Samaritas Opens House of Innovation in Detroit

October 24, 2025

New collaborative incubator space connects tech start-ups to the nonprofit sector

DETROIT (October 23, 2025) – Samaritas, the 92-year-old statewide, nonprofit human services organization, announces the opening of the House of Innovation, a new hub inside the organization’s Detroit headquarters where entrepreneurs, technologists, and social service leaders come together to spark bold solutions to transform how care is delivered. The space is designed to welcome forward-thinking advocates, working together, to creatively transform pressing challenges into scalable, measurable solutions.

“Demand for the social safety net is rising while government funding has peaked and the nonprofit workforce is stretched thin,” said Dave Morin, President and CEO of Samaritas, who envisioned the House of Innovation after his career transition from 30 years as a serial entrepreneur and start-up advisor to his current role in the nonprofit sector. “As the complexity of issues our communities ask us to handle increases, the path to survival for nonprofits requires intense innovation. We want to be the hub of that intersection between social service and innovative approaches and tech.”

“This imbalance between rising demand and shrinking resources is unsustainable. Social services don’t just help individuals -they strengthen families, reduce ER visits, improve school attendance, and boost workforce participation. The ripple effects are real, measurable, and economically significant. We must help the social service sector transform to these new operating realities. That’s where innovation must step in,” Morin added. Companies inside the House of Innovation will work collaboratively to uncover underlying issues in the social services system and design and create solutions that could be scaled sector-wide.”

A caring caregiver assisting a senior woman with daily activities in a warm, supportive environment.

Samaritas will have two initial start-up partners inside the House of Innovation. One is MindsEmerge, which has developed a new early childhood program that features screen-free play for brain development, embedding artificial intelligence into an alphabet set crafted from maple wood, teaching early language and literacy skills. The other is Pype, a compliance platform that reduces paperwork for social services workers, automating the burdensome documentation process via AI-driven tools. Samaritas estimates 50 percent of the time of front-line social services workers is spent on “paperwork.”

“Startups and innovators should view social services not as charity, but as a massive, underserved market – worth more than $1.4 trillion and employing more than 12.5 million people, Morin added. “It’s ripe for disruption and ready to collaborate.”

While welcoming tech start-ups and system innovators into the House of Innovation, Samaritas will also become a member and have space at Michigan Central, Detroit’s magnet for the latest tech development. Embedding at Michigan Central opens Samaritas up to the innovation hub’s infrastructure and network, and the exchange of insights and potential partnerships that can be created there.

“The oxygen startups rely on is commercialization and customer acquisition. While corporations are often valuable partners, large community-facing organizations with balance sheets and desires to grow efficiencies are, as well. Samaritas is taking the lead in growing opportunities across the social sector for infusing technologies,” said Sean White, director of strategy at Michigan Central.

The House of Innovation is located at 8131 East Jefferson Avenue on the East Side of Detroit. To find out more or how a start-up company can participate, contact Dave Morin at dmorin@samaritas.org and Kelli Dobner at kdobn@samaritas.org.

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