Research-led companies will cornerstone the solutions to humanity's greatest problems. Foundry is how Blackbird helps PhD students, ECRs, and established researchers build them.
Foundry is an eight-week program for people at research institutions anywhere in the world to hone an ambitious frontier-tech startup idea. We run a highly selective cohort of ten teams annually. We give you $1k, a mentor from a top-tier frontier startup, and a powerful community so you can focus on taking that idea to the next level.
Our mentors, speakers, and facilitators are pulled from Blackbird's network of frontier-tech founders and senior operators, and top-tier venture investor network. We're fastidious about quality.The program culminates in a competition day, where a panel of judges and an audience of hundreds bestow a $5k cash prize upon a winning pitch.
Foundry has no equity component and no fee.
> Someone on your team is enrolled or employed at a university
> Someone on your team has a strong link (e.g. citizenship or a local postdoc) with Australia or New Zealand
> You have at least the beginning of a startup idea
Our two cohorts have raised millions from venture investors (including Possible, Outset, Investible, Galileo, and Blackbird), proceeded to specialised and world-class accelerators (including Startmate, Mass Robotics, and YCombinator), and---most importantly---are building incredible companies.
However, most of our participants stay on the academic path or move into a job in industry. There's no undue pressure---Foundry is about learning, networks, and ambition.
Foundry companies create a better future. We love hard tech: from full-stack mRNA therapeutics for brain diseases (Messenger Bio) and companion robots for loneliness (Andromeda), to long-range wireless energy transfer (Aquila) and whole-cell models for synthetic biology (Cell Bauhaus), to ML-enabled chemical diagnostics (Preview) and new error-correction paradigms for fault-tolerant quantum computing (Iceberg)---we haven't found an idea that fazes us.
"I cannot describe how beneficial Foundry has been for me. I learnt so much in 8 weeks and gained a network that I imagine will be beneficial well into the future! "
"It was above my expectations. I was expecting a few seminars with an opportunity to meet some VCs. I got much more."
"Foundry was super useful to us. [Our mentor] did a great job at validating/raising our ambitions and transmitting a lot of tacit knowledge that would've been hard to get otherwise."
"My mentor was outstanding...I cannot fault her. She gave me timely and honest feedback that was genuinely insightful. She has helped me a lot to properly orient myself with regard to the startup vs academia question."
Applications open 1 July and close 2 August 2024. Foundry 2024 will run from August 19 to October 11. Apply below!
Our mentors include Cibby Pulikkaseril (co-founder of Baraja), Elise Jenkins (co-founder of Opto Bio), Hon Weng Chong (founder of Cortical Labs), David Bell (co-founder of Remedy Robotics), and Nick Opie (co-founder of Synchron). Our speaker lineup’s even better---be ready for exclusive masterclasses with deep tech and science’s best.
Reality follows ambition. Foundry encourages you to identify the greatest impact you can have, and helps you chart a path to it. All you need is an idea. We're not fazed by long timelines and technical risk---we're as hungry as you are to solve the most important problems.
There's no one-size-fits-all approach to changing the world. Foundry covers the basics of business-building, but focuses on developing the skills and character you need to start a frontier tech company. You can choose where to go deeper.
Foundry is where we live out Blackbird's unique beliefs about scientist starting companies. We've written those beliefs down in our Manifesto. You can download it here.
There are high-potential founders in our research institutions. They can create and scale world-changing solutions in startups. The potential is in the future of these rare people, not their IP. Those who have the courage to found and build startups should be rewarded. They deserve to be supported from the very beginning with the full force of the best frontier technology founders, operators, and capital in the world.
You’ve stumbled on a search combination that doesn’t match any of our Foundation projects! May we suggest you reset your search or filter?
Foundry is aimed at researchers---scientists, engineers, inventors---who are curious about founding a startup and have the seed of a world-changing idea. That said, anyone can apply with a wild startup idea. One person on your team needs to be an Australian or Kiwi. You can be based anywhere in the world!
Our archetypical founding team is led by one to three PhD students or EMCRs, who are supported by their research supervisor/s, but we love being surprised!
Applications are simple. By August 2, fill in the written application (questions below). We'll be in contact within a week following the application deadline with next steps. If you're progressed, there'll be a short interview. Decisions are made within 10 days of applications closing.
The written application questions are:
Yes, absolutely! We review applications weekly and provide feedback then, and you’re welcome to resubmit. If you have any questions, you’re always welcome to email Clare at cbirch@blackbird.vc
The base time commitment for the Foundry program is:
1. 2 hours per week in seminar/Q&A;
2. 2 hours per fortnight for cohort dinner;
3. 1 hour per fortnight for mentor meetings.
4. 1-2 hours per week for side quests.
However, we subscribe to Nutrigrainism: you only get out what you put in. You are invited to dig in as deep as you would like.
We do not invest in Foundry companies automatically, but prior-cohort participants have raised venture rounds from international investors including Startmate, Possible Ventures, Investible, Outset Ventures, and---yes---Blackbird.
There’s no cost to participants or any organisations with which they’re affiliated.
We run a competition/pitch day at the end of the program. A panel of judges chooses the winning team, and the team wins a A$5k cash prize - no strings attached.
As a general rule, no - it’s not standard, and it shouldn’t be necessary. But if it’s a dealbreaker for you, email cbirch@blackbird.vc and let’s chat.
Email cbirch@blackbird.vc
