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Applications are now open! → TEF Platform

Apply before Aug 30.

Program starts on September 28th.

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From breakthrough research to real-world ventures.

TEF Foundry is a 9-month, gated Proof-of-Concept program (October 2026 – June 2027) that helps deep tech teams decide whether their technology should become a venture.

It compresses years of trial and error into a milestone-based, high-pressure journey across market, technical, and team validation.

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TEF Foundry in a nutshell

Foundry is a competitive, three-gate process: teams enter broad and are progressively narrowed by domain-specific juries (spanning science, industry, VC and technology transfer) advancing on demonstrated milestones, execution, and engagement.

Foundry runs on productive pressure: the program makes support available, but teams decide what to activate and own the outcomes. We’ll nudge you along the way, as your ownership increases at every gate.

Why we built it

Most breakthrough research never leaves the lab. The science is often strong, but turning it into a company to unlock real impact takes more than great technology. Researchers are trained and rewarded for solving technical problems, not for figuring out who needs the solution, or how it reaches the market.

That leaves a gap: proving there's a market and building a team that can run a business.

We launched Foundry to close that gap. We help researchers grow into founders, test their idea against a real market, and build the team, evidence, and venture story needed to turn promising technologies into companies investors and industry partners can believe in.

What you get

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1. Funding

€30K non-dilutive, milestone-based grant awarded at Gate 2 to fund your Proof of Concept. Additional funding up to €70K available for venture readiness at Gate 3. No equity taken.

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2. Entrepreneurs in Residence and Mentors

A dedicated Entrepreneur in Residence who has either scaled a real venture or brings sector-specific expertise. Coaching, milestone-setting, and candid feedback to pressure-test your technology, your market, and your team - plus a pool of mentors available on request.

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3. Industry & Market Access

Direct access to corporates and industrial partners to shape your PoC, explore commercialization pathways and build a scalable, defensible moat. Industry literacy and know-how to understand how it works from inside the room, weigh trade-offs, and validate your science on the market.

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Support that adapts to you

The three pillars above are Foundry's core offer. Beyond them, we support you as needs emerge:

• Team building & execution leadership - help finding talent to complement the team, and build momentum supported by strong culture.
• Lab & prototyping access - facilities and partners to test and further develop your technology. See more here.
• Workshops & clinics, on demand - focused sessions on IP, legal, fundraising, pitching, and more.

What we offer will evolve with each cohort and each team, with a consistent goal: helping the strongest ventures reach the final gate with the evidence, narrative, and confidence needed to raise from international investors.

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Who we are looking for

We welcome applicants across all deep tech verticals, and look for a combination of scientific defensibility, founder ambition, and willingness to engage with the challenges of building a venture.

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Ask yourself these questions:

1. Is your science ready? Your science should be experimentally validated by research or early results, and you have a clear view of the remaining uncertainty you want to test with a PoC funding to move from lab to market.
2. Is your technology defensible? Your technology should have the potential to be protected, with a path to IP that can become a real source of market defensibility.
3. Is your team ready? Foundry runs on productive pressure. Every member should be ready to commit meaningful time, seek external feedback, think critically, and keep learning as new evidence emerges. </aside>

Eligibility requirements

• At least 2 team members in the project, one of whom affiliated with Politecnico di Milano or Bocconi University (researcher, staff, student, or alumnus).
• We also welcome teams from other universities, particularly where the project shows outstanding scientific and venture potential.
• Participants must attend key events in person (approx. 1 per month)
• Minimum TRL 3
• Defensible science- or technology-based innovation

While incorporation is not required to apply, legally constituted entities are very much welcome.

Program structure

Foundry is intentionally designed as a progressive venture formation process. It’s built along 3 gates with distinct milestones, escalating intensity and selectivity.

| | Gate 1 · 3 months Explore the opportunity | Gate 2 · 3 months Execute & de-risk | Gate 3 · 3 months Venture readiness | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Goal | Market, team & IP validation | Proof of Concept execution | Strategic acceleration toward venture creation | | Teams | Up to 50 | Up to 25 | Up to 10 | | Funding | — | €30K non-dilutive grant | Up to €70K non-dilutive grant | | Core activities | • EIR coaching • Early industry exposure (Industry matchmaking event) • Talent access, workshops & clinics on **request | • 1:1 EIR support • Vertical mentorship • Industry Match Day, PoC execution with corporates • Lab access • Talent access, clinics on demand | • Targeted EIR & mentor support • Dedicated growth support on validation and investment readiness • Investor matchmaking • Demo Day |

Gate 1 - Explore the opportunity

Gate 2 - Execute & validate

Gate 3 - Concentrate resources on the highest-potential ventures

Key dates · 2026/27 edition

How to apply

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Applications are open. Apply now!

Use the link to apply -> TEF Platform

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Complement your team through Matcha ➤ TEF’s co-founder matching platform

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Good to know before you apply

🔥 Founder commitment: time ****grows across the program - roughly 5-10 hrs/week in Gate 1, 10-15 in Gate 2, and effectively full-time for core members in Gate 3.

📍 Location: Gate 1 is hybrid (online sessions + 3 mandatory sessions in person in Milano); from Gate 2, office desk space available.

Your application should cover:

1. Team - who is involved, their roles, university affiliation, and relevant experience.
2. Technology - the underlying science, your novelty claim, use case and current evidence (TRL, publications, patents).
3. IP - ownership status of relevant IP, disclosure anIf the IP is held by a university, the feasibility of a clean spinout path and your plan to secure it.
4. Market - your primary customer, problem, and why the technology is relevant now. Any existing conversations with potential customers or partners.
5. Plan - your priorities and high-level plan for how it creates value, delivers it to the market, and generates a profit.