Open to the Penn community: faculty, students, post-docs, staff, and alumni who graduated in the past year. We only work with ideas based on research / education developed at Penn in STEM and medicine areas.
I-Corps cohort – Fall 2026
- Apply by Sun, Sep 20, 2026 (priority) or Sun, Sep 27, 2026 (general)
Virtual Information Sessions:
Learn more about the Penn I-Corps program, determine if your team is a good fit, and meet potential teammates by registering for one of our informational sessions. The sessions will take place from 12 pm to 1 pm EST via Zoom on the following dates:
- Wed, Aug 26, 2026
- Wed, Sep 2, 2026
- Fri, Sep 11, 2026
- Wed, Sep 16, 2026
- Thu, Sep 24, 2026
Register for an information session here.
If you are unable to attend, you can watch a recording of an info session here.
You can apply as:
- a team with an idea;
- an individual with an idea looking to form a team; or
- an individual without your own idea, who wishes to join a team.
Fall 2026 Workshop Schedule
Opening Session: (in person) Thu, Oct 22, 2026, 4 pm to 8pm
- Team Introductions
- Customer Segment and Value Proposition Hypotheses
- Interview Design and Practice
- Finding Interview Subjects
Getting and conducting Interviews: (virtual) Thu, Nov 5, 2026, 4pm to 6pm
- Finding interview candidates
- Landing interviews
- Conducting interviews
Office Hours: (virtual) 30 minutes during the weeks between opening and closing session
- Individualized Mentorship on Interviewing Progress
- Refining Hypotheses
Panel on Resources for Entrepreneurs: (in person) Fri, Nov 13, 2026, 12pm to 1pm
Closing Session: (in person) Thu, Nov 19, 2026, 4pm to 8pm
- Final Team Presentations
- Opportunities within the UPENN and NSF ecosystems
- Next Steps
Application Process
- We accept applications continuously on a rolling basis
- Once accepted, participants can choose which cohort to join
- Once a cohort fills up, you will be queued for the next one.
Before starting the application, we recommend reviewing this preparation guide, which outlines the information you will need and can help make the application process faster and easier.
1
Determine Eligibility
2
Team Formation
3
Interview
4
Decisions
5
Class Begins
How I-Corps ranks applications:
The National Science Foundation created the I-Corps program in 2011 to support the commercialization of “deep technologies,” those revolving around fundamental discoveries in science and engineering. The I-Corps Program addresses the skill and knowledge gaps associated with the transformation of basic research into deep technology ventures.
Accordingly, Penn I-Corps classifies applications into four categories, with the 1st tier being the most preferred. Typically 10 to 12 teams participate in each course. About 50% of the teams fall in the 1st tier. Tiers 2 through 4 make up the remaining 50%.
- 1st tier – Deep technologies arising from funded research: Researchers (doctoral students, post-docs, faculty) working on ideas based on research conducted at Penn and funded by NIH, NSF, DoD, or other funding agencies.
- 2nd tier – Innovative research: innovative ideas developed at Penn based on deep technologies that do not originate in funded research
- 3rd tier – Applied innovation: ideas that use known technologies for innovative purposes but do not represent deep technological innovations.
- 4th tier – Remainder: ideas that do not fall in any of the above tiers
The Penn I-Corps Site works exclusively with the Intellectual Property (ideas) generated at Penn by students and researchers. Technologies developed outside of Penn do not qualify for participation in Penn I-Corps.
Programs For Penn Faculty, Students and Researchers with Ideas Based on Funded Research
If you want to explore creating a startup based on results from your research, you have come to the right place. Penn I-Corps will help you determine the market potential for your startup, which will put it on a growth trajectory.
We understand that the time constraints of a faculty member can make it hard to devote time to participate in I-Corps. That’s why we accept teams led by a member of the faculty’s lab.
More than 250 research-based teams have been trained by us.
- Innervace: is a regenerative therapy company developing technology to treat Parkinson’s Disease. Founded by Dr. Kacy Cullen and Dr. Douglas Smith, Penn I-Corps helped form a team led by Dr. Kullen’s graduate student Justin Burrell. The team’s participation in I-Corps in 2017 helped define its strategy. The company has since raised funds from investors and is the recipient of several grant awards.
- Vetigenics develops next-generation immunotherapies to treat disease and improve the lives of companion animals. Its founder is Dr. Nicola Mason, Professor of Medicine & Pathobiology at Penn Vet. After completing the Penn I-Corps training, Vetigenics participated in the National I-Corps program. The company is the recipient of an SBIR grant. In this video, Dr. Mason discusses her experience with I-Corps.
*** Apply HERE by Sep 20, 2026 (priority) or Sep 27, 2026 (general) ***
Programs for Penn Students or Researchers (With or without an idea)
If you have an idea, the Penn I-Corps customer discovery course will help you define your market and even acquire your first customers. If you do not have an idea for a startup, we can help you join another team that is looking for members.
More than 200 student-led teams have participated in Penn I-Corps.
- Neuroflow’s Chris Molaro (Wharton MBA student) and Adam Pardes (SEAS staff) participated in I-Corps in 2016. The company focuses on mental health and has raised more than $10M with >30 employees
- Eight of the prestigious President Innovation Prize winners participated in I-Corps: inventXYZ, InstaHub, Strella Biotechnology, Avisi Technologies (VisiPlate), XEED, Sonura, Sync Labs, and Serpent Robotics.