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AUG 17 – SEP 11, 2026START CAMPUS, ST. GALLENAPPLICATIONS CLOSE JULY 29 — …

Europe is running out of time to build the future

Europe is running out of time to build the future

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Aug 17 – Sep 11

Dates

START Campus, St. Gallen

Location

10

Spots

0%

Equity taken

Not fund it, not regulate it, build it

START Forge is a four-week, in-person AI builder sprint at START Campus in St. Gallen. Ten builders live, eat and build together — from pressure-testing an idea to a Demo Day in front of the START network. Everything else is handled. All you do is build.

START Forge is a four-week, in-person AI builder sprint at START Campus in St. Gallen. Ten builders live, eat and build together — from pressure-testing an idea to a Demo Day in front of the START network. Everything else is handled. All you do is build.

START Campus, St. Gallen

START Campus, St. Gallen

Four weeks, one room

Four weeks, one room

Talent isn’t missing, density is

By 2031 the US–Europe compute gap will have widened, not closed. The talent to close it is already here, working in isolation across the Lausanne–Zurich–St. Gallen–Munich corridor.

By 2031 the US–Europe compute gap will have widened, not closed. The talent to close it is already here, working in isolation across the Lausanne–Zurich–St. Gallen–Munich corridor.

The corridor in numbers

0x
US–Europe compute gap today
#0
Switzerland in AI researcher density
0+
ETH spin-offs founded each year
0th
Lausanne in AI output density

Not a course, not a workshop, a sprint

Not a course, not a workshop, a sprint

Week 01

Pressure-test

Test the idea against reality, find your team, talk to real users

ShipsFive user interviews and a revised hypothesis

Week 02

Prototype

Build something a user can actually touch

ShipsA functional prototype

Week 03

Iterate

Put it in front of Week 1 users and iterate on real signal

ShipsA validated iteration

Week 04

Demo Day

Show what you built to mentors, operators and the START network

ShipsA demo

We handle the admin, all you do is build

Everything around the work is taken care of, so the four weeks go into the work itself.

Accommodation

Accommodation

A bed in the hacker house for the full four weeks

Living costs

Living costs

Food and daily essentials, covered

AI credits

AI credits

Compute and model credits to build without a meter

Workspace & mentors

Workspace & mentors

24/7 workspace and mentor access throughout

0% EQUITY, 100% YOUR IP

0% EQUITY, 100% YOUR IP

START Global is a non-profit student initiative. We take nothing; everything you build during Forge belongs to you.

BUILDERS, NOT PEOPLE WHO WANT TO LEARN HOW TO BUILD

You're in if

  • You have an active project or a clearly defined idea backed by real prior work
  • You're building AI-native, or want to
  • You can show technical or commercial capability, ideally both
  • You're serious about founding something

You're not in if

  • You're looking for a program to teach you the basics
  • You want a certificate, not a company
  • You can't be in St. Gallen for the full four weeks

DOES THIS SOUND LIKE YOU?

ABOUT START GLOBAL

START Global is a non-profit student initiative in St. Gallen running START Summit, START Hack, START Forge and START Network. Forge is its newest programme — a four-week builder sprint.

startglobal.org →

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WE’RE NOT FILLING SEATS. WE’RE LOOKING FOR THE TEN WHO ARE ALREADY BUILDING

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Apply now

This is the pilot batch — Batch 01 of START Forge.