Entrepreneur First (EF)
Entrepreneur First
Status not published
Cohorts run roughly twice a year per hub with published application deadlines (for example the Bangalore-to-San Francisco spring cohort had a January application deadline). Locations have included London, Bangalore, San Francisco and European residencies.
GIVEN: an equity-free 'Talent Investment' (a grant covering living costs) during the 12-week FORM phase in your local hub, plus access to up to USD 250,000 of equity investment for teams that pass the Investment Committee and progress to the 12-week LAUNCH phase in San Francisco. TAKEN: no equity for the Talent Investment; an equity stake for the USD 250,000 investment, on terms agreed at that point. Talent Investment amounts differ by hub.
You must co-fund 0%.
Entrepreneur First
private · supranational
Deadline: cutoff — Cohorts run roughly twice a year per hub with published application deadlines (for example the Bangalore-to-San Francisco spring cohort had a January application deadline). Locations have included London, Bangalore, San Francisco and European residencies.
This funder does not publish a success rate. We rank it using the rate observed across similar programmes and label it as an estimate rather than implying we know.
Moderate — a form and supporting documents.
Who can apply
- Sectors: deeptech, ai
- Stage: idea, pre_seed
Designed for individuals before company formation, typically technical or domain-expert founders. You apply alone, not as a team.
How to apply
- Apply as an individual (no co-founder or idea required)
- Interviews assessing technical edge and founder potential
- Kick Off Summit residential weekend
- 12-week FORM programme: co-founder matching and idea development in your hub
- Investment Committee
- 12-week LAUNCH programme in San Francisco for teams that pass
Source. https://www.joinef.com/faqs/ — checked 2026-08-14
"equity free Talent Investment (grant) ... up to $250,000 of equity investment"