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The bridge between Oxbridge and Silicon Valley

350+ vetted Oxbridge founders, engineers, and builders. Every July, ten of them spend a week inside Silicon Valley.

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Why

Oxbridge has the talent.
Silicon Valley has the scale.

Some of the world's biggest AI companies started at Oxbridge. DeepMind. Cohere. Darktrace. What they all have in common: at a critical moment, the founders engaged directly with Silicon Valley, its capital, its customers, its operators.

Today most Oxbridge builders never get that kind of access. The Bay Area accounts for roughly half of all global AI investment. The investors, the operators, the founders who've already built and scaled, they're all there. Not knowing the ecosystem is a real disadvantage, regardless of where you build.

What we do

How we connect Oxbridge and Silicon Valley

Four ways to connect with Silicon Valley, from a quick read in your inbox to a full week on the ground.

Newsletter

Curated SV hiring opportunities, fundraising insights, and founder spotlights, straight to your inbox.

Events

Founder mixers, panels, and fireside chats in Cambridge, London, and the Bay Area, with operators who've actually built there.

Warm introductions

Direct intros to Silicon Valley investors, companies, and operators when you're ready for them.

Fellows Programme Flagship

One-week Silicon Valley immersion. 10 Oxbridge founders selected each July. Direct access to the people who fund and build the world's biggest AI companies.

The pattern

Founders who crossed the bridge.

The Oxbridge alumni who've built the most globally significant AI companies share one thing: at a critical early moment, they engaged directly with Silicon Valley. Some built there. Some built here and sold there. Some ran dual operations from day one. What mattered was knowing the ecosystem well enough to use it.

$650M Exit

Demis Hassabis

Cambridge · DeepMind acquired by Google

Demis left Cambridge with a PhD and an idea for a world-class AI research lab at a time when UK investors wouldn't take the meeting. He flew to Silicon Valley instead, where one dinner unlocked the first few million from an investor who understood the long-term bet. Google acquired DeepMind for $650M in 2014. In 2024 Demis received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for AlphaFold.

$6.8B Valuation

Aidan Gomez

Oxford · Cohere

An Oxford PhD, Aidan is a co-author of "Attention Is All You Need", the paper underpinning every modern LLM. He went on to co-found Cohere, raising early from Silicon Valley's top funds (a16z, Index) alongside Nvidia and Salesforce, and built one of the world's leading AI companies from a base that spans Toronto, London, and the Bay Area.

$5.3B Exit

Poppy Gustafsson

Cambridge · Darktrace acquired by Thoma Bravo

In 2013, a team of Cambridge mathematicians had a radical AI approach to cybersecurity but no path to market. Poppy built the company with dual headquarters from day one: Cambridge for research and engineering, San Francisco for customers and investors. Darktrace IPO'd in 2021 at £2.5B and was acquired by Thoma Bravo for $5.3B in 2024.

Flagship Programme

One week in Silicon Valley
that changes what you build.

Dates11–18 July 2026

Cohort10 founders

ApplicationsClosed for Cohort 1

Most of what gets called a "Silicon Valley experience" is tourism: panels, group tours, a lanyard. This isn't that.

The BridgeFellows week is built around direct access. Small-group and 1:1 time with AI founders who've raised from top-tier funds. Investors who write early checks into AI companies and can tell you in plain terms what they're actually looking for. Operators who've scaled AI teams from five people to five hundred.

You'll visit companies that didn't exist four years ago and now have two hundred people. You'll pitch, get torn apart constructively, rebuild your thinking, and pitch again. You'll get a ground-level feel for the pace, the culture, and the social infrastructure around which everything operates.

The bar

Ten spots per cohort. We pick for conviction, clarity under uncertainty, and momentum.

Who Current Oxford or Cambridge student or alumnus.

What Be actively building something ambitious that leverages AI.

Team Solo founders or co-founder teams. Apply together and we'll review you as a unit.

Stage Any stage. Pre-idea to Series A.

Get notified for Cohort 2 Read full programme details →

Events

Where the community comes together.

A few times a year we bring the room together, in Cambridge, London, and the Bay Area, with the founders, investors, and operators who shape Silicon Valley.

Upcoming

BridgeFellows Builder Weekend

Martley Hall, Suffolk · 18–20 September 2026

We're taking over a private 890,000 m² country estate in Suffolk and filling it with 20 of the most ambitious builders we can find.

The estate

A moated main house you come into over a bridge
A heated 15m indoor pool, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi
Tennis court, half-court basketball and a games room
220 acres of Suffolk parkland, about 45 minutes to walk around

Co-hosted with Efficura. 20 places, application based.

Apply now

Past

Silicon Valley comes to London

Halkin, London · 2 May 2026

We brought some of London's most ambitious builders together at Halkin. 412 applications. 80 seats.

Speakers

Annanay Kapila, founder & CEO of QFEX (YC, $95M valuation)
Stephen Irvine, PM at Uber through IPO; Head of Product at Velocity Black ($300M exit)
Oleg Giberstein, co-founder of Coinrule (YC S21, $4B+ trading volume)
Daniel Glazer, Managing Partner at Wilson Sonsini London (Apple, Google, LinkedIn IPOs)

Hosted at Halkin, 1–2 Paris Garden, in partnership with Oxbridge AI Challenge and Oxbridge AI X.

Past

Silicon Valley comes to Cambridge

King's College, Cambridge · 24 March 2026

We brought some of Cambridge's most cracked builders together at King's College. 205 applications. 40 seats.

Speakers

John Cirenza, 17th employee at Applied Intuition (now valued at $15B)
Simon Huang, serial entrepreneur with exit experience & YC S16 founder
Victor Neumann, Strategy at Corgi (YC S24)
Patrick Blumenthal, VC at Ecosystem Ventures

Hosted in the Provost's Drawing Room, King's College, Cambridge.

The ecosystem

Rooted in Oxbridge's builder community

Societies and organisations that support our mission and help us stay connected to Oxbridge's most ambitious founders.

Questions

Frequently asked

What does joining the newsletter get me?

Curated SV hiring opportunities, fundraising insights, founder spotlights, and event invitations. Newsletter members are first to hear when Fellows Programme applications open on 10 May 2026.

Who is eligible for the Fellows Programme?

Current Oxford or Cambridge students and alumni. If you're Oxbridge-connected and building something ambitious that leverages AI, apply.

Does my startup need to use AI?

AI should play a real role in what you're building. The vertical doesn't matter, and we're not strict about how deep, but it should be more than a marketing angle.

Do I need to have a company already?

No. A side project, a research spin-out, an idea you're developing seriously: any of these are fine. We care about what you're building and why, not whether you've incorporated.

Can I apply as a team?

Yes. Apply with your co-founder(s) and mention your team in the application. We'll consider you together.

When does the Fellows Programme take place?

11–18 July 2026. Applications open 10 May 2026 and are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Is this a relocation programme?

No. Where you build your company is entirely your decision. Some founders who go through this week end up in San Francisco. Most don't. The point is that you leave knowing both ecosystems well enough to make that call on your own terms.

What's expected of me?

Show up as a peer. You're in rooms with people who've built serious companies, not as a student visiting a speaker, but as a founder they're talking to directly. Give as much to your cohort as you take.

What happens after the programme?

A short-term action plan, follow-up introductions, and ongoing check-ins to make sure the week translates into concrete progress, plus a permanent seat in the BridgeFellows community.