Where Intelligence Takes Shape

The AI Founder Sprint is an 8-week, research-driven journey designed for early-stage founders building ventures powered by artificial intelligence. Hosted by the AI Venture Lab powered by INSEAD, this is where founders turn raw intelligence into real traction through hands-on learning, global mentorship, and a high-velocity peer community.

Across eight weeks, you’ll experience:

  • Masterclasses

    with world-class thinkers, investors, and builders redefining what it means to build with AI

  • Live Workshops

     that bring frameworks to life through real startup cases and feedback

  • Fireside Chats

    offering raw, unfiltered lessons from founders who’ve done it before

  • Technical Tutorials & the Sundai Hack

    immersive deep dives led by MIT and Harvard hackers

  • Partner Sessions & Mentorship Network

    giving you access to cutting-edge tools, resources, and expert support

  • VC Week & Demo Day

    where you’ll pitch directly to investors, receive feedback, and take your next step toward funding

Inside the Sprint

Masterclasses

  • Masterclass with Gaurav Jain & Bill Tai

    A fireside-style deep dive into what it takes to raise and scale in the frontier of AI.

    Gaurav Jain — Co-Founder of Afore Capital, one of the largest pre-seed funds (≈$500M AUM) backing companies like Gamma, Modern Health, Neo, and Hightouch.

    Bill Tai — Early investor in Zoom and Canva; founding chair and investor in Treasure Data and Bitfury, bringing decades of insight across deep tech, crypto, and venture innovation.

  • Masterclass with Claudia Zeisberger

    INSEAD Professor and Founder of the Global Private Equity Initiative (GPEI), Claudia brings over 30 years of investment experience. Her session unpacks how founders can build financially sound, investor-ready ventures while balancing ambition with governance.

  • Masterclass with Grant Lee

    CEO & Co-Founder of Gamma, an AI-native company that hit $50M ARR with only ~30 people. Grant’s talk explores speed, capital efficiency, and how to embed AI into your operating DNA from day zero.

  • Masterclass with Ethan Mollick

    Wharton Professor, TIME100 AI honoree, and author of the NYT bestseller Co-Intelligence. Ethan’s session focuses on the evolving relationship between humans and AI and how founders can harness this synergy for creative and competitive advantage.

  • Masterclass with Hian Goh

    Founding Partner of Openspace Ventures and co-founder of the Asian Food Channel, Hian shares lessons from backing Gojek and scaling SEA startups with strategic capital and storytelling.

  • Masterclass with Chris Yeh

    Co-author of Blitzscaling (with Reid Hoffman), Chris brings decades of experience as an entrepreneur, investor, and advisor. His session dives into growth dynamics, founder psychology, and how to scale without losing control.

Led by INSEAD professors Hyunjin Kim and Rem Koning, these are hands-on, case-driven sessions where frameworks meet feedback. Expect spotlight reviews of real ventures, interactive exercises, and practical takeaways you can immediately apply to your own build.

Live Workshops

Raw, honest conversations with seasoned founders who share not just their milestones but the setbacks, pivots, and breakthroughs that shaped their paths. These sessions are designed to remind every founder that behind every “overnight success” lies relentless iteration.

Fireside Chats

Led by the Sundai Team, a collective of MIT and Harvard builders behind the world’s largest AI hacker community. They bring their hacker-first philosophy — Build. Ship. Shortcuts. to the Sprint through deep technical tutorials and a one-day Sundai Hack.

Technical Tutorials & The Sundai Hack

Key tutorials include:

  • Foundations of Rapid Prototyping with AI

    turning prompts into prototypes fast

  • Memory & RAGs

    building context-aware systems with retrieval-augmented generation

  • MCPs & Agents

    from chatbots to real-world automation

  • Vibe-Coding

    designing human-AI collaboration workflows

  • The Hacker Combinator

    founders co-solve cohort challenges in live breakout rooms

Culminating in the Sundai Hack, a full-day sprint where teams build, ship, and deploy AI tools all in 24 hours.

Throughout the Sprint, you’ll have access to 100+ global mentors. Investors, founders, technologists, and operators for 1:1 guidance. Weekly Venture Guide sessions foster accountability, reflection, and shared learning across the cohort.


Venture Guide & Mentorship Network

Exclusive access to industry leaders offering hands-on resources and startup perks.

Partner Sessions

Featured Speakers

  • Reshma Sohoni

    Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Seedcamp

  • James Drage

    Founder, Heroiq Holdings

  • Vanessa Gao

    CEO & Co-Founder, The Jiangmen

  • David Yin

    Partner, Informed Ventures

  • Joseph Benson-Aruna

    Partner, DFS Lab

Together, they represent the frontier of AI-native entrepreneurship from Europe to Africa, Asia to the Americas.

perks from Our partners

GOOGLE

Up to $25,000 in API credits for pre-investment ventures. Access to AI tools, training, and Google for Startups resources

manus ai

Free API credits for experimentation and model integration

NVIDIA

Entry into the NVIDIA Inception Program. Priority access to the Venture Capital Alliance, connecting AI founders with growth and funding opportunities

AVL Testimonials

  • The sessions provided valuable insights on the value of data-driven decision making, building scalable business models, and creating measurable impact metrics that resonate with both investors and end-users. I’ve gained clarity on how to structure iLearnova growth strategy focusing first on niche adoption, then expanding globally with sustainability and impact at the core.”

    MR OSHINAIKE OLADIMEJI, Founder - ILEARNOVA

  • One key insight we’ve gained is the importance of putting AI at the center of our value proposition, not just as a supporting tool. We also learned that early user testing and rapid feedback loops are critical to refining both our technology and business model.

    Ozurumba Obinna, Founder - Jxtgotfunded

  • We’ve gained insights into how to address key challenges we currently face, and we’ll apply them to refine our operations and product strategy. We also plan to leverage connections with founders building global companies to adopt best practices and position Credbevy for international scalability.

    Oripeloye Timilehin, Founder - Credbevy

  • Using AI has made me a lot more reflective, rather than less. Instead of jumping into writing, I now use AI tools to help plan out content and edit drafts. It's made me realise the importance of continuously experimenting with AI and helped me understand where the limitations are.

    Aditi Kibe-Heal, Founder - Sipgood