must come from AI startups that have raised less than $1M in capital, have less than $1M in ARR and be present at ClawCon on April 16.

The event is an opportunity to speak directly with the next generation of builders, especially about how they pitch their ideas to potential investors and how investors evaluate those businesses.

“The traditional pitch deck can’t keep up with the speed of innovation. So this event allows us to rethink how startups communicate and how investors evaluate, because we believe Venture Capital itself is at an inflection point,” said eLab Co-founder and Managing Director, Doug Neal.

ClawCon is a community event for enthusiasts of Open Claw, a free and open-source software platform which didn’t exist just six months ago. An AI-based virtual assistant, developed by vibe coder Peter Steinberger, it enables users to integrate multiple autonomous workflows across supported services and integrates with various large language models (LLMs), including Claude, DeepSeek, and OpenAI’s Chat GPT. Since launch it has racked up impressive numbers with 3.2m users and 46K GitHub stars, according to data cited by the community.

ClawCon Michigan has also racked up impressive numbers, with close to 2000 registrations; more than any other recent edition including those in Tokyo, Miami and New York.

“It is really quite something to see the local Ann Arbor and wider South East Michigan AI community come out in force for this event. It feels like a moment we’ll all remember, especially for anyone who ends up actively taking part with a demo of what they’re building,” said Daniel Feder, Senior Managing Director of Investments at the University of Michigan, which is helping organize the local edition of ClawCon.

The event also demonstrates an evolution from knowledge work towards the orchestration of systems of intelligence. “Any one who can master that will walk into companies not as employees, but as force multipliers,” said Neal. “Michigan and the Midwest are built for this moment; we don’t just invent, we operationalize, and that’s exactly what the AI era now demands,” he added.

eLab Agent-First Startup Challenge: https://submit.elabvc.com/clawcon-2026-04-16
ClawCon Michigan registration: https://luma.com/clawconmichigan

About eLab Ventures
eLab is an early-stage venture capital firm that believes in exceptional founding teams and that AI is the most transformative technology of our lifetime. We invest in companies where AI is the difference in creating market disruption. Founded in 2012 by Doug Neal, Paul Brown, and Bob Stefanski, eLab has invested in 28 companies, including Voxel51, MemryX, Cobalt, and Adrenaline Interactive.

About the University of Michigan Investment Office
The University of Michigan Investment Office manages the university’s long-term investment portfolio, including its endowment, one of the largest in the country. Established in 1999, the office is responsible for developing and executing investment strategy, asset allocation, and risk management practices designed to preserve and grow the real value of endowed funds over time. With assets exceeding $20 billion, the Investment Office generates sustainable distributions that fund student scholarships, faculty support, innovative programs, and life-saving research.

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