{"id":100702,"date":"2025-08-22T01:29:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T01:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/100702\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T01:29:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T01:29:06","slug":"apple-wants-to-help-small-businesses-innovate-as-a-part-of-its-500b-us-investment-pledge-and-its-starting-with-detroit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/100702\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Wants To Help Small Businesses Innovate As A Part Of Its $500B US Investment Pledge, And It\u2019s Starting With Detroit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apple officially opened the Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit, a new initiative designed to help small and mid-sized businesses adopt advanced manufacturing technologies. According to<\/a> a news release, the academy is part of Apple\u2019s larger mission to invest more than $500 billion in the U.S. economy over the next four years, continuing its commitment to American manufacturing and innovation.<\/p>\n

Developed in partnership with Michigan State University (MSU), the Detroit facility offers free programming that includes in-person workshops and consulting services. Virtual programming is scheduled to launch later in 2025, according to the release. The goal is to provide companies with tools to integrate AI, automation,<\/a> and data-driven manufacturing into their operations. Training sessions cover topics such as machine learning, process optimization, and leveraging digital technologies to improve efficiency and product quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cAutomation, robotics and artificial intelligence are more common in a lot of the larger companies where they have experts for these specific concepts,\u201d Jaime Herrera, Apple\u2019s director of product operations, told<\/a> The Detroit News in an interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd small and medium-sized businesses will need to start implementing those in order to continue to grow,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Herrera further added, \u201cIf we start talking to small and medium-sized businesses, we can start to help them and make sure they don\u2019t have the barrier of thinking, \u2018There\u2019s no way I could do this,\u2019 or \u2018It\u2019s going to be too expensive,\u2019 or \u2018I don\u2019t have the experts.\u2019 We want to try to break that by making it accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herrera also said that business owners<\/a> are encouraged to bring specific challenges to the program, where Apple engineers and MSU experts work with them to develop tailored solutions. For entrepreneurs like Larry Crockett, founder of Lorraine\u2019s Premium BBQ Sauce, the first sessions have already had an impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned so much,\u201d Crockett told The Detroit News after attending two days of programming.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just appreciate Apple making this platform, and it\u2019s just my luck it\u2019s located in Detroit,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Detroit\u2019s deep history in manufacturing made it a natural choice for the new program, according to MSU Academy Director Sarah Gretter.<\/p>\n

\u201cDetroit is the prime location for honoring the history around manufacturing, so it made a lot of sense to do this here \u2026 Manufacturing is part of the fabric of the state,\u201d Gretter said to The Detroit News.<\/p>\n

The Apple Manufacturing Academy builds on Apple\u2019s 2021 launch of the Apple Developer Academy, also in partnership with MSU, which provides training in coding, design and entrepreneurship, AFROTECH\u2122<\/a> previously reported.<\/p>\n

Both initiatives reflect Apple\u2019s long-term commitment to supporting U.S. businesses and strengthening supply chains.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to welcome companies from across the country to the Apple Manufacturing Academy,\u201d Apple Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan said<\/a> in the news release announcing the launch. \u201cApple works with suppliers in all 50 states because we know advanced manufacturing is vital to American innovation and leadership. With this new programming, we\u2019re excited to help more businesses implement smart manufacturing and unlock new opportunities for their companies and our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the program expands, Apple and MSU plan to roll out virtual training opportunities to make the academy accessible nationwide. Business owners can register for courses and consultations at manufacturingacademy.msu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple officially opened the Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit, a new initiative designed to help small and mid-sized…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[28,158],"class_list":{"0":"post-100702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneurship","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-entrepreneurship"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}