The fastest path from engineer to founder.
AI Fund brings a deeply vetted idea. You own the build and shape the product. If it works, you’re the first candidate to lead the company.
What this actually is
The Engineer in Residence program is how AI Fund tests whether an idea can become a real business. As an EIR, you come in full-time for 12 weeks, embedded inside the studio, with a specific idea and a mandate to prove it out.
We give you a vetted idea from AI Fund's pipeline, access to our build team, and a desk in our Mountain View office. Your job is to take the idea from zero to a working product in 12 weeks. If the build is strong enough to justify forming a company, you are the leading candidate for the CEO spot — with pre-seed capital and AI Fund's ongoing involvement.
This is not a research fellowship. It's also not an accelerator that takes your existing company. You start building on day one, get it in front of real users fast, and iterate. The build team supports you, but you drive the work. If you're set on pursuing your own pre-existing concept, this isn’t the right program. If the idea morphs and gets better during the build, that's fine too.
Where the ideas come from
The ideas in AI Fund's pipeline aren't whiteboard hypotheses. By the time a concept reaches an EIR, it has typically been pressure-tested — a prototype built, early feedback from domain experts or potential customers gathered, and a thesis formed about why now and why AI.
Ideas come from multiple directions: problems Andrew and the AI Fund team have identified through research and portfolio experience, and problems surfaced directly by AI Fund's corporate partners — companies like AES, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui, and Nikkei, operating across industries including energy infrastructure, supply chain, and media.
When an idea originates from a corporate partner, it comes with something particularly valuable: a real organization that has already identified the problem, domain expertise you can draw on, and often a warm path to early customers. Andrew and the AI Fund team vet every idea before it enters the pipeline, regardless of where it originated. What you're getting on day one is a concept that has already earned strong conviction.
What the 12 weeks look like
You start building on day one. You'll get our prototypes, user feedback, and research output, meet the team, and understand the thesis — but the goal from the jump is to get something in front of more real users or domain experts as fast as possible. Scoping happens through building, not before it.
From there it's a cycle of building, getting feedback, and iterating. You'll have a weekly check-in with Andrew and AI Fund's technical and product build teams to review progress, talk through blockers, and adjust direction. As the product gains traction, the focus shifts toward validating the market and building the case for funding. If AI Fund decides to fund the company, you transition into the founder role with pre-seed capital and operational support.
What we look for
This works best if you've thought about starting a company but haven't done it yet — maybe you don't have the idea, or you don't know how to go from zero to funded. This program gives you the scaffolding.
We care about evidence of building, not credentials. A strong portfolio from a small company carries more weight than a senior title at a big one if the portfolio shows real ownership.
Deployed products that incorporate generative AI in a meaningful way — not demos, not paper prototypes
Deep technical excellence in AI — you understand the architecture, not just the tools, and you bring genuine craft to how you build with it
Product instincts and user empathy — you think carefully about who you're building for, and that thinking shapes your technical decisions
Ability to go from zero to one without being told what to do — founder-level ownership and initiative
Can write fast, scrappy code to validate an idea and clean, maintainable code when it's time to scale
Open-source projects with real users, technical writing that shows depth, a GitHub profile that demonstrates velocity
Strong communication — you'll work closely with non-technical partners and need to explain technical decisions clearly
Existing US work authorization — we are unable to sponsor visas for this role
What you get if it works
Founder-Level Upside
If your build demonstrates real product-market signal and you've shown you can lead the company, AI Fund forms a company around you. The goal is for you to step into the CEO or technical co-founder role with a significant equity stake.
Up to $1M In Pre-Seed Capital
If the build succeeds and AI Fund decides to fund the company, you go into formation with $500K - $1M in pre-seed capital — real runway to hire, build, and move fast.
Andrew Ng and the AI Fund Team
Andrew and the AI Fund build teams help shape direction during the build and participate in weekly progress reviews. The whole team remains involved after company formation.
AI Fund as Co-Founder and Investor
AI Fund comes in as a minor co-founder and investor. You run the company — you set the roadmap, hire your team, own the outcomes. We support you along the way.
Things to know upfront
Not every residency leads to a company.
Some builds validate the idea and lead to funding. Others don't. We're running experiments, and experiments can fail. That's by design. If formation doesn't happen, you leave with 12 weeks of intense building experience, a strong relationship with Andrew and the AI Fund network, and a track record of shipping under pressure.
The CEO role is earned, not guaranteed.
If the build succeeds and you've shown you can lead the company, that's the plan. But we won't make a commitment we can't keep. If you need a guarantee upfront, this probably isn't the right fit.
The compensation is on par for pre-seed companies.
$10,000/month ($30,000 total) for a full-time, 12-week commitment. This is a short-term, high-intensity sprint with founder-level upside if it works.
This requires your full attention.
This is not a side project. You need to be in our Mountain View office on weekdays for 12 weeks. You cannot do this alongside another job. If you're not currently in the Bay Area, plan to relocate or commute for the duration.
IP stays with the venture.
Everything you build during the residency belongs to the venture. If the company is formed, you hold a significant equity stake in that IP as a co-founder. If formation doesn't happen, the IP stays with AI Fund. This is discussed transparently before the residency begins.
How to get in
Apply through our Lever posting. You'll complete a short AI assessment (about 15 minutes). We review every application personally and match candidates to ideas currently in our pipeline based on technical background and domain fit.
We also host regular builder events in Mountain View — small, in-person sessions where you meet Andrew and the AI Fund team, hear specific ideas we're working on, and see live demos. If there's mutual interest after an event, the next step is a Build Challenge: a 7–10 day exercise where you build a small prototype related to the venture idea. It's a simulation of the actual work — not a trick question. Submissions are reviewed by Andrew and our heads of engineering and product. Strong submissions lead directly to a residency offer.
Ready to build?
Apply for the Engineer in Residence program or come meet the team at an upcoming builder event in Mountain View.