TekTrek

Build the future.
This summer.
In San Francisco.

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What Is TekTrek?

The next 36 months will determine who builds the defining companies of the AI era.

The Programme

An intensive summer of company formation. You'll build something real — surrounded by founders who've done it, operators who'll challenge your assumptions, and a cohort that won't let you ship anything half-finished. Not a lecture series. Not a vacation with a lanyard.

The City

San Francisco. Housing fully covered. You'll live where the ecosystem lives — and the ecosystem will show up at your door. Domain experts matched to what you're building. Off-the-record sessions with people you've only read about. A city that treats builders like locals.

The Cohort

The sharpest student builders from MIT, Harvard, and Princeton. The people in this house will become some of the most important relationships of your career — and they'll push you harder than any class ever has.

Who Should Apply?

The people you'll sit across from. Off-the-record. Small-room.

You'll have access to intimate sessions with some of the most consequential builders and operators in Silicon Valley — curated by Imagination in Action, the team behind world leading AI convenings at MIT, Silicon Valley, Davos, and beyond.


Some of the people we have curated in the past:

Founder & Investor

Founder & Investor

Founder & CEO

Cerebras

Founder & CEO

Cerebras

Director

MIT CSAIL

Director

MIT CSAIL

Managing Partner

Link Ventures

Managing Partner

Link Ventures

Co-Founder & CEO

Google DeepMind

Co-Founder & CEO

Google DeepMind

Former CEO & Chairman, Google

Chair & CEO, Relativity Space

Former CEO & Chairman, Google

Chair & CEO, Relativity Space

Founder & CEO

Imagination In Action

Founder & CEO

Imagination In Action

Chair & CEO

Salesforce

Chair & CEO

Salesforce

Co-Founder

Tesla

Co-Founder

Tesla

CTO & Co-Founder

Databricks

CTO & Co-Founder

Databricks

3rd U.S. Chief Technology Officer

CEO of shift7

3rd U.S. Chief Technology Officer

CEO of shift7

Co-Founder

LinkedIn

Co-Founder

LinkedIn

CEO

OpenAI

CEO

OpenAI

Professor Computer Science

Stanford & HAI Senior Fellow

Professor Computer Science

Stanford & HAI Senior Fellow

As a TekTrek builder, you'll have the opportunity to plug into IIA events across the year — MIT in April, Silicon Valley in September, and Davos in January. The summer is where it starts. The network is what lasts.

Experiences

You'll remember the people. You'll remember this.

We're designing experiences you won't find on any programme schedule. Some we can share. Some you'll have to show up for.

[Founder dinners]

Long table. One founder. No phones. A warehouse in Dogpatch, a conversation you won't forget.

[Founder dinners]

Long table. One founder. No phones. A warehouse in Dogpatch, a conversation you won't forget.

[The city as campus]

San Francisco isn't a backdrop — it's the programme. The Mission. SoMa. Places that shaped the companies you're trying to build.

[The city as campus]

San Francisco isn't a backdrop — it's the programme. The Mission. SoMa. Places that shaped the companies you're trying to build.

[Lab access]

Behind-the-scenes sessions at spaces most people only read about. Robotics floors. AI labs. The rooms where it actually happens.

[Lab access]

Behind-the-scenes sessions at spaces most people only read about. Robotics floors. AI labs. The rooms where it actually happens.

[Demo night]

You'll present what you've built to a room full of people who can do something about it. Rooftop. Founders watching. No slides.

[Demo night]

You'll present what you've built to a room full of people who can do something about it. Rooftop. Founders watching. No slides.

[Cohort nights]

Not every important conversation happens in a session. Some happen at 1am in the living room when someone breaks their prototype and three people jump in to fix it.

[Cohort nights]

Not every important conversation happens in a session. Some happen at 1am in the living room when someone breaks their prototype and three people jump in to fix it.

[Redacted]

We're still designing this one. It involves San Francisco, a challenge that tests more than your code, and a story you'll be telling for years. Details when you arrive.

[Redacted]

We're still designing this one. It involves San Francisco, a challenge that tests more than your code, and a story you'll be telling for years. Details when you arrive.

Who Should Apply?

Built something? Build something bigger.

You should apply if:

You can code, and you can prove it (yes, there's a test)

You can code, and you can prove it (yes, there's a test)

You've already built something — a project, a product, a prototype that shipped

You've already built something — a project, a product, a prototype that shipped

You believe the next 36 months are unlike anything that's come before

You believe the next 36 months are unlike anything that's come before

You'd rather spend your summer building a company than optimizing your resume

You'd rather spend your summer building a company than optimizing your resume

You're comfortable living in a house with 30+ other builders who are just as intense as you

You're comfortable living in a house with 30+ other builders who are just as intense as you

You should not apply if:

You're looking for a line on your CV

You're looking for a line on your CV

You think "entrepreneurship" means attending panels

You think "entrepreneurship" means attending panels

You'd rather talk about AI than build with it

You'd rather talk about AI than build with it

You're in a 2025 mindset (you know what we mean)

You're in a 2025 mindset (you know what we mean)

What You Get

Everything you need to focus on what matters.

  • Housing

    Fully covered. You live where the ecosystem lives.

  • Food

    Covered. Good snacks. Air purifier. The essentials.

  • Domain Experts

    Not a parade of talking heads. Founders and operators who've built what you're building, matched to your specific domain.

Housing

Food

Domain Experts

Housing

Fully covered. You live where the ecosystem lives.

Housing

Food

Domain Experts

Housing

Fully covered. You live where the ecosystem lives.

And the rest?

A cohort of builders from MIT, Harvard, and Princeton who will push you harder than any class ever has. Bonding experiences we can't put on a website yet — think scavenger hunts at places you've only read about, designed by people who think "outrageous" is a starting point.

The Program

Two weeks to launch, a full summer to perfect.

Phase 1 — Intensive Launch (2 weeks)

All builders arrive in SF. Rapid prototyping. Speaker sessions with founders who've been where you're going. Build, build, build.

Phase 2 — Summer Residency (flexible, up to 10 weeks)

Phase 3 — Return & Continue (Fall 2026)

Phase 1 — Intensive Launch (2 weeks)

All builders arrive in SF. Rapid prototyping. Speaker sessions with founders who've been where you're going. Build, build, build.

Phase 2 — Summer Residency (flexible, up to 10 weeks)

Phase 3 — Return & Continue (Fall 2026)

The Selection Process

We're not looking for applications. We're looking for builders.

  1. Apply

Tell us what you've built and what you want to build next.

  1. Coding Test

We need to know you can ship, not just pitch.

  1. Interview

A conversation about what you're maniacal about.

  1. Decision

Fast. We don't have time to waste, and neither do you.

The June 2026 Cohort

The first team is in, many more to come.

They didn't wait. Kevin and Leah are already building — locked in for June, shipping from day one. The cohort is forming now. If you're in, apply.

Harvard

Electrical Engineering and Comparative Literature

Harvard

Electrical Engineering and Comparative Literature

UChicago

Computer Science Instructional Laboratory (CSIL)

UChicago

Computer Science Instructional Laboratory (CSIL)

FAQ

Your questions, answered.

Why San Francisco?

Why this summer?

Who's behind this?

Can I do this and my internship?

Why San Francisco?

Why this summer?

Who's behind this?

Can I do this and my internship?

TekTrek

Build the future. This summer. In San Francisco.

TekTrek

Build the future. This summer. In San Francisco.

TekTrek

Build the future. This summer. In San Francisco.