Venture capitalists from across Michigan attended the Ilitch School’s Venture Capital and the Future of AI keynote and panel discussion
On February 28, 2025 representatives from venture capital firms across Michigan came to the Mike Ilitch School of business to attend the Venture Capital and the Future of AI keynote address and panel discussion, hosted by the Ilitch School in partnership with the Michigan Venture Capital Association.
The event featured a networking session over breakfast, followed by a keynote speech from Doug Neal, Co-founder and Managing Director of eLab Ventures, a venture capital firm focusing on AI investments, with a presence in both Silicon Valley and Ann Arbor MI.
Neal spoke on the subject of the waves of AI evolution, the current status of the technology, and how this technology is intersecting with the world of venture capital, and the exponential speed at which AI is developing. He also discussed how the reduced cost of training AI agents will lead to an improved potential for venture capitalists to increase their productivity. AI will allow venture capitalists to perform better analytics in their roles on start ups, as well as contribute to faster VC market analyses.
Following the keynote address, Ara Topouzian, Executive Director of the Michigan Venture Capital Association, introduced and moderated the panel discussion. The panelists consisted of Jacqueline Lensing, an Investment Analyst with Grand Ventures, Kedar Tripathy, a Venture Associate with Innovation Partnerships, and Caroline Wolanin ‘22, an Investment Analyst with Plymouth Growth.
The event was organized by Professor Kevin Ketels, Director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program at the Ilitch School, and was presided over by Virginia Kleist, Dean of the Ilitch School.
“I was very pleased to see our students engage with industry experts in a discussion on the intersection of AI and venture capital,” said Kleist. “They showed up eager to learn, ask insightful questions, and explore how AI is shaping the investment landscape. I was also delighted by the strong presence of leading professionals, which speaks to the value of these discussions and the excellence of our programs. We are delighted to support our students in navigating the business world of AI and I am remarkably grateful to our speakers for sharing their expertise.”
To learn more about the Entrepreneurship and Innovation offerings at the Ilitch School, head to our website.
The Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business prepares students for challenging and rewarding careers, advances the boundaries of scholarly and practitioner knowledge, and enhances the economic vitality of the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan and beyond through its programs, research and community engagement. Established in 1946, the business school was renamed in 2015 in recognition of a $40 million gift from Mike and Marian Ilitch. Thanks to this lead investment, the school moved to a new state-of-the-art building in the heart of the District Detroit in 2018, and academic programming and collaboration with city businesses are expanding. For more information, visit ilitchbusiness.wayne.edu.