speedrun SR008 Residency

About

speedrun SR008 is a16z’s 12-week in-person San Francisco residency for very early-stage founders, offering up to $1M, $10M+ in partner credits, customer and talent support, and Demo Day exposure.

Benefits

• 💰Funding — Up to $1M: $500K for 10% equity upfront via a SAFE, plus up to an additional $500K into your next qualifying round ($2M+) within 18 months; no board seat.
• 🎟️ Credits — $10M+ in cloud, AI and software credits from 200+ partners through the speedrun Marketplace; credits unlock once the investment is wired, and amounts and terms are set by each partner and can change.
• 🚀Demo Day — Present to thousands of investors in San Francisco and online on 13 April 2027; the fundraising team helps founders prepare.
• 🤝Customers — SR Insiders introductions to 150+ C-suite founding members and 1,000+ executives/operators, plus AI Faire, Tech Week, Launch Lab and Brand Lab.
• 👥Talent — Access to a Talent Network of 171,000+ people, hiring and HR support, and a free Ashby instance for six months; 250+ hires have been sourced through the network.
• 🏢Residency and office access — Twelve weeks of firesides, practitioner sessions, office hours and events at the San Francisco North Beach office, plus desk access for about six months; SR008 office access runs 9 November 2026 to 28 May 2027.
• 🌐Community — Build alongside a community of 1,000+ speedrun founders.
• 🛂Build in America — For accepted founders coming from outside the U.S., guidance/help with visas, banking and housing and access to a community of founders who made the move.

Eligibility Criteria

• Mandatory: early-stage founder/team already building a startup at idea, prototype or early-product stage.
• Mandatory: able to participate full-time in the 12-week in-person residency in San Francisco, California, and join the founder retreat, Progress Day, First Look Demo Day and Demo Day.
• Preferred: teams with multiple founders who bring complementary skills and can build/iterate on the product themselves, usually with a technical co-founder or equivalent expertise; solo founders may apply and are encouraged if they have a strong execution track record.
• Permitted: founders who have already raised capital, are not yet incorporated, are students or currently have full-time jobs may apply; applying is free.
• Permitted: founders from outside the U.S. may apply; accepted founders need to be able to participate in San Francisco, with visa guidance available through Build in America.

Participation Commitments

• Equity/funding terms: the standard deal is $500K for 10% upfront via a SAFE, plus up to an additional $500K in the next qualifying round ($2M+) within 18 months; a16z speedrun asks for pro rata rights in future rounds and an option pool for early hires, and does not take a board seat.
• Residency: the program is designed to be in person and full-time in San Francisco for twelve weeks; the FAQ also says founders are asked to be at the San Francisco office about one day a week for sessions, office hours and events, while building the startup full-time outside that.
• Key moments: every founder is asked to join the founder retreat, Progress Day, First Look Demo Day and Demo Day, and to present at Demo Day; when to raise remains the founder’s decision.
• Logistics: housing is not included; office space during the residency is for founders, not employees or founding engineers.
• Fees: applying is free; no application fee is charged.

Target Region

No nationality or country restriction is stated; founders from outside the U.S. may apply and founders have joined from 20+ countries. The residency itself must be completed in person in San Francisco, California, United States, and visa guidance is available through Build in America for accepted founders.

Target Sector

Agriculture & Food, Defense & Security, Education, Energy & Utilities, Financial Services, Government & Public Sector, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Media & Entertainment, Real Estate & Construction, Retail & Consumer, Semiconductors & Electronics, Sports & Fitness, Telecommunications, Transportation & Logistics, Travel & Hospitality, Other