One intense week. Meet world-class founders and immerse yourself in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Summer 2026 | Applications open April 2026
Join the WaitlistThe difference is not intelligence. It is speed, ambition, and belief.
In Cambridge, you are told to be realistic. In Silicon Valley, you are told to think bigger.
Bridge Fellows exists to close that gap.
For one intense week, you step inside the Valley's operating system. You see how the best founders think, move, raise, and scale.
We are not here to tell you to move. We are here to recalibrate how big you build.
After that, where you build is your decision. But you will never think small again.
The Problem: Cambridge PhD. Wanted to build an AI company in 2010. UK investors laughed – "AI" was a dirty word. Most wouldn't even take the meeting.
The Bridge: No UK funding, so he flew to Silicon Valley. One dinner pitch to a tech billionaire unlocked the first few million. The Valley believed in AI early.
The Outcome: Google acquired DeepMind for $650M in 2014. Demis won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for AlphaFold.
The Problem: Cambridge Natural Sciences BA and PhD. Built pattern-recognition software in a university lab. UK investors dismissed it as academic research.
The Bridge: Targeted the US market early. Flew to Silicon Valley to pitch enterprise buyers who understood unstructured data search. US revenue drove growth.
The Outcome: Autonomy became the UK's largest pure software company. Hewlett-Packard acquired it for $11.1B in 2011, the biggest UK tech exit of its era.
The Problem: 2013. Part-time accountant returning from maternity leave. Cambridge mathematicians and GCHQ experts had a radical AI cybersecurity idea, but no operator.
The Bridge: Built dual headquarters in Cambridge and San Francisco from day one. First customer: a UK power station. By 2015: Fortune 100 clients globally.
The Outcome: IPO'd in 2021 at £2.5B valuation. Acquired by Thoma Bravo for $5.3B in 2024. Poppy now serves as UK Minister of State for Investment.
Seven days of intense immersion in Silicon Valley — designed to compress years of learning into one transformative experience.
You don't need a company yet. You need the drive to build one.
No. You can be working on a side project, a research spin-out, or an idea you're serious about. We care about what you're building and your drive, not whether you've incorporated.
No. We give you a taste of Silicon Valley so you can experience the ecosystem first-hand. Where you build your company after that is entirely your decision. Cambridge, San Francisco, London — your call.
Yes. You can apply solo or with your co-founder(s). Just fill out one application and mention your team.
On a rolling basis. We read every application as it comes in. Early applicants may hear back sooner. We select up to 10 founders per cohort.
A mix of office hours with unicorn founders, company visits to leading startups and VC firms, pitch practice sessions, networking dinners, and a demo day. Every day is designed to be intense, but exceptional.
You join the Bridge Fellows alumni network — a lifelong community of ambitious Cambridge founders. We continue with introductions, quarterly check-ins, and ongoing support. The network is the long-term value.
Be the first to know when applications open. Waitlist members receive priority review and early access to program details.
Join Waitlist