Motor City’s New Brain: How Apple is Teaching US Factories to Speak AI
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Apple shared a newsroom update this morning showcasing how its new Detroit-based Manufacturing Academy is fulfilling its promise to bring AI to American factories.
The new facility opened in August 2025 as a result of Apple’s plans to invest half a trillion dollars in the US, and while that’s only a small part of the company’s commitment to US manufacturing, the Apple Manufacturing Academy in Motor City aimed to help empower small- and medium-sized businesses to streamline their processes through AI and smart manufacturing techniques through free in-person and online courses.
The Apple-sponsored Academy operates in partnership with Michigan State University (MSU). In addition to specific courses, Apple is also making company engineers available for consultations with US companies to help them improve their supply chains.
Today, Apple held an inaugural Spring Forum for the Academy in East Lansing, Michigan, where US manufacturers, industry leaders, and academics from MSU came together to spotlight how American businesses are actually putting the Academy’s curriculum into practice to transform their operations.
As one example, Apple highlights Michigan-based Block Imaging, which services and refurbishes medical equipment such as CT scanners and MRI machines. The manufacturer invited attendees to tour its facility and see firsthand how it has been able to apply learnings from the program “to modernize its operations and improve efficiency on the factory floor.”
“We were proud to host attendees from the Spring Forum at our facility and share what we’ve been building here,” said Katie Runyon, Block Imaging’s director of Technical Training. “The Apple Manufacturing Academy has had a direct impact on how we operate. The training we’ve received from Apple engineers and Michigan State experts has given our team practical tools and techniques we’ve been able to apply immediately on the floor, improving the way we work and the quality of what we deliver to healthcare providers. We keep coming back because the program continues to push us forward.”
Participants in the Spring Forum also toured three other facilities, including the MSU Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, Peckham, and the MSU Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center, and heard speakers from McKinsey, Magna, LightGuide, Medtronic, and other industry leaders talk about how to incorporate AI into manufacturing at scale.
“We created the Apple Manufacturing Academy with Michigan State because we wanted to bring advanced manufacturing techniques to American manufacturers,” Priya Balasubramaniam, Apple’s vice president of Product Operations, told attendees during the forum. “Our goal was to create real-world applications that help companies enhance their productivity and efficiency. We’re very excited about Block Imaging and other participating companies that are now making use of what they’re learning in the academy to deliver great results.”
A highlight of the forum was a fireside chat between Balasubramaniam and MSU president Kevin M. Guskiewicz, where the two discussed the ways in which AI is transforming manufacturing and why the partnership between Apple and Michigan State is critical to preparing a new era in American manufacturing by teaching both current and future workers “the skills needed to thrive in an Al-enabled economy.”
The Apple Manufacturing Academy is the only institution of its kind in North America, and is open to businesses nationwide. Apple notes that it’s already supported more than 150 American businesses to date through free in-person training sessions, and hopes to expand that to even more companies through its recently-launched virtual programming.
