We’re looking for ambitious, creative people working on something interesting that may one day turn into a business.

When in doubt, apply. Self-editing is one of the main reasons we don’t see more startups in the world. People—just like yourself right now—reading about things like Pioneer and deciding that gosh, it just isn’t for them. If you have no interest in turning your project into a business, we might not be the right home for you. Else, apply!

Our goal is to be as international as possible. We may be technically unable to support certain countries (like North Korea), but we’re trying our best to appeal to everyone.

Apart from any legal restrictions, there is no age limit for Pioneer. We think we can help young people the most, but we'll gladly fund anyone at any age.

You'll receive...

• Access to a network of elite founders.
• Free Stripe Atlas company formation.
• Mentorship from some of the world’s most successful individuals.
• Participation in the Pioneer Demo Livestream, which may help you fundraise.
• A free round-trip plane ticket (and help with associated logistics) to Silicon Valley.
• $100,000 in AWS credits.
• $2,000 in Airtable credits.
• A 1-year subscription to Wolfram|One.

Pioneer is designed to help determined and ambitious people take their project to the next level. We’re providing a network, guidance and funding. You should enter if you think those things would benefit you.

No, submissions for the Pioneer Tournament are always open.

After you submit your initial project description, you’ll go through the Pioneer Tournament. You’ll demonstrate weekly progress, vote on other participants, and see where you stand on our global leaderboard. You can learn more about the Pioneer Tournament here.

Yes! We expect many Pioneers to be students or employed full-time. You just need to make sure you don’t have any legal conflicts (for example, an IP contract you’ve signed with your employer).

Yes. You can add your teammates when filling out your project description. Please don’t submit multiple projects per team.

Not at the same time. We think that a singular focus will be key to your success. Each player has one primary project they work on. You can always change your project later on.

Select experts review players in the Top 50 on the Global Leaderboard and choose new Pioneers as often as every week. Note that Pioneers are not counted when we review the Top 50. For example, if there are 20 Pioneers in the Top 50, experts will review all players in the Top 70.

Experts take into account participants’ leaderboard positions, project descriptions, and progress when making selections. We're experimenting with the cadence and number of winners per week, so cohorts will vary in size.

We have a standard deal for Pioneers: 1% of your company. Upon selection, we will help you to work out the best process for creating a US company (or US parent company) in which we can invest. If you already have an incorporated company, these investment terms still apply. More on our offer page.

The same investment terms apply.

Your score will change as other participants and experts vote on you during the Pioneer Tournament. Scores change based on the quality of other players. For example, if you’re upvoted over a top player, you’ll get more points than if you’re upvoted over a low-ranked player. You still get points if you’re upvoted over a low-ranked player—just not as many. The best way to reach and maintain a high score is to demonstrate impressive progress every week.