A competitive award supporting selected Penn student founders who are currently participating in or have successfully completed VIP-X, who are currently enrolled in a degree granting program at the University of Pennsylvania and are graduating in 2025 with a degree, and who will be working on their venture full time after graduation.

Application Deadline: 11:59 PM Eastern on Sunday, March 9, 2025

Fund Your Startup

The Venture Lab Bridge Fund Awards are provided by a generous gift from the following donors :

  • The Draper Foundation at the behest of Tim Draper
  • Sandeep Naik WG'04 & Bhakti Prabhu
Selected Ventures
Selected ventures receive an award of up to $50,000, to help the founders achieve their entrepreneurial goals directly following the completion of their University of Pennsylvania degree. This is a competitive award and the award funds will be distributed to selected winners in tranches, pending meeting all award requirements. Only one application per venture will be accepted, regardless of the number of eligible co-founders/team members. Please see the application for the full rules and eligibility requirements.
Selected Finalists

Finalists must be available to interview with the Selection Committee on Wednesday, April 2 or Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Applicants who are enrolled in an academic program based in Philadelphia will be expected to meet with the Selection Committee in person in Tangen Hall. Applicants who are enrolled in an academic program with a home base location outside of Philadelphia, or who are enrolled in an executive style program, may be permitted to interview virtually.

Event Schedule

Application Timeline

Date Event
Monday, February 17, 2025 Application Opens
Sunday, March 9, 2025, 11:59 PM Eastern Application Closes
Monday, March 31, 2025 Finalists notified
Wednesday, April 2 and Wednesday, April 16, 2025 Finalists interview with Selection Committee
Monday, April 21, 2025 Winners notified
Friday, April 24, 2025 All other finalists notified

2024 Winners

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Odyssey Notebooks
Rainbow Yeung, WG'24
Sponsored by The Draper Foundation
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Jochi
Yash Dhir, SEAS'24; Rahul Nambiar, SEAS'24
Sponsored by The Draper Foundation
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Pairfect
Annie Xu WG'24
Sponsored by Sandeep Naik WG'04 & Bhakti Prabhu
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Airalux
Yi-An Hsieh ENG'23, GEN'24 and Joshua Freedman ENG'23, GEN'24
Sponsored by Sandeep Naik WG'04 & Bhakti Prabhu
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