How it works
- Apply | applications open July 1. If selected, you join up to 50 teams in Gate 1.
- Gate 1 | Explore the opportunity: 3 months of workshops, EIR coaching, and IP office hours to pressure-test whether a real venture opportunity exists. You work on customer discovery, market need, commercialization logic, and team dynamics. Up to 50 teams.
- Gate 2 | Execute & validate: the model shifts from exploration to execution. With a first non-dilutive grant, you run a real Proof-of-Concept, often with an industrial partner, supported by 1:1 EIR coaching, vertical mentorship, and IP/legal/VC clinics. Up to 25 teams.
- Gate 3 | Venture readiness: targeted mentor support, investor matchmaking, and an additional non-dilutive grant to get you to Demo Day, where ventures pitch to investors and industry partners. Up to 10 teams.
Who it is for
Teams of researchers, founders, and operators (students, alumni, staff, or faculty from Politecnico di Milano or Bocconi University) who believe their science could become something more, and are ready to test that belief. Applicants across all deep tech verticals are welcomed. What matters is solid science with a defensible edge, founder ambition, and the willingness to engage with the realities of building a venture: customers, capital, partners, and trade-offs. To apply, you need at least two team members, with at least one affiliated with either university, and a technology grounded in research or early validation.
Applications
Applications will officially open on July 1st.