TechTown, Wayne State University’s research and technology park, was born in 2003 when a trio of dynamic Detroit organizations convened to create an engine of economic growth with a statewide impact. In the years since its inception, TechTown has become the epicenter of high-technology business creation in Detroit and is poised to become a critical source of job growth in the state.

With the continued support of Wayne State University, General Motors and the Henry Ford Health System, the 12-block park has developed tremendously since its founding. TechOne, the 100,000-square-foot business incubator facility, has been mostly renovated and now hosts more than 40 growing companies.

TechTown has enrolled more than 20 high-tech startups in its business incubator programs. In 2005 NextEnergy, an alternative energy incubator founded to encourage the commercialization of emerging energy technologies, opened its $12 million research facility in TechTown. Asterand, a biomaterials bank and TechTown’s first tenant, has become an international, publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange.

The First Friday at TechTown—come to TechTown the first Friday of each month at 4:00 p.m. for networking with entrepreneurs, great free food and engaging speakers.