ABC Venture Hub · Fund & Competitions
Two ways in: pitch to the ABC Venture Fund at any time of year, or compete for a tuition scholarship in one of our 2027 competitions.
ABC Venture Fund · Rolling deal flow
ABC Venture Fund invests in founders at the pre-seed and seed stage — before the deck is perfect or the traction chart goes up and to the right. Pitch your idea to our board; if we back it, we cover 50–75% of your ABC Silicon Valley tuition in exchange for a small stake via a SAFE (up to 5%) — so you can validate, iterate and find product–market signal in the Valley.
Investment thesis
Stage: Pre-seed / Seed50–75%
of the €4,900 ABC Silicon Valley tuition, backed by the Fund
What the Fund unlocks
What every backed founder gets on the way to, and inside, Silicon Valley.
Company visits to leaders such as Google, NVIDIA and Microsoft, plus top accelerators.
Your pitch to the ABC board sharpens the story, market and business model before you fly.
Sessions with founders, investors and industry experts who have built in the Valley.
Present your idea to entrepreneurs, mentors and ecosystem professionals during the program.
Test your idea in the world's most demanding ecosystem and leave with real product–market signal.
A global founder community that stays with you long after the program ends.
How it works
Rolling deal flow — we review new ideas all year round.
Apply anytime — no deadline, no perfect deck required.
Present the problem, solution and team to the ABC board.
Backed founders receive 50% or 75% of the tuition for up to 5% via a simple SAFE.
Join ABC Silicon Valley to validate, iterate and get exposure.
Building something at day zero?
Prefer a scholarship competition? See the 2027 competitions ↓
Competitions 2027
Scholarship competitions with fixed dates and specific audiences. No equity taken — separate from the year-round Fund.
Teams of two students submit a business plan and pitch to judges. Prizes: 100%, 50% and 25% tuition scholarships to ABC Silicon Valley or Toronto 2027.
Opens in February 2027 for students with ideas in development and for young entrepreneurs, students or not, working on something new.
Previous teams who pitched their way to ABC programs.
Silicon Valley
Eden AI
Brazil
Silicon Valley
Trader Backtesting
Croatia
Silicon Valley
raahAI
India
Toronto
Fraido
Italy
Toronto
Protactic
Brazil
Toronto
Runway Recode
France
If the board backs your idea, the Fund covers 50% or 75% of the €4,900 ABC Silicon Valley tuition. In return, we sign a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) for up to 5% of your company. You keep control of your company.
A SAFE is a standard early-stage investment agreement used by Y Combinator and most Silicon Valley investors. It converts into equity later, typically when you raise a priced round, so there is no valuation negotiation at day zero.
No. The Fund backs ideas at the very first stage. Solo founders and teams can apply at any time; your pitch to the ABC board is what counts.
No. Founders keep 100% of their IP and operating control.
Only for selected teams, after the selection process and interview, and only on mutual agreement. Ticket size and terms are discussed individually.
The Venture Challenge is for teams of two. For direct Fund consideration, solo founders can apply through the founder track.
You should be actively working on an idea with early validation, a prototype or first traction.
Participants must be 18–35 at the time of application: students, recent graduates or young professionals. Teams of two must be actively working on a business idea with evidence of validation, and each participant may join only one team.
No. Both team members agree on one preferred program — ABC Silicon Valley or ABC Toronto — and are evaluated based on that choice.
Venture Challenge 2027 opens in February — for students and young founders.
Join the Challenge listPitch to the ABC board — 50–75% tuition support via a SAFE (up to 5%).
