David Bloom

Executive Director, Pointe Angels

Serial entrepreneur, Angel investor, coach, and professor, David exited his last startup - a pathology AI for reading microscope slides - in 2019. As Pointe Angels' Executive Director, David is responsible for membership, venture relations, and dealflow for an early-stage investment club in Grosse Pointe.

Tanyella Leta

Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer, Maka Media

Repeat founder, product innovator, and child development strategist, Tanyella co-founded an edtech platform reaching over 15 million children globally, before launching her most recent Michigan-based startup, Maka Media. At Maka, she leads research and product, combining developmental science and AI to build healthier media experiences for kids. A Harvard-trained education expert, she’s passionate about reimagining children’s technology for human flourishing.

Eric Schwartz

Professor & Co-Founder, BlueConduit

Bio to come soon!

Craig Tucker

Founder & CEO, VERN AI

Craig M. Tucker is the creator of VERN AI and AI Humans, technologies that bring emotional intelligence to human–machine interaction. A communications and neuroscience specialist with graduate and doctoral work from Michigan State University, he has led VERN AI to achieve industry-leading accuracy in recognizing human emotions. His work bridges empathy and AI, redefining how businesses, mental-health platforms, and virtual assistants understand and respond to people.

Detroit Startup Data-Driven Products

This 45-minute panel will describe how Michigan startups develop and commercialize innovative data-driven products and services.