Two Stanford University students have raised US$2 million to launch Breakthrough Ventures, a new accelerator programme designed to fund and support startups founded by college students and recent graduates across the United States.
The accelerator was founded by Roman Scott and Itbaan Nafi, who began building the programme after organising a series of well-attended Demo Days at Stanford in 2024.
What started as a campus-focused initiative has now evolved into a national platform aimed at backing early-stage companies in sectors such as artificial intelligence, health, consumer technology, deep tech, and sustainability.
“This fundraise turns Breakthrough from just being a seasonal accelerator into a lifelong partnership with our founders,” Nafi told TechCrunch.
What you need to know
Scott, who completed his undergraduate degree at Stanford in 2024 before earning a master’s degree the following year, said the decision to scale the programme came after seeing tangible outcomes from the initial Demo Days.
Early in 2025, the founders brought in Raihan Ahmed to lead the accelerator and formally began raising capital. The fund attracted backing from venture capital firms including Mayfield and Collide Capital, alongside several Stanford alumni founders.
According to Scott, what differentiates Breakthrough Ventures from existing programmes is its peer-led design.
A crowded but fragmented student startup ecosystem
Student-focused accelerators are not new. Institutions such as the University of California, Berkeley, operate Free Ventures, while MIT runs its Sandbox Innovation Fund. Stanford itself hosts several entrepreneurship initiatives, including StartX, LaunchPad, and Cardinal Ventures.
However, Nafi believes Breakthrough stands out by intentionally bringing together students from multiple institutions rather than focusing on a single campus.
“Students have enjoyed how we’ve brought together so many others from different American colleges,” Nafi said of his program, comparing it to Stanford’s Treehacks hackathon.
The founders say Breakthrough Ventures aims to address a structural gap in early-stage entrepreneurship: limited access to funding and professional networks for student founders.
“Breakthrough’s purpose is to fill in the funding and opportunity gap that exists in many of these ecosystems because students have historically lacked access to capital and the networks required to launch their entrepreneurial pursuits,” Scott added.
The accelerator will operate a hybrid model, combining in-person sessions hosted at leading venture capital firms with virtual programming. Each cohort will culminate in a Demo Day held at Stanford.
A long-term bet on Gen Z entrepreneurship
Participants in the programme will receive a package of financial and technical support, including grant funding of up to US$10,000, access to compute credits through Microsoft and the NVIDIA Inception programme, legal support, and mentorship from experienced founders and investors.
Crucially, startups that complete the programme will also be eligible for a US$50,000 follow-on investment, providing a bridge between early validation and larger seed rounds.
“We hope that by supporting young entrepreneurs, we’re able to uplift as many stories as possible to then inspire many more across the world to use the tools and knowledge around them to pursue entrepreneurship not only to change their communities, but also gain economic stability for themselves and their families,” Nafi said.
The founders plan to deploy the fund over three years, with a target of incubating at least 100 startups. Beyond capital deployment, Nafi hopes Breakthrough Ventures will evolve into what he describes as a “hub for Gen Z entrepreneurship and thought leadership”.
That ambition is shaped in part by growing economic anxiety among young people, driven by rising living costs, student debt, and an increasingly competitive job market.
Talking Points
Breakthrough Ventures signals a growing shift in how student entrepreneurship is being funded, moving beyond campus-bound programmes to a national, founder-first accelerator model.
By raising US$2 million, the Stanford-born accelerator addresses a long-standing gap in early-stage funding, where student founders often struggle to access capital and credible networks.
At Techparley, we see Breakthrough’s “student founders backing student founders” approach as a response to the disconnect many young entrepreneurs feel with traditional accelerators.
Grant funding, compute credits, and follow-on investment position Breakthrough as more than a mentorship platform, offering founders a clear pathway from idea validation to early traction.
With a focus on AI, health, deep tech, consumer and sustainability startups, the accelerator aligns closely with sectors shaping the future of innovation. As economic uncertainty continues to shape Gen Z career choices, initiatives like Breakthrough Ventures highlight entrepreneurship as an alternative path to long-term stability and impact.
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