foundry is a student-run startup accelerator at carnegie mellon.
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we are fiercely focused on building community
for exceptional founders.
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founders we admit spend
30+ hours per week
building their company.
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we are founder-first.
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in our first eight months,
foundry-affiliated teams have raised
over $11 million
in pre-seed and seed venture capital.
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what foundry brings:
• $11M+ raised by foundry-affiliated teams in 8 months
• 40+ venture capital partners in our network
• 7 teams targeted for cohort 3
• 30+ hours per week per founder
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exceptional founders are a specific kind of person.
they have a clear thesis,
a working product or real revenue,
and the conviction to spend almost all their time on it.
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many drop out to pursue their company full-time.
we have admitted undergrads, phd students, and faculty.
two ways to engage.
the cohort. seven teams. cohort 3.cohort 3 will admit only seven teams. we keep the count low so the bar stays high and the community stays tight. selection is the whole game. no equity, no fees.
the community. vc fireside chats. fall 2026.in fall 2026 we will host a series of fireside chats with top-tier venture capital firms, in-person and virtual, open to anyone in the cmu community interested in startups.
who we look for.founders raising pre-seed capital, or already generating revenue and ready to take capital to accelerate. undergrads through phd students through faculty. very serious, very far along.
From the Notes
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FOUNDRY