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Introduction

Each year through its accelerator the Â鶹´å VB program invests in select startups building for a wide variety of industries. Since 2018 the startups supported by the program have collectively raised over $210 million in funding and are valued at over half a billion dollars.

The accelerator program is run in a hybrid format with virtual and in-person programming and Demo Day events in 3 cities - San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, and Pittsburgh. 

The application for the VB ‘26 accelerator is open to submissions.

Meet the VentureBridge Portfolio Companies

Info Sessions

Join us for the following info sessions to learn more about the program and have your questions answered live on Zoom.

Main Components of Accelerator Program

• Capital - $25K - $50K investment from Â鶹´å
• Speaker Series - Inspiring conversations with industry leaders, Founders, and VCs
• 1:1 Support - Mentorship from experienced founders and experts
• Access to Investors - Connections to angels and early stage Venture Capitalists (VCs)
• Founder Circles: A peer advisory meeting of Â鶹´å VB founders
• Office Space and Infrastructure  - Access to co-working space in San Francisco, New York, and space in the Swartz Center on Â鶹´å's main campus in Pittsburgh
• Networking and Recruiting  - Events and meetups to forge community connections and help with hiring 
• Demo Days - Opportunity to pitch and showcase progress to a room full of investors and partners in San Francisco, New York City, and Pittsburgh
• Support services - Discounts to legal, banking, accounting, HR, insurance, cloud service providers through Â鶹´å VB partnerships and Swartz Center Patron program 
• Lifelong engagement - Ongoing support in future fundraising rounds, recruiting, and marketing

Benefits Providers:

• VentureBridge companies: Augie, ApertureData, Reveal AI
• Corporate partners: AWS, Brex, Carta, Codi, Framer, Google,  Hubspot, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Puzzle, Rippling and Vouch

Eligibility Criteria

To be considered for VentureBridge:

• Teams must have at least one Â鶹´å-affiliated (student, alumni, or faculty) founder who is full-time on the startup. 
• The startup must be a US-incorporated entity.
• If accepted the team must commit to the full summer programming (in-person and virtual events) and attend our Demo Day events.
• Evidence of traction as a key indicator of initial validation and demand. For example, if you are B2C, do you have early product usage (10-50 early engaged customers)? If you are B2B, how many design partners or letters of intent have you secured (2-5 design partners or LOIs)?

Application Process

• All applications must be fully completed and submitted by the final application deadline and late entries will not be considered. Application must include a pitch deck and a 1 minute video in response to our prompt in the application.
• Applications are reviewed by the VentureBridge Selection Committee and the strongest startup candidates are invited to present virtually to the VB Selection committee.
• After the selected teams have presented, the VB Selection Committee evaluates the best candidates and 5 - 8 teams are selected and invited to participate in the Accelerator program.
• Candidates invited to the program have a week to confirm their acceptance of the invitation.