-The 2026 JVC was the 4th Annual Pitch Event hosted by Chang Robotics, with the Chang Robotics Fund as lead investor-
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Chang Robotics, a national leader in advanced automation and robotics engineering, today announced the results of the fourth annual Jacksonville Venture Competition (JVC). Matthew Chang, founder and PE of Chang Robotics served as host of the 2026 event. Chang Robotics Fund was the lead investor.
2026 judges included the following industry and entrepreneurial leaders:
- Summer Vyne – Founder and CEO of Anuvision Technologies
- Randall Thomas – Chief of Strategy at The Link
- Forrest Hayes – Fund Director at Chang Robotics Fund
- Jim Stallings – CEO of PS27 Ventures
- Dr. Charles Bruce – Chief Innovation Officer at Mayo Clinic
This year’s competitors included
- Aurumn — Sit Hein
A Jacksonville-designed everyday carry tool that packs a light, blade, magnetic mount, and emergency SOS alert into one pocket-sized device. - Acorn — Brian Keith
An AI chief of staff for founders that lives in Slack and runs on your own server instead of someone else’s cloud. - ChainMail — Jesse Benedick
Hurricane and flood coverage that pays out in minutes instead of months, using sensor data and automated contracts to close the deductible gap. - RACOS — Joey Frisco
AI that reads construction drawings and specs and turns them into defensible scopes of work, cutting weeks out of preconstruction. - Optitrade — Chirag and Jigisha Rana
Options analytics that runs several AI analysts over the same trade and synthesizes their reads into a single view. - FreightScout — Connor Miller
An operating system for freight brokerages that researches accounts, prices the book, and runs every load from build to billing. Live on more than 140,000 loads.
And the winner is…
JVC 2026’s winner is Connor Miller and FreightScout, an AI operating system for freight brokerages, which won both the judges’ award and the crowd favorite award. A 12-year freight operator, Miller built the platform for $40,000. The system is now live and in production at a mid-market brokerage running roughly 3,000 shipments a month. As the competition’s winner, the company is now entering due diligence for investment from the Chang Robotics Fund.
“I spent twelve years running freight before I ever wrote a line of software,” Miller said. “FreightScout is the tool I always wanted on the floor and could never buy. Standing in a room full of Jacksonville builders and watching both awards go to that tool told me the problem is exactly as real as I thought it was.”
“We will enter full production with our founding customer in September,” Miller continued. “Having Matthew and the Chang Robotics team behind us makes Jacksonville feel like the right place to be.”
Matthew Chang noted, as he has at prior events, that although there’s only one official winner at the competition, many participants will receive funding from the audience as well and will make impactful connections during the event.
“We’ve loved the opportunity to invest in Jacksonville’s rich entrepreneurial culture through these annual events,” Chang noted. “We love spending the time and focus on these participants through networking and mentoring, and with the Chang Robotics Fund we’ve loved the opportunity to participate as investors as well.”
About Chang Robotics
Chang Robotics is an engineering firm at the forefront of advanced manufacturing, collaborative robotics, and disruptive automation. Founded in 2017, Chang Robotics has rapidly grown, delivering innovative, data-driven solutions, including some of the world’s largest autonomous systems. Recognized as one of Fast Company’s 2024 Best Workplaces for Innovators, and one of Inc.’s Best in Business, the company revolutionizes supply chain automation and enhances workforce productivity through human-focused robotics. With a commitment to sustainability and cutting-edge technology, Chang Robotics empowers businesses across manufacturing, government, healthcare, and beyond.
To learn more or connect with us, email [email protected], visit www.ChangRobotics.ai, and follow us on LinkedIn.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
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