Programs & Initiatives
Access to Startups, Tech, Research, and Investment - ASTRI - is a window into Pittsburgh's innovation ecosystem - find the startups and cutting-edge research powering the future.
Avenu Workspace, a collection of workspaces in the Pittsburgh Innovation District offering flexible co-working, private office and full building workspace. Since its founding as StartUptown in 2012, Avenu has hosted some of the region’s most recognizable and successful startups.
Pittsburgh Innovation District is Pittsburgh’s calling card in a hyper-competitive global economy. The region’s innovation strength is defined by world-leading research & development at the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and UPMC. The direct proximity, and historic collaboration, of these institutions creates one of the best naturally-occurring innovation districts in the world.
Founded by InnovatePGH, Jewish Family and Community Services, local universities, and philanthropic partners, the Innovation District Skills Alliance creates career pathways for high-barrier residents from neighborhoods surrounding Oakland, such as the Hill District, Hazelwood, and Homewood, to support inclusive growth of the Pittsburgh Innovation District. By training participants directly in the skills needed for a selected position and providing them with supportive services, graduates of this program are connected with lucrative positions within local universities and companies. Uniting job-seekers to employment within the academic institutions can provide participants family-sustaining wages, full benefits, and union opportunities. To learn more or apply for the next cohort, click here!
Expanded Pathways to Entreprenurship
The PEER Fellowship is a 9.5-month fellowship program designed to provide innovative entrepreneurs who specialize in robotics and automation with the resources needed to advance their ideas and solutions. PEER will equip talented and promising entrepreneurs with the tools, resources, and learning opportunities needed to upskill while also providing financial resources and opportunities to build relationships within the sector and grow their network.
Training and Market Access for Entrepreneurs (TMACE) connects local MWDBE, veteran owned and rural small businesses with contracting opportunities in the robotics, automation, and AI industries. TMACE works with companies in these target industries to understand their supply needs, and then identifies diverse, local small businesses that are ready for these contracting opportunities.