Two Stanford students announced Monday that they have raised $2 million for one accelerator program called Breakthrough Ventureswhich aims to fund businesses founded by students and recent graduates nationwide.
Roman Scott and Itbaan Nafi started creating the accelerator program after hosting a series of popular Demo Days at Stanford starting in 2024 and decided to expand it after students found success.
“This fundraiser turns Breakthrough from just a seasonal accelerator into a lifelong partnership with our founders,” Nafi, who is still a graduate candidate at Stanford, told TechCrunch.
Scott received his undergraduate degree from Stanford in 2024 and continued with a master’s degree there the following year.
Early last year, the duo tapped Raihan Ahmed to lead the accelerator, and then went to work, formally raising money from the likes of Mayfield and Collide Capital (as well as a number of Stanford alumni founders) to support the next generation of AI, health, consumer, deep tech, and sustainability companies. Scott said what makes their accelerator different is that it’s built specifically “for student founders by student founders.”
Student programs like this are not new. UC Berkeley offers a similar program called Free Ventures for students seeking upfront funding, and MIT has its own Sandbox Innovation Fund. Even Stanford has a number of accelerator programs run or affiliated with the school, such as StartX, LaunchPad, and Cardinal Ventures.
“The students enjoyed how we brought together so many others from different American colleges,” Nafi said of his program, comparing it to Stanford’s Treehacks Hackathon.
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“The purpose of Breakthrough is to fill the funding and opportunity gap that exists in many of these ecosystems because students have historically lacked access to the capital and networks needed to launch their entrepreneurial pursuits,” Scott added.
Breakthrough will have a hybrid model, with in-person meetings at local VC firms, culminating in a demo day at Stanford. Those in the program have access to grant funding (up to $100,000), computing credits (through Microsoft and the Nvidia Inception program), legal support, Waymo ride credits, mentoring (from Waymo CEO Tekedra Mawakana, among others), “along with the chance to receive $50,000 upon completion of the Na.
“We’ve nailed the student founder experience to a T,” said Nafi. “That’s why we offer the resources we do and we’ve structured the program that way. The students really feel like we get them, and that’s because we’re students.”
The duo hopes to grow the fund over three years, aiming to incubate at least 100 companies. Overall, Nafi hopes this fund will help develop Breakthrough into “the hub for Gen Z entrepreneurship and thought leadership,” especially given the anxiety many young people feel about their financial future.
Applications for the latest cohort open today.
“We hope that by supporting young entrepreneurs, we can highlight as many stories as possible to then inspire many more around the world to use the tools and knowledge around them to pursue entrepreneurship not only to change their communities, but also to gain financial stability for themselves and their families,” Nafi said.
This piece has been updated to correct the name of one of the investment companies.
