In celebration of our partners and the impactful work they do to expand economic opportunity, we interviewed several of our Nasdaq Foundation quarterly grant recipients to learn more about their roles, backgrounds, and the importance of their work. We spoke with Matt Dunne, founder and executive director of the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI), about their work to ensure rural America can lead in the innovation economy by creating tech-enabled ecosystems, connecting founders to capital through the CORI Innovation Fund, and equipping entrepreneurs with AI-powered tools to thrive in a rapidly evolving market.
Tell us about the Center on Rural Innovation. What is its core mission, and how does it empower economic opportunity in the communities you serve?
The Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) exists to ensure rural America can lead in the innovation economy. For decades, structural shifts like automation, industry loss, and limited access to capital have pushed rural communities to the margins of high-growth industries. We’re changing that trajectory by building tech-driven economic opportunities in small towns across the country, so people can build a future in the places they call home.
CORI partners with rural communities to develop thriving, tech-enabled ecosystems that support entrepreneurs, strengthen local talent pipelines, and foster inclusive economic growth. We focus on the 500 micropolitan regions nationwide (populations of 10,000–50,000) that also have a 4-year college within a 30 minute drive, helping local leaders deploy data-driven strategies, launch tech training and entrepreneurship programs, and connect founders to capital through the CORI Innovation Fund, our venture arm backing scalable rural startups. Our Rural Innovation Network, spanning 43 communities across 25 states, serves as a national community of practice where rural leaders learn together, share solutions, and accelerate progress. Together, our programs, research, and capital create a powerful model for unlocking innovation and economic opportunity in communities that have too often been overlooked.
Can you share a moment when you saw the impact of the Center on Rural Innovation come to life? What change did that moment help spark in terms of financial empowerment? One of the first moments we saw CORI’s mission come to life was during our inaugural national pitch competition, Small Towns, Big Ideas, five years ago. For the first time, founders from across rural America were on the same stage – sharing ideas, building connections, and proving that world-class innovation is not limited to major tech hubs. The winning team, Kall Morris, Inc. from Marquette, Michigan, embodied what’s possible when rural founders gain visibility, capital, and a supportive ecosystem. Focused on orbital debris research and solution development, the aerospace startup has since grown to 17 employees in downtown Marquette, raised pre-seed and seed funding, and secured contracts with NASA, the U.S. Space Force, and the U.S. Air Force. “The pitch event gave a vote of confidence to ourselves, and a signal to our supporters, that this dream of success in space wasn’t out-of-this-world,” said Morris, co-founder and CEO. “Without it, we couldn’t have executed on early goals or pursued some small capital opportunities, which in turn led to the following steps of ongoing success.”
That moment was a turning point – not only for Kall Morris, but for CORI’s strategy. It underscored how financial empowerment often begins with a modest but meaningful boost: early-stage capital, networks, mentorship, and validation that unlock the next set of opportunities. For every founder on that stage, we saw hundreds more with the talent and grit to build high-value companies if given similar conditions. Since then, demand from rural entrepreneurs has surged, our Rural Innovation Network has more than doubled, and the CORI Innovation Fund has expanded to invest in more founders. That first competition confirmed that when rural talent is empowered, it can reshape what innovation and economic mobility look like in America.
Your “AI Forward Studio” will equip rural tech entrepreneurs with AI-powered skills, mentorship, and startup education. What makes this program distinctive, and how do you anticipate the Nasdaq Foundation’s Quarterly Grant helping you measure and amplify its impact? AI Forward Studio is unlike traditional accelerators because it’s built specifically for rural founders and designed around one core idea: the best way to learn AI is to use it to solve real problems inside your business. Instead of abstract lessons or high-level overviews, founders spend 12 weeks building, testing, and implementing AI-powered features, workflows, or prototypes that advance their company right now. Every element of the studio– focused build sprints, mentor-led design sessions, and guided peer collaboration – is structured to help entrepreneurs move from concept to working prototype or applied AI process in a short, supported cycle. It’s a hands-on, build-first environment that reflects how rural founders actually operate: resourceful, time-bound, and ready to drive growth when given the right tools and community.
What makes the program distinctive is that it’s our first national studio designed for rural founders, all of whom are building companies far from major tech hubs. By convening founders from incubators and accelerators across the Rural Innovation Network, the studio breaks down the isolation rural founders often face and connects them to peers, mentors, and practitioners who understand both the constraints and the potential of rural innovation. Founders leave with a working AI application, new frameworks and use cases, and a national network they can continue to draw on.
The Nasdaq Foundation’s support directly powers both the program and our ability to understand and amplify its impact. This investment enables us to track how founders apply AI to strengthen their businesses, document practical use cases emerging from rural contexts, and elevate those stories so other rural entrepreneurs and funders can see what’s possible.
What’s one surprising insight or strategy your team has discovered that’s opened up new possibilities for the people you serve to grow their businesses and build more secure financial futures?
One of the most surprising insights shaping our work is how quickly rural founders are already embracing AI to push their ideas forward and accelerate progress within their small teams. We’ve seen this firsthand in our Small Towns, Big Ideas pitch competitions. In 2024, winner Catie McVey of CowTech Analytics – a herd evaluation startup using computer vision and AI to determine bovine genetic traits – shared that she is now “way ahead” of her product roadmap because AI allows her to accomplish in a single afternoon what once took weeks of coding. The 2025 competition showed an even sharper rise in startup quality, with every finalist incorporating AI into their products. The winning team, Authsnap, is leveraging AI to tackle the bureaucracy-laden medical claim denial process that costs health systems and patients billions each year.
This shift from learning about AI to using AI has opened new possibilities for financial resilience. By centering hands-on building, such as automating an operational bottleneck, testing a new product concept, or streamlining a recurring workflow, founders quickly see how AI can reduce costs, expand capacity, and create more stable revenue. Those tangible wins matter, especially for solo or small teams balancing multiple roles. This learning now guides the design of AI Forward Studio, creating a clearer pathway to long-term stability and growth, one practical, applied step at a time.
What lasting impact do you hope the Center on Rural Innovation will help shape in the communities you serve?
Our north star is a more inclusive and resilient tech economy—one where rural people are not just connected to the digital world, but competitive and leading in it. Today, most micropolitan communities like those in the Rural Innovation Network have world class broadband access. Now, as AI transforms how businesses operate, our work is about helping rural regions move from connected to competitive by building the capabilities, ecosystems, and capital access that allow communities to thrive in a tech-driven economy.
Looking ahead, we believe our lasting impact will be measured by whether rural communities have the data, tools, and community capacity to chart their own economic futures. That includes building local incubator programs, tech workforce training opportunities, and innovation “hubs” that provide the places to build in person technologist and innovator communities. The work also includes helping local leaders use robust research and actionable data to make informed decisions about workforce, entrepreneurship, and long-term strategy, and doing so through the Rural Innovation Network, a national community of practice that breaks down isolation and accelerates shared learning. Ultimately, we envision a future where rural communities are seen as essential drivers of innovation, and where the national narrative reflects what we see every day: ingenuity, talent, and creativity are alive and thriving in small towns across America. An inclusive tech economy is only possible when rural communities are centered in the story, and CORI’s role is to ensure they have the tools, connections, and opportunities to lead.