Jill Ford

Jill Ford is an independent investor who is passionate about enabling people and transforming communities. She brings a wealth of experience as a venture capitalist, economic development leader, corporate business development executive, strategist, and closer.

As Toyota AI Ventures’ Principal and first hire, Jill focused on discovering investment opportunities in autonomous mobility, robotics, AI, and data and cloud, as well as on working closely with TAIV’s portfolio companies.

Jill joined Toyota AI Ventures from Mayor Duggan’s team at the City of Detroit, where she served as the Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This role was created for Jill in 2014 after a visit to Detroit as a relatively new angel investor considering investment opportunities led to a meeting with Mayor Duggan.

In Detroit, Jill attracted and grew startups and small businesses by engaging directly with entrepreneurs, uncovering gaps in Detroit’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, and working with public and private sector partners to create programs, such as the Motor City Match, to fill these gaps.