Creator Fund invests in Deep Tech startups across Europe’s leading universities. We are the earliest backers of Scientific Founders (typically PhDs) who are taking the first step of turning their research into frontier technology businesses. Over the past 6+ years, we have invested in 64 companies in 12 **countries across Europe. Our companies have gone on to raise $420mm+ in follow-on VC funding.
We have a unique model. Every year, we recruit ~45 students (mainly PhDs) across Europe to join our Student Investor Programme. This team helps run our VC fund. It involves an 18-part course teaching you everything about founding and investing in Deep Tech. And it allows students to be involved in the full life cycle of a deal, from sourcing to close. Over 200 students have gone through our programme, and it has become Europe’s best launchpad for PhDs to become founders (often meeting their co-founders at CF). Other CF students decide to join VC funds after they graduate and we play an active role in placing them at top funds.
🔥 We have recently closed our latest $56mm pan-European fund, scaling our model across every top lab on the continent. This next class of student investors will be involved in deploying this fund. So if you're a PhD student interested in founding a company, want to understand how VC works, or want a front-row seat to European Deep Tech, there has never been a better time to join.
We focus on AI, Physics, BioTech, Materials, and Robotics. We back founders who work on the thin line between science fiction and reality, including: 💎synthetic diamond sensors for inspecting the inside of a semiconductor, 🎮 drone delivery of critical medical supplies, 🤖 teaching robots how to make decisions in the real world, 🏎️ AI models of the physical world, 👶 therapeutics to reverse age-related infertility, and ⚗️ fully autonomous chemistry laboratories. We don’t just write the first cheque; we help our companies start, scale and then raise from leading European and US funds at the next round.
As a student at Creator Fund, you will get exposed to every part of the VC and startup journey. This is an opportunity to learn how a pan-European Deep Tech VC operates from the inside, alongside your studies.
Applications are live for the 2026/7 cohort and will close on 13th September 2026. To apply, you must be a PhD, Master’s, or Undergraduate student at a European university (including the UK) in the 2026/7 academic year:
<aside> 👉 **You can apply here.**
</aside>
You will be joining a team of ~45 of the smartest PhD students across Europe, partnering across universities to identify, analyse, and win deals.
You will go through an 18 module Deep Tech Masterclass training programme. This is split into two sections so that you experience startups from both sides of the table: “How to be a Deep Tech VC” and “How to found a company out of my PhD”. You will receive mentorship from experienced VC and startup industry professionals. We have a speakers course that brings in top VCs from around the world. We have an annual Creator Fest summit in London where we fly in all our students. And we have lots of in-person activities near you. Most importantly, you will work on every stage of a deal. Alongside our professional team, you will source companies, meet founders, evaluate startups, learn how to conduct due diligence, and experience investment committees.
Many students join us because they want to found a company after their PhD. They want to learn how fundraising works and become a better founder by meeting hundreds of startups during their time with Creator Fund. Over 30 companies have been founded by students out of our programme in the past few years. We have led the pre-seed rounds into a number of these companies, including Malted AI (distilled SLMs for financial compliance), **OSM** (query optimisation framework), tera (enzyme immobilisation for the production of high-value chemicals), and **Refractal AI** (security layer for enterprise AI agents). All were founded directly by Student Investors out of the Creator Fund programme.
Applications are currently open for the following opportunities. There is only one application, and applicants will be signposted to the most appropriate opportunity during the interview process.
📚 Venture Fellowship: An educational one-year programme for students without significant previous startup or VC experience. You will receive interactive masterclasses and one-on-one mentoring sessions with someone aligned with your professional goals. You will also source and win deals on campus and contribute to the due diligence of potential investments. This track is designed to be a one-year educational pathway to a career as a Deep Tech founder or VC.
🧑🏻🎓 Scientific Investment Partners: As a Creator Fund Scientific Investment Partner, you will take more of a leadership role on deals, guiding them through our due diligence process. You will also contribute to an Advisory Investment Committee where we debate investments. You will aid our decision-making when investing, on average, $1mm into pre-seed rounds. Our most senior student team members develop close relationships with founders and in some cases, are directly invited by the founding team to serve as advisors.
In the vast majority of cases, students start as Venture Fellows and then get promoted in subsequent years to Scientific Investment Partners. Both tracks offer unparalleled exposure to the European startup ecosystem. There is no other programme that gives you the opportunity to help lead an investment from start-to-finish and then often support the portfolio company afterwards.