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AI Founder Fellowship

Empowering AI Researchers to create the next Generation of Deep-Tech Startups

Deadline for applications: December 15, 2024

MISSION KI offers an opportunity for 10 doctoral candidates in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform their research into viable startup ventures in parallel with their doctoral studies. Through our AI Founder Fellowship, MISSION KI provides the necessary conditions for such science-based ventures.

In the AI Founder Fellowship Program, program participants (i.e. “Fellows”) will systematically validate the market potential of their AI-based research. Fellows will develop business plans and pitch their results to experienced investors. Investor pitch events will provide detailed feedback regarding the attractiveness of the startup venture for potential investors.

Rahmenbedingungen

The AI Founder Fellowship is open to all doctoral candidates at German universities aiming to launch a startup based on their research with a particular focus on AI or bringing an AI-application with significant potential for innovation to market. 

Successful applicants will receive a range of support services to accelerate the transformation of their AI research into startup ventures as part of their Fellowship Project:

  • Financial support (E13 TVöD up to 50% part-time position) during the course of the Program (February 2025 to Oktober 2025),

  • A curriculum designed to support the launch of AI-based startups as well as to build the requisite competencies (three-day bootcamps) 

  • Venture Developers to build teams and validate business models,

  • A Sciencepreneur as a sparring partner for AI topics / tech coaching, 

  • Mentoring opportunities by industry experts,

  • Facilitating connections to Innovation and Quality Center Kaiserslautern as well as support for accessing computing power, data and further IT-services.

This new initiative is funded by MISSION KI and the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. Comprehensive information regarding application procedures and requirements is available on this page.

Eligibility criteria

All regularly enrolled doctoral candidates at a German university are eligible to apply. Applicants should meet the following criteria:

Eligibility Criteria
  • Applicants must engage in research that substantially relies on or makes a significant contribution to a novel application or development of AI technology,

  • Applicants should have developed an initial idea to commercialize their research that displays significant potential for innovation, 

  • Applicants must agree to develop a business plan and prepare an investor pitch as part of the Fellowship Program, 

  • Applicants must commit to participate in the AI Founder Fellowship Program activities.

Up to three applicants may submit a Fellowship Project collaboratively. Candidates for collaborative Fellowship Projects can jointly fulfill the admission criteria. The AI Founder Fellowship Program values equally individual applications and collaborative applications.

Program Structure

Fellows will be enrolled in February 2025 and will participate in the Program until the end of October 2025.

Note: Up to three applicants can apply for a joint project.

Benefits of the Fellowship

Benefits

Fellows will receive a fellowship grant through acatech (National Academy of Sciences and Engineering, which hosts the MISSION KI initiative) via a part-time employment contract (E13 TVöD, max. 50%), supplementing their existing university contract. This arrangement ensures that Fellows maintain their scientific supervisor, school affiliation, and university contract.

Bootcamps represent a cornerstone of the AI Founder Fellowship Program. These three-day training sessions will be held in English and are designed to equip Fellows with the requisite technical and entrepreneurial know-how to launch their ventures (i.e. Fellowship Projects). 

Throughout the Fellowship, Fellows will benefit from professional assistance through Venture Developers to facilitate the execution of Fellowship Projects .

Program Managers from MISSION KI will guide the Fellows throughout their journey in the Fellowship Program in monthly Status Meetings

Fellows will benefit from mentoring opportunities provided by a renowned expert in the field of AI (i.e. Sciencepreneur), as well as industry experts (mentors) to guide the further development of their Fellowship Projects and their respective Technology Roadmaps. 

Throughout the AI Founder Fellowship Program, extensive opportunities to network and gain access to potential co-founders and companies collaborating with the MISSION KI initiative (the MISSION KI initiative is active in the fields of AI certification and access to Data Spaces) will be offered.

Application Process

Please submit your application electronically in a single email not exceeding 20 MB as PDF-document. Make sure that the documents are fully readable and printable. The application must be complete and contain all the requested information and supporting documents - please refer to the checklist in the document “Call for Applications

The following documents must be submitted by each candidate individually (see "Call for Applications", §6):

Please note that while up to 3 applicants are allowed to team up on the same Fellowship Project and that applicants may collectively fulfil the eligibility requirements, all applicants are required to undergo the application process individually. In that case, please refer to all co-applicants in your proposal and also add a description (max. 1 page) of the team and the roles of the team members in the Fellowship Project in a separate document.

Proposals can be sent to AiFellowship@acatech.de until December 15, 2024. If you have questions regarding the Fellowship or the application process, please contact us at this address.

By applying to the AI Founder Fellowship, you hereby provide your informed consent to the requisite processing of personal data, as outlined in the Data Privacy Statement for the purposes of the Fellow selection and program implementation.

Contact and further Information

Do you have questions about the Fellowship or the application process? Please contact us!

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Häufige Fragen zum AI Founder Fellowship

1. How mature should the startup idea be to qualify as a Fellowship Project?

An initial startup idea is sufficient. What is relevant to the application assessment is that the startup-idea has significant innovation potential and therefore has a clear degree of novelty from both a scientific and economic perspective. The AI Founder Fellowship aims to strengthen startup-relevant skills. The development of startup ideas towards market readiness is the central focus of the AI Founder Fellowship.

2. What are the benefits of the AI Founder Fellowship?

The AI Founder Fellowship has the following program elements [for more details see the document "Call for Applications" § 3]:

  • Financial support for innovative AI startup ideas

  • Skills development and investor presentations

  • Operational support and tech coaching

  • Use of computing capacity, data access and networking

3. Who is in charge of the program?

The program is managed by MISSION KI.

4. Who will be on the jury to select the candidates?

The jury will be made up of members of MISSION KI and experts from the acatech and MISSION KI network.

5. Do I have to defend my startup idea in front of the jury?

No, the jury decides based on the application documents.

6. Are PhD students with positions at German universities allowed to participate in the AI Founder Fellowship?

Yes, the program is explicitly aimed at doctoral candidates at German universities and is open to applicants from all subject areas and disciplines. The AI Founder Fellowship supplements existing employment relationships of doctoral candidates during the funding period: Fellows are employed (E13 TVöD up to max. 50%) by acatech (National Academy of Science and Engineering) for a definite period. Depending on the individual needs of the candidates, part-time employment can be agreed to a lesser extent. Part-time positions ensure the continuity of connection to the resources of the universities that currently employs the respective Fellow. Doctoral candidates without employment contract with their university or research institution during the program are also allowed to participate.

7. Can PhD candidates who are employed at non-university research institutions or companies while pursuing their doctorate at a German university participate in the AI Founder Fellowship?

Yes, the AI Founder Fellowship is open to applicants from all subject areas and disciplines who are pursuing their doctorate at a German university. Persons that do not meet the admission requirements, may be granted an “Associate Status” (see questions 8 and 9).

8. Can persons who are not eligible for application to the AI Founder Fellowship still be part of a Fellowship Project?

Yes, on the one hand, founding teams can apply (see question 9). In addition, it is possible for individuals that do not meet the admission requirements who will make important contributions to the realization of a Fellowship Project, to join Fellowship Projects as Associates over the course of the Program. These individuals may be granted an “Associate Status” after approval of the Program Management. Associates become part of the Fellowship Project team and can participate in all relevant event formats within the curriculum. No financial support is provided for Associates.

9. Can teams apply? Should each Fellow candidate be a doctoral candidate in that case?

Up to three Fellows can collaborate on a joint Fellowship Project. All candidates for collaborative Fellowship Projects must jointly fulfill the admission criteria and submit their applications individually (an identical presentation of the technical project description is permitted). That is, at least one doctoral candidate is required for each collaborative Fellowship Project. Additional team members that do not meet the eligibility criteria may be added over the course of the AI Founder Fellowship. These team members may be granted an “Associate Status” (see question 8).

10. Can potential co-founders or further team members join later and participate in the AI Founder Fellowship?

The AI Founder Fellowship explicitly aims to support the building of Fellowship Project teams. Venture Developers support Fellows in their search for suitable co-founders and team members (see question 14). With the approval of the Program Management these candidates can be granted “Associate Status” (see question 8)

11. What happens if a team breaks up during the Fellowship program?

With the approval of the Program Management, the same Fellowship Project can be resumed as an individual project of the remaining Fellow or continued with a new team.

12. Do I have to reimburse anything if I leave the AI Founder Fellowship prematurely?

No.

13. How do mentors support the program participants?

Mentors contribute their expertise in industry and business to the further development of the Fellowship Projects. Mentors are selected individually for each Fellowship Project at the start of the Program from a broad network of experts from business and academia. The mentors advise the fellows according to their specific needs.

14. How do venture developers support the program participants?

As experts in building digital companies, venture developers support program participants in the operational implementation of their Fellowship Projects. This includes the search for suitable team members, coaching services for business model development, market potential analyses, support in the creation of business plans and the development and testing of prototypes.

15. How does the Sciencepreneur support the program participants?

The Sciencepreneur supports the transition of research into marketable AI products or services. The Sciencepreneur supports the Fellows as a tech coach and sparring partner for AI topics.

16. Who is the Sciencepreneur?

The Sciencepreneur for the AI Founder Fellowship is Prof. Dr. Matthias Nießner (Chair of Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence at TUM) and founder of the unicorn Synthesia with a proven excellent scientific track record and proven experience in founding companies from science and commercializing cutting-edge research results.

17. How do fellows gain access to computing capacity, data and IT services?

Fellows are connected to the Innovation and Quality Center (“IQZ”) Kaiserslautern of MISSION KI. There, Fellows will receive support particularly in the use of computing capacity and training data.

In addition, each Fellow will be granted benefits in kind with a value of up to 15.000 € for the use of computing capacities, data access and other IT services. For Fellowship Projects with several program participants, funds are provided in accordance with the number of Fellows involved (up to a maximum of three Fellows).

18. Are there special rules regarding the registration of property rights and IP?

As part of the AI Founder Fellowship, your research can be incorporated into a startup project. MISSION KI / acatech renounce all possible rights of use to intellectual property from the startup projects and do not seek any participation in patents. The commercial use of resulting intellectual property is subject to the conditions of the home universities or organizations.

19. Are program participants allowed to start a business during the program?

Yes, it is not necessary to wait until the end of the Program to start a business. The remainder of the AI Founder Fellowship for the respective Fellow or Fellows will then be defined with the Program Management.

20. Do program participants receive support in their search for follow-up financing?

The AI Founder Fellowship prepares its Fellows for the use of different forms of financing (e.g. venture capital). This is an essential part of the curriculum. An investor pitch is held at the end of the program.

21. What documentation do I have to submit as a candidate?

See the document "Call for Applications" §6 for details. Applications have to be complete.

  • Form A: Administrative Information    

  • Form B: Details of the Proposal

  • Form C: Supervisor's Consent

  • Curriculum Vitae

  • Cover letter (max. 1 page)

  • Copy of most recent degrees and certificates

 

If several applicants (up to three per project) are applying with a collaborative Fellowship Project, each candidate must submit a separate application. In this case, please also include the following:

  • a brief description (max. 1 page) of the team and the roles of the team members in the startup project in a separate document.

22. Do the application documents have to be in paper form?

No

23. Can I be disqualified due to errors when completing the forms?

Program Management can ask candidates to explain or correct (minor) formal errors.

24. Can I submit missing application documents or supplement submitted documents after I have submitted my application?

Program Management may ask candidates to submit additional documents.

25. Can I withdraw my application?

Yes.

26. Can I submit several applications?

Yes, but please indicate this in each case. If the program is oversubscribed, multiple applications will be prioritized after consultation between Program Management and the respective candidate.

27. How will my startup ideas be protected?

Startup ideas are protected by non-disclosure agreements between the program participants and all persons involved in the implementation of the program (see also question 18).

28. When will the second batch of the AI Founder Fellowship start?

The AI Founder Fellowship was initiated as a pilot in November 2024. In case of a positive evaluation of this pilot, a second call for funding is planned for November 2025 and others would follow.

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