Apple Manufacturing Academy accelerates AI use in U.S. supply chains

UPDATE May 5, 2026 Apple Manufacturing Academy brings together hundreds of U.S. manufacturers to accelerate AI use in American supply chains .image-4476865885ab003e9d67e7f21322deba { width: 100%; padding-top: 66.63265%; height: auto; } @media only screen and (max-width: 1068px) { .image-4476865885ab003e9d67e7f21322deba { width: 100%; padding-top: 66.6185%; height: auto; } } @media only screen and (max-width: 734px) { .image-4476865885ab003e9d67e7f21322deba { width: 100%; padding-top: 66.58653%; height: auto; } } Block Imaging, an Apple Manufacturing Academy participant, hosts forum attendees at its facility for an interactive tour where they can see firsthand how the company has applied learnings from the program. The Apple Manufacturing Academy hosted hundreds of manufacturers at its inaugural Spring Forum in East Lansing, Michigan. The academy’s largest event to date brought together U.S. manufacturers, industry leaders, and academics at Michigan State University (MSU) and put a spotlight on one of the program’s most tangible results: how American businesses are using what they’ve learned at the Apple Manufacturing Academy to transform their operations. At Block Imaging — a Michigan-based company that services and refurbishes medical imaging equipment, including CT scanners and MRI machines that keep healthcare providers running across the country — that transformation is already underway. An Apple Manufacturing Academy participant, Block Imaging hosted forum attendees at its facility for an interactive tour where they could see firsthand how the company has applied learnings from the program to modernize its operations and improve efficiency on the factory floor. “We created the Apple Manufacturing Academy with Michigan State because we wanted to bring advanced manufacturing techniques to American manufacturers,” Priya Balasubramaniam, Apple’s vice president of Product Operations, told attendees during the forum. “Our goal was to create real-world applications th...