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University of Michigan Innovation Partnerships
University of Michigan Innovation Partnerships
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University of Michigan Accelerate Blue Fund and Michigan University Innovation Capital Fund Invest in Olympian’s Venture to Unlock Tactile Intelligence

4/10/2026

As the 2026 Winter Olympics came to a close, an Olympian reached a different kind of vital milestone: raising $4 million in seed funding for his nascent sportstech startup, GripFusion, Inc. The University of Michigan sportstech startup received $500K in investment from the Accelerate Blue Fund and the Michigan University Innovation Capital Fund.

Mason Ferlic is an Olympian (Tokyo 2020; track & field, 3000m Steeplechase), aerospace engineer (BS/MSE from U-M College of Engineering, 2016),  NCAA National Champion for the Wolverines and PhD candidate in Statistics, also at U-M.

And, in the past few years, he’s added the title of tech CEO to his roster.

Ferlic and former professional MLB pitcher Michael Freehill, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of the Shoulder & Elbow Service at Stanford University Sports Medicine, Head Team Physician for the Athletics Major League Organization, team physician for Stanford Baseball and former Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Michigan, co-founded GripFusion in 2023.

While working together at U-M, the two became dedicated to solving the throwing injury crisis in baseball.

“The smartest ball ever built.”

GripFusion’s inaugural product, the Forceball, is built on unique sensor architecture, developed at U-M, designed specifically for curved surfaces — perfect for the inside of a baseball. Identical to a regular leather baseball on the outside, peel open the Forceball and you’ll encounter a miniature disco ball composed of 688 pressure sensors.  

These embedded sensors map precise finger pressure, providing instant kinetic feedback on pitch outcomes via machine learning analytics. It’s the only technology on the market that measures the “inputs” that influence ball command and performance: finger placement, pressure, release timing and other grip mechanics. Current tools focus primarily on what happens after the ball leaves the hand (the “outputs”), which is  only half of the equation.

“Early on in research, our original prototype was literally just a baseball with hundreds of wires snaking out of it,” said Ferlic.

Now, GripFusion has developed its sleek successor in the Forceball, which is currently in field trials.

“Support from the University of Michigan and Innovation Partnerships has been instrumental in getting us over the finish line in this foundational round of funding, so that we have the resources to remain on the bleeding edge of sensor technology, hire more people and expand manufacturing capabilities,” Ferlic added.

Supporting startups from pre-seed to acquisition

eLab Ventures led the $4 million seed round, with the Michigan Investment in New Technology Startups fund (MINTS, overseen by the U-M Investment Office) contributing $500K and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)-supported Accelerate Blue Fund and Michigan University Innovation Capital Fund contributing $250K each. Key regional investors  Ann Arbor SPARK Capital, Detroit Venture Partners, InvestDetroit Ventures and the Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund also participated. 

“GripFusion shows what is possible when we invest at the right moment to move university innovations from discovery to impact and support founders in building and scaling their companies in Michigan,” said Kelly Sexton, associate vice president for research – innovation partnerships and economic impact.

After receiving in-state funds, GripFusion plans to partner with Michigan manufacturers for the hardware components of the Forceball, as well as establish a Midwest assembly network.  

In the longer term, Ferlic and Freehill aim to apply their sensor technology to other sports where a similar “input” information gap exists, like softball, cricket, golf, tennis, football and soccer.

“I am most excited about the expansion of the GripFusion platform–building category defining sports technology that sits at the intersection of novel hardware, proprietary data and advanced AI-powered insights to transform athlete performance and health,” said Ferlic.