Mila Ventures Founder in Residence
Build at the source. Access one of the world’s densest concentrations of artificial intelligence (AI) talent to scale your next frontier venture.
The mission of the Mila Ventures Founder in Residence (FiR) program is to propel visionary founders building AI-native companies with defensible moats fueled by Mila researchers.
This program is a curated partnership designed for serial entrepreneurs and veteran builders. This is a high-leverage residency within Mila’s world-renowned research ecosystem.
This residency fuses your operational mastery with Mila’s scientific community to build startups at the frontier of domain expertise. By bridging seasoned leadership with unparalleled research depth—across medicine, agriculture, robotics, and beyond—we collapse the distance between a breakthrough concept and a category-defining global leader.
Who Should Apply
The Basics
- You have formed a company or have a clear idea of what you want to work on.
- AI is central to your product thesis - the more ambitious, the better!
- You have meaningful space on your team for cutting edge AI practitioners.
The Archetypes
- Serial founder: you’ve exited before, you have a new company and are looking for a Day Zero advantage for your next act.
- Domain authority: you have deep industry expertise -e.g., in medicine, agriculture, manufacturing - and need the technical firepower to build a defensible, AI-first product.
- Deep tech pioneer: the more your project is operating on the cutting edge of AI development, the better potential for a fit with Mila researchers.
The Mila FiR program was a powerful catalyst for CarbonForge. In just a few months, they helped us solidify our founding team - including adding a Mila professor as CSO - formulate an ambitious strategic direction and generate significant investor interest.
Jean-Maxime Larouche, Founder CarbonForge
Program Pillars
Embedded Co-working
You aren't just "near" the research; you are in the room. Work alongside 1,000+ researchers in the heart of Montreal’s AI ecosystem at Mila headquarters.
A Unique Talent Pipeline
Top-tier AI engineers and scientists are the most valuable talent pool in the world. We will help you recruit Mila Master's and PhD students who are interested in pursuing full time and advisory work with startups. In the case of successful matches, Mila receives stock options.
Corporate Catalyst
Institutional access to our global partner network for rapid design partnerships, pilot validation and acceleration of product-market fit.
Hands on Mentoring
Each FIR company receives bespoke mentor matching that leverages the Mila Ventures network of technical, operational and financial mentors.
Investor Network
FIRs gain exclusive access to curated Demo Days and direct introductions to our network of Tier-1 VCs and angel investors who specialize in scaling deep-tech ventures.
The Founder Stack
In addition to our core offering, we provide a suite of perks and support systems designed to reduce your burn rate and accelerate your operations:
- Cloud Credits: substantial credits to power your initial development and testing.
- Events and workshops : expert-driven workshops, collaborative labs and onsite career fairs.
- Discounted Software: preferred pricing on essential SaaS tools.
- Professional Services: warm intros to specialized legal, accounting, PR and other professional services firms that understand the unique needs of AI startups.
The frontier isn't coming—it’s here. We’re sitting at the center of a talent revolution and an AI explosion. If you’re building for scale, Mila’s Founder In Residence program is for you.
Franco Forlini, Lead, Founder in Residence
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the Residence last?
The Mila residence is a 6 month duration with the possibility of extension for up to 1 year.
Do you offer office space for FiRs?
Yes. FiR participants have access to the Mila Ventures shared co-working space. Come join us in the heart of Little Italy in Montreal, where you will be colocated with other AI startups.
How does the talent matching work?
Using Mila’s exclusive internal networks and AI resources, we precisely map your venture’s technical needs to our elite research community.
Can I offer mentorship to Mila Startups?
Yes. We offer the ability for our more experienced FiRs to mentor earlier stage founders.