Turning AI innovation into impact

Who is this support for:

We support early-stage AI startups with strong technical foundations and clear commercial potential. To be eligible, projects must meet all of the following criteria:

• You are building a startup, not an exploratory research project. 
• You can describe the market, the customer, and a credible path to first revenue or real market traction. We prioritize commercial opportunity over purely technical exploration. 

• Speed matters. The program is short and fast-paced. Priority goes to projects that can demonstrably accelerate toward go-to-market within six months. 

• Not yet incorporated. The project must not be a registered company (no Sàrl, SA, or equivalent) or affiliated to an existing company (R&D, spinoff,…). The AI Track supports projects before incorporation. 

• EPFL-affiliated or a recent alum. At least one founder must be currently affiliated with EPFL (researcher, PhD, or postdoc) or an EPFL Master’s alum who graduated or Master’s student graduate by end of August 2026.
  • For Format A, having a host lab is expected;
  • Format B is for EPFL Master’s alumni who graduated or students who will graduate by end of August 2026. {Please note that Bachelor students, and Master’s students not graduating by end of August 2026, will not be considered.}
• Beyond the idea stage. You have a working prototype. 
• Commercially focused. You are testing the use case and collecting feedback from potential users, clients, or partners. You may not have traction yet, but you are moving quickly toward it.
• AI is at the core of your innovation. Your project advances AI technologies (new algorithms, embedded AI systems, model efficiency, or optimization) or relies on AI as a core enabler. Projects using existing AI tools are eligible only if they show first signs of market validation. 
• Your team is ready to execute fast. You have the technical and operational capacity to move the project forward over the next 6 months.