A four-week, in-person AI builder sprint at START Campus in St. Gallen. Ten builders live, eat and build together from 17 August to 11 September 2026. Not a course, not a workshop — every week ends with something real, and Week 4 is Demo Day. Forge is a programme of START Global, a non-profit student initiative.

Builders — not people who want to learn how to build. Apply 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, and you're serious about founding something. If you want to be taught the basics or want a certificate instead of a company, this isn't for you.

There's no fee. Accommodation in the hacker house, living costs and AI credits are covered for the full four weeks. Travel to and from St. Gallen is not covered — you get yourself here, we handle the rest.

No. 0% equity, and 100% of the IP stays with you. START Global is a non-profit student initiative — everything you build during Forge belongs to you.

No. You can apply solo. Week 1 includes team formation, so you'll have the chance to find people to build with once you're here.

No. Forge is full-time and in person for the full four weeks in St. Gallen. If you can't be here the whole time, it's not the right fit — and we'll screen for it.

Four weeks of real output: at least five user interviews and a revised hypothesis, a functional prototype, a validated iteration, and a demo shown to mentors, operators and the START network on Demo Day — plus the cohort of builders you did it with.

Applications close on 29 July 2026. There are 10 spots. Apply through the form linked on this page — it takes a few minutes, and we read every one. This is the pilot batch: Batch 01 of START Forge.