Today at the Power of Leadership luncheon sponsored by Alabama Power, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced America Online (AOL) co-founder Steve Case chose the Magic City as one of the cities on his upcoming Rise of the Rest 7.0 bus tour.

Birmingham is one of only five cities around the nation named on the tour.

During the tour, Case will be looking to invest $100,000 in a local startup, meet with Birmingham investors, startup founders, accelerators, incubators and businesses.

“Steve Case knows that cities like Birmingham are the beginning of a new era for entrepreneurship across the U.S. I look forward to welcoming Steve this summer and showing him, firsthand, why our city is the national destination for entrepreneurs, innovators and startups,’’ said Mayor Randall Woodfin said. “Our city is leading the way, encouraging new technology development in sectors that will change the way we live and work.’’

As part of the tour, a local pitch competition will be held on May 9 in Birmingham featuring local startups competing for the $100,000 investment from Rise of the Rest Seed Fund.

“We are thrilled that our startups will have this opportunity,” Mayor Woodfin said. “I invite startups across Birmingham to submit their application for the grand prize.”

To apply for the pitch competition, please visit this link: https://riseoftherest.submittable.com/submit. The deadline to apply is March 20. Eight to 10 finalists will be selected.

In its fourth year, the Rise of the Rest bus tour is a nationwide effort powered by Revolution, a Washington, D.C.-based investment firm. The effort was created to showcase founders in emerging startup ecosystems across the U.S.

Since the tour launched, Case and his team have traveled more than 8,000 miles on a bus to visit 33 cities and invest in local startups. To learn more about the program, please visit this link – https://www.events.revolution.com