Motivation and Goals
Some of the most successful technology companies in the world were conceived on the campuses of top research universities. Yet, academic centers may be underleveraged due to a market failure. Students have ideas, energy, and time, but lack capital and access to experienced founders. Venture capitalists have capital and robust networks, and seek promising new ideas and founders.
Venture capital fellowship programs (e.g., Neo Scholars, Pear Garage, YC Summer Fellows) have emerged to fill this gap. However, most are focused on either:
(a) network building/upskilling for talented aspiring founders still ideating.
(b) equity investment to support a demo-ready product.
There is a missing middle that allows entrepreneurial technical students to tinker — experimenting, building and deploying rough ideas, getting user feedback, and iterating. Tinkering requires a modest amount of capital, usually cloud credits. Students today apply for free credit programs like Microsoft for Startups, GCP for Startups, AWS Activate, NVIDIA Inception — but these applications typically require a fleshed out idea, can be competitive, make ineligible anyone who has received these credits before, and sometimes require the applicant to be venture-backed in order to receive larger amounts.
Latitude Capital proposes to build a program, "Latitude Builders", that supports exceptional and entrepreneurial students looking to tinker on technical ideas in AI. For students ("Builders"), this is frictionless access to substantive cloud credits, a respected credential, and entry into the Latitude Capital network.
(c) frictionless access to substantive cloud credits, a respected credential, and entry into the Latitude Capital network.
Program Structure
1) Access to Compute
Builders will receive generous cloud credits to tinker. Latitude Capital will negotiate partnerships with Microsoft for Startups, GCP for Startups, and AWS Activate, waiving the eligibility constraints on large credit grants. Latitude will retain no intellectual property rights on anything developed using these credits. Instead, Latitude will be given the option, but not an obligation, to invest in any commercial opportunity that results from program funding. Terms will be set upfront and will likely mirror the SAFE structure of Y Combinator.
2) Access to Scientific Advisory Board
Builders will be able to book office hours with a six-person Latitude Capital Scientific Advisory Board, handpicked for their scientific expertise in AI. This will give Builders access to feedback from leading AI researchers in a 1:1 setting. The scientific advisory board will consist of highly credible AI researchers from academia.
Advisory board members will be paid $300 per hour for a commitment of 2 hours per month. Additionally, they will collectively be given a 0.25% stake of any Latitude-backed company launched as a result of the program. Their profile will be on the Latitude Capital website, they will take the occasional call from Builders and Latitude partners, they will attend an annual in-person convening, and they will help source amazing students to apply for the program.
3) Access to Latitude Capital Network
The Latitude Capital team will opportunistically connect Builders with a roster of program Industry Experts, including senior leadership at firm portfolio companies (e.g., Glean, Decagon, Rubrik). Latitude Capital will host an annual convening for Builders, where they will get to meet many of these experts in-person through intimate fireside chats, a dinner, and lightning talks. The scientific advisory board members will join this convening.
Eligibility and Selection
Eligibility will include all undergraduate and graduate students working on a technical project in AI (or that is AI-enabled).
Sourcing will be based on an open application with an annual cycle. The scientific advisory board will help promote the opportunity at their respective academic centers.
Selection will prioritize:
Exceptional technical skills
Clarity of proposed technical project to tinker
Strong rationale for why the applicant would benefit from the program
Program Differentiation
The program will be extremely competitive. It will be considered prestigious to be named a Builder and a strong signal to future employers/funders about technical and entrepreneurial competence. A small cohort size will maximize the amount of attention and assistance that Latitude Capital is able to provide.
The program will be differentiated by its: