Henry Ford Health & MSU Launch Innovation Hub Backed by $10M Venture Fund

The goal is to invest approximately $2 million annually in digital health, artificial intelligence, medical devices, diagnostics, and care delivery solutions over the next five years.

Henry Ford Health and Michigan State University Health Sciences have announced the formation of the Innovation Hub, a joint initiative designed to accelerate the commercialization of healthcare technologies through early-stage investments, clinical expertise, and startup support.

The Innovation Hub is a partnership between Henry Ford Innovations and the MSU Research Foundation.

The founding members, Henry Ford Health, Michigan State University, and the MSU Research Foundation, provided an initial $10 million fund.

The goal is to invest approximately $2 million annually in digital health, artificial intelligence, medical devices, diagnostics, and care delivery solutions over the next five years.

“This is so much more than investing in startups — we’re truly investing in the future of patient care,” said Bob Riney, president and CEO, Henry Ford Health. “The Innovation Hub represents a bold step toward transforming breakthrough ideas into real-world solutions that will shape our ecosystem's next era of medicine. Good health doesn’t just mean medicine and doctor’s appointments — it also means innovation, exploration, and discovery.”

The Innovation Hub has three core components:

• Clinical Expertise to support technology assessment and clinical trials

• Entrepreneurial Support through startup programming and mentorship

• Venture Investment via the newly established $10 million fund

Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., president of Michigan State University, said: “Bringing innovations to market is incredibly complex. It takes deep domain expertise, strategic partnerships, capital, and relentless execution to navigate the path from idea to impact. Our teams have long-standing track records of doing just that: turning promising innovations into market-ready solutions that improve lives and deliver real value.”

The collaboration is expected to launch and scale high-potential startups, support translation of clinical and academic ideas into practice, and foster public-private partnerships for validation and adoption. It also aims to build healthcare innovation infrastructure and contribute to Michigan’s life sciences economy.

Stay tuned for more such updates on Digital Health News