TekTrek
Build the future.
From East to West, and back.
This summer.
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The Program
A summer of building, on both coasts.
TekTrek brings 50 of the strongest student builders from MIT, Harvard, and Princeton into a single cohort in San Francisco for the summer.
The name says it: a round trip that starts in Cambridge. Students trek west to build, and trek back with a real company, a real team, and a network that spans both coasts. The back-and-forth is the point — not extraction, but acceleration.
Three people is the new thousand. AI gives a small, sharp team the leverage that used to take an organization fifty times its size. The cohort spends 80% of its time building — there's no shortage of tech tourism in San Francisco, and this is not that.
Every builder is connected to mentors, founders, and operators matched to what they're actually building — relationships tailored team by team, with domain experts paired to specific teams.
Around it: curated site visits and trips across the Bay's frontier labs, archives, and the places that shaped the companies they're trying to build.
Housing
Two places to land.
The B & B (Builder & Ballerina)
The B & B (Builder & Ballerina)
30 builders live at the basecamp in Pacific Heights, a house once home to the San Francisco Ballet.
30 builders live at the basecamp in Pacific Heights, a house once home to the San Francisco Ballet.
University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
TekTrek / The B & B
TekTrek / University of San Francisco
Workspace
The Workspace.
A 12,000 sq ft purpose-built workspace in the heart of the Presidio.
A 12,000 sq ft purpose-built workspace in the heart of the Presidio.
12,000+ sq ft of bright, modular event and coworking space
12,000+ sq ft of bright, modular event and coworking space
Purpose-built for AI, blockchain, and frontier innovation
Purpose-built for AI, blockchain, and frontier innovation
A/V, fast wifi, desktops, snacks & drinks — everything a building team needs to stay heads-down.
A/V, fast wifi, desktops, snacks & drinks — everything a building team needs to stay heads-down.
TekTrek / The Builder Lab
Field Trips
Where the cohort goes.
A few of the trips across the summer — frontier labs, the Bay's deepest archives, and resets in nature.
A few of the trips across the summer — frontier labs, the Bay's deepest archives, and resets in nature.
Microsoft
Industry
Google / Bayview
Industry
LiquidAI / SF & Boston
Industry
Computer History Museum
History
The Interval / Long Now
Culture
Sustainability Voyage
Nature
Muir Woods
Nature
Alchemy Springs
Wellness
Villa Rosa / Marthas Vineyard
Culture
Calendar
How the summer is structured.
Three phases over the summer, plus a network of events that extend into the fall. More dates are still landing.
Three phases over the summer, plus a network of events that extend into the fall. More dates are still landing.
The summer in three phases
The summer in three phases
Orient
June 8 — July 5
June 8 — July 5
The cohort arrives, settles, and starts building. Mentors come through, field trips begin.
The cohort arrives, settles, and starts building. Mentors come through, field trips begin.
Sprint
July 6 — July 17
July 6 — July 17
A heads-down sprint with tight feedback loops, ending in a demo day.
A heads-down sprint with tight feedback loops, ending in a demo day.
Evolve
July 20 — August 9
July 20 — August 9
Refine the product, sharpen the pitch, prepare for what's next.
Refine the product, sharpen the pitch, prepare for what's next.
The Founders
The origin.
TekTrek was conceived at John Werner's Imagination in Action (IIA) Davos 2026 event, following a private meeting between Eric Schmidt, Dave Blundin, Daniela Rus, and Erik Brynjolfsson.
David Siegel was at that same Davos. His family foundation has long supported Imagination in Action, and he has spoken from its stage. He joins as a co-founding funder.
The founding team came together around a simple conviction: the best student builders from the East Coast need to be in San Francisco this summer, building, with access to the people who've done it before.
TekTrek was conceived at John Werner's Imagination in Action (IIA) Davos 2026 event, following a private meeting between Eric Schmidt, Dave Blundin, Daniela Rus, and Erik Brynjolfsson.
David Siegel was at that same Davos. His family foundation has long supported Imagination in Action, and he has spoken from its stage. He joins as a co-founding funder.
The founding team came together around a simple conviction: the best student builders from the East Coast need to be in San Francisco this summer, building, with access to the people who've done it before.
The Team
The people behind it.
The team running the program day-to-day. Each member owns a different slice of what makes the summer work.
The team running the program day-to-day. Each member owns a different slice of what makes the summer work.
For enquiries, reach out to John Werner or Theo Ehrmann
For enquiries, reach out to John Werner or Theo Ehrmann
The Network
The Mentors.
The cohort gets 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.
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.
