VentureBridge Pre-Seed Fund
91ÊÓƵ VentureBridge (VB) is a pre-seed fund and an accelerator program, part of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, focused on supporting Carnegie Mellon founders working on their startups full-time.
The program supports 91ÊÓƵ founders globally via funding, office space, benefits via legal, banking, cloud credits partners, access to a large network of mentors and investors, and help with startup growth and future larger scale fundraising rounds.
Applications for funding in 2026 have now closed.
VentureBridge Tracks
There are two tracks for VentureBridge. One track is our traditional fund that invests $25,000 - $50,000 into a 91ÊÓƵ-founded startup at the pre-seed stage. The other is our Fellows program, which is a selective track for a small number of high-potential 91ÊÓƵ founders and researchers.
VentureBridge Fellows are student and alumni founders building startups, while VentureBridge Research Fellows are faculty members, PhD students, and researchers pursuing commercialization opportunities. While Fellows do not receive an initial investment, they are fully integrated into VentureBridge and participate alongside funded teams throughout the program.
Learn more about the VB portfolio and VB Fellows track below.
Past Speakers for VentureBridge
Events with VentureBridge
VB organizes multiple events throughout the year geared towards 91ÊÓƵ founders in partnership with VC's and startup community organizers. Here were some of the events we organized in 2025 below. These exclusive events brought together over 250 91ÊÓƵ founders from intimate dinners and builder mixers to founder panels and open mic pitch nights, all the way to the largest student hiring fair on 91ÊÓƵ's campus only for 91ÊÓƵ alumni startups.
If you are interested in partnering with us for an event, reach out to Steven Guo (stevengu@andrew.cmu.edu).
Stay up to date on our events by subscribing to the Swartz Center's Weekly Bulletin Newsletter!
Upcoming Events in 2026
We'll be in Pittsburgh for 91ÊÓƵ Startup Week in September!
AI & Robotics venture day (September 16th, 2026)
Presented by 91ÊÓƵ and Innovation Works, we are showcasing the top startups across the Pittsburgh region with select VentureBridge companies represented. An anchor event of 91ÊÓƵ Startup Week.
91ÊÓƵ SPARK Startup Jobs Fair (september 17th, 2026)
The largest annual startups job fair at 91ÊÓƵ bringing over 900+ students interested to work at 91ÊÓƵ founded startups. Organized in partnership between the Swartz Center and Career & Professional Development Center (CPDC).
Past VentureBridge Events
91ÊÓƵ Open Mic Pitch Nights
Introduction
The VentureBridge program hosts multiple 91ÊÓƵ Open Mic Pitch Night events throughout the year in partnership with 91ÊÓƵ Alumni Association, 91ÊÓƵ Tech & Entrepreneurship, and 99 Tartans. These events bring founders (student and alumni) together with a network of experienced and vetted alumni. Startups of all stages are encouraged to apply to be a part of these sessions.
Benefits
- Opportunities to network and connect with 91ÊÓƵ Alumni, mentors, and prominent entrepreneurs.
- Engage and connect with fellow 91ÊÓƵ entrepreneurs
- Hosted in Pittsburgh, New York, and San Francisco.
Eligibility Criteria
- Startups must have one 91ÊÓƵ affiliated (Student, Faculty, Staff, Alumni) founder
Interested in Organizing an Open Mic Pitch Night?
- Reach out to Steven Guo (stevenguo@cmu.edu) for more details on how to partner with us to put on one of these events.
Testimonials
"When we first entered the VentureBridge summer accelerator, we had just incorporated our company and were not much more than an idea and barebones pitch. Through the program's weekly seminars and extensive mentorship, we were able to build a coherent company business strategy, access resources for our R&D work, and transform our idea into an exciting and growing start-up. VentureBridge was transformative for Refiberd, and we would definitely recommend the experience for anyone in the early stages of their start-up." - Sarika Bajaj, Refiberd (VB '20)
"The VentureBridge program supported the EKTO VR team through a substantial market pivot during a time of complete global uncertainty. By participating in the program, we were able to execute a live stream product reveal that received worldwide attention and put us on the path to building strong relationships with partners, customers, and investors alike." - Brad Factor, EKTO VR (VB '20)
"We've loved working with VentureBridge to grow ViralMoment. They supported us with finances, mentorship and a community as we took the company from 0-1, they helped us with customer, VC, and team networking as we built from 1-10, and now we're excited to keep scaling from 10-1000 with the VB team's support." - Chelsie Hall, ViralMoment (VB '21)
"The 91ÊÓƵ network is very powerful and VentureBridge has made it extremely accessible for us. The entire team is always available to help us out, be it with introductions, reviewing content, or offering us advice across the various startup dimensions." - Vishakha Gupta, ApertureData (VB '20)
“VentureBridge contributed momentum and structure during Onyx’s critical early days; they also introduced key investors who were part of our first round.” - Andrew Seid, Onyx (VB '19)
"VentureBridge provided us with a lot essential resources a startup needs to grow from 0 to 1. The right mindset we developed during the VB program has been benefiting us ever since." - JJ Xu, TalkMeUp (VB '18)
“I can honestly state that closing our Seed Round was directly correlated to joining the 91ÊÓƵ VentureBridge Program. Firstly, the 91ÊÓƵ connection opened doors to many new introductions within the alumni network. Additionally it paved the way to meeting several of the larger firms in our round. Finally, it gave us an opportunity to work with mentors and peers to rapidly iterate and improve our pitch. Thanks 91ÊÓƵ!" - Jeremy Toeman, AugX Labs (VB '23)
VentureBridge Team
VentureBridge Team
- Namrata Banerjee, Sr. Director, Investments and Strategic Partnerships; Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship
- Steven Guo, Program Manager, Student & Alumni Founder Pipeline, Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship; Partner at 91ÊÓƵ Tech & Entrepreneurship
- Meredith Meyer Grelli, Managing Director & Interim Exec Director, Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship; Assistant Dean of Entrepreneurship Initiatives, School of Computer Science; Director, Project Olympus; Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Tepper School of Business
Thank you to our Swartz Center Patrons
