Today, the Founder Institute, the world's premier pre-seed startup accelerator, is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Chile 2026 program!
If you could use a structured process and feedback from Santiago's top entrepreneurs to build a startup, then apply to the Chile 2026 Founder Institute today.
Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 200+ cities worldwide, the Founder Institute provides high-potential entrepreneurs and teams with the critical support network and structured process needed to build an enduring company. Since 2009, the program has helped over 9,000 Graduates raise over 2BN funding, get into seed-accelerators, generate traction, recruit a team, build a product, transition from employee to entrepreneur, and more.
To celebrate the launch, the Founder Institute will host several free startup events in Santiago, where you can learn from top entrepreneurs and hear more about the program:
- How to Choose the Right Startup Idea Before You Build: 8:00am, may 18, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/390283
- Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
- How to Tell Stories That Win Clients and Investors with Lubna Forzley: 12:00pm, may 19, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/396339
- [Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Get Unfiltered Feedback from Global Investors & Advisors: 12:00pm, may 26, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/395405
- Vibecoding 101 for Startups: Build Your First App w/ Mark Montalban: 12:30pm, jun 01, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/398094
- Inside the Founder Institute: Real Stories From Alumni: 12:00pm, jun 02, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/390443
- How to Build a Strong Pipeline of Entrepreneurs for your Innovation Hub: 12:30pm, jun 08, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/398328
- Startup Advisors 101: How to Find Advisors and Maximize their Impact (POSTPONED): 8:30pm, jun 08, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/388418
- What It Takes to Get Funded: Live Investor Q&A w/ Maayan Teper: 12:00pm, jun 09, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/396175
- Turn Startup Hesitation Into Action: A Founder Mindset Framework: 8:00pm, jun 15, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/393187
- Stop Guessing, Start Raising: An Investor Q&A : 8:00pm, jul 06, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/392815
- Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 12:00pm, jul 20, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/390581
- From Idea to Action: The Startup Mindset : 8:30am, ago 10, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/393310
- Meet FI Alumni Founders: High-Growth Startups Panel : 12:00pm, ago 10, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/391133
- Build a Startup Idea Investors Won’t Ignore: 8:00pm, ago 18, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/391251
- What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 12:00pm, sep 01, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/392927
- Break the Idea Loop and Decide What to Build: 9:00pm, sep 21, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/391531
- From Idea to Traction: Lessons From Global FI Alumni: 9:30pm, oct 05, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/390857
- From Dreamer to Doer: Build the Founder Mindset: 1:00pm, oct 13, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/393440
- From Founder to Funded: Interactive Q&A with Top Startup Investor: 2:00pm, nov 03, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/393065
- From “Maybe” to Momentum: Building a Great Startup Idea: 10:00pm, nov 17, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/391397
- From First Idea to First Funding: Global Alumni Stories: 2:00pm, dic 01, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/390994
The Santiago program is led by some of the region's top startup leaders, including Cristobal Henriquez (Director General / Socio Fundador, VentureCapital Investment Group / @ Founder Institute), Javier Hasbun (Entrepreneur, Financial Advisor, Teacher and Musician | CEO at Tu Firma Digital | Board Member at Venture Capital | Partner Digital Ventures LA, VC), Robinson Soto (Director en VC Group | Financiamiento, innovación y desarrollo de negocios | Director Local, Founder Institute).
In addition, some of Santiago's top entrepreneurs, CEOs, and investors will be participating in the program, providing them with expert training, feedback, and evaluation. The list of mentors for the Santiago Founder Institute includes:
- Adeo Ressi: CEO, Decile Group / VC Lab
- Alejandro Pantoja: Director ejecutivo / CEO, OpenBeauchef
- Alex Harasic: Business Development Manager - Startups & Venture Capital, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Alfredo Zepeda: Consultor Estratégico, Director Independiente
- Allan Jarry: Founder, JarryIP SpA & Dadneo VC
- Alois Bencina Kusmanic: CEO, Inversiones Atardecer
- Andres Gallardo: Director Ejecutivo, Desafío Latam
- Andres Ginestar: Director Ejecutivo, Talentoso
- Andrés Leiva: CEO, Videsk
- Boris Gonzalez Ojeda: Director | Presidente de ARIA Los Ríos, EfectoVisual
- Bruno Villalobos: Director de Inteligencia Artificial , SUBE IA
- Camila Navia: CEO, Berking Biotechnology
- Carla Donoso Christiansen: Directora, Comunicaciones estratégicas, marketing y asuntos corporativos
- Carlos Sandoval Castillo: Consultor Estratégico, Innovación y Transformación Digital
- Catalina De La Parra: Dra. en Artes, Facilitadora de capacitaciones para equipos.
- Christian Ohnes: Founder, Squads Venture
- Christian Cáceres Fuentes: Consultor Estrategia & Finanzas Startup, Mentor Triple Impacto
- Cristhian Vasquez: CEO, NovaMind
- Cristian Frenkel: CEO, RADAR: Marketing para eCommerce y Negocios B2B
- Cristian Tala: Inversionista VC, Ángel y Emprendedor | , El Ecosistema Startup
- Cristian Varas: Co-Founder, ADDAM
- Cristian Amunategui: Senior Legal Adviser, EMS Chile
- Cristian Zepeda Vera: Director - Advisor , Startups
- Cristian Campomanes Gutiérrez: Head de Ecosistemas e Impacto, Maxxa
- Cristobal Henríquez: Director General, VC Group
- Cristobal Leturia: Co-Founder, Laura Inc - IA
- Cristóbal Camino: CEO, Nube Cowork
- Daniel Ibarra: CEO, GOPLACEIT.COM
- Daniel Gómez: CEO, Centech
- Derie Fuentes Messina: CSO, Berking Biotechnology
- Eduardo Steffens: Director de empresas, Inversionista
- Eilyn Roca: Proyectos e innovación, Franquicias Internacionales
- Elena Vega Opazo: CEO, Marketing Simple LAB
- Eric Tureo: CEO, Tureos Group
- Esteban Fernandez: Founder, Palo Negro Biotech
- Fabian Mella Lukacs: Founder, NeoVC
- Fabian Acuña Hernandez: Founder, 9punto5
- Fernando Hoffmann Rencoret: 🚀 Brand Manager | Marketing, Branding y Negocios Digitales | +8 años conectando marcas con personas | MBA, Café Marketero
- Francisca Castillo Castro: Founder and CEO, Neocrop Technologies
- Francisco Musso: CEO, Sales World
- Francisco (Chopan) Catrileo: Co-Founder, Palta Labs
- Francisco Salas Correa: CEO & Founder, Innovantgroup.io
- German Velasco Perez: CEO, E-Mov
- German Alberto Godoy: Máster en Evaluación de Proyectos, Mentor de Impacto
- Gonzalo Ortega Diaz: CEO, KININ
- Hussam Sufan: CEO, SearchBrand.ai
- Ivan Pino Saavedra: CEO, Plant Based Biotech
- Ivan Fierro: CEO, Casa W
- Javier Hasbun: Managing Partner, VC Group
- Javier Caruso: Founder & CEO , Webstarted
- Javier Cortes: Socio Fundador | Tax & Legal | IA Tech, Cortés Del Río
- Jorge Pizarro: Director Comercial | Experto en Comercialización Tecnológica | FINTECH | Profesor Adjunto MBA UC | Automatización de cobranza y recaudación B2B & B2C | Reducción de morosidad | Pagos sin fricción | Open Finance, UPAGO
- Jose Kont: Director Ejecutivo, Cuantico VP
- José García Herz: Managing Partner, MKF Ventures
- José Coloma Canales: Co-Founder, Vendify
- José Ricardo Muñoz Mansilla: CEO, XConsultores
- Juan Carlos Silva: Co-Founder, Roombeast
- Juan Eduardo Fantini: Partner & Chief Investment Officer, CIO Invest
- Juan I. Reimann: Director | Recruitment Expert, Founder & Investor
- Juan Pablo Cappello: Principal, Greenberg Traurig
- Juan Pablo Merino: Founder, REX Labs
- Kim Maturana, UPGirl
- Konrad Peschka: Founder, Konredus
- Luis Mourgues: Corporate Venture Lead, Transelec
- Luis Jara Guillén: Start Up Specialist, Banco BCI
- Luis Alberto Alvarado: CEO, Surpay
- Luis Felipe Meneses Faúndez: Dirección Estratégica como Servicio DaaS | Especialista en Crecimiento #Growth y Arquitectura Estratégica desde el #Nosotros | Creador de #humanb #ProductPeopleLedGrowth #CompraLocal y el Trébol de la Buena Suerte , humanB
- Manuel Fernandez: CEO , GoVentas
- Manuel Rengifo: CEO, Emprende-T
- Marco Antonio Alvarez: Chairman of the Board, CCAF La Araucana
- Maria Ines Miranda: CEO, Innovature
- Mario Godoy Zanni: Estratega y business intelligence, M&A
- Mauricio Espinoza Quilodran: Co founder - Director, Mentor.IA Creativa
- Mauricio Ovando: CEO, SET
- Mauricio Gonzalez: Consultor y profesor de finanzas, Conductor de Capital en Juego
- Maximilian Klapp: CEO, Turingo
- Micaela Di Julio: Program Manager, Visionary B2B and B2G Ecosystem
- Oscar Casal: Founding Partner, Mondios Partners & CFO Rebel Factory
- Pablo Gonzalez Rogers: CEO, GUX Technologies
- Pablo Chandía Bascuñan: Articulador de Innovación Estratégica, IA Aplicada
- Pablo Diaz: Co-Founder, Multivendor Network Academy
- Pablo Ramirez Montes: Socio, Dalgarrando & Cía
- Patricia Vera Barrientos: Estrategia e Innovación, Deportista de montaña
- Patricio Pizarro: Founder, Nube Cowork | Trinity Partners
- Patricio Villegas Rehbein: Director, Verifika
- Paula Broitman: Assistant Professor, P. Universidad Católica de Chile
- Paula Bertone: Co-Founder & CRO, GROW
- Pilar Valenzuela Toledo: Consultura Estratégica en Innovación, Valiente Consultores
- Raimundo Mujica Sotomayor: CEO, Quimun
- Ramon Gutiérrez: CEO, Be You
- Ricardo Ibañez Villaroel: Fundador, Grupo Defensa
- Ricardo Icarte C.: Managing Partner, Austral Angels
- Roberto Musso: President, Digevo
- Robinson Soto Fuentes: Director, VC Group
- Rocio Azparren: CEO, Webstarted
- Rodrigo Covarrubias, NOMADE Foodtech
- Rodrigo Carrillo: Mentor y Asesor Internacional en Innovación e IA Generativa, Sube IA
- Rodrigo Ibañez Coronado: Gestor de Redes, Innovación y Transformación Digital
- Rodrigo Sainz: Founder and CEO, Blockchain Summit Latam
- Sebastián Felipe Antimán García: CEO, TechBio Innovations
- Tim Delhaes: CEO, Restacked.ai
- Tomas Bercovich: CEO and Founder, Zhetapricing
- Tomás Vial Tagle: CEO, Nova Agro
- Veronika Fischer: Experta, Desarrollo de Negocios y Mentoría
- And many more to be announced.
The Founder Institute is designed for founders and teams all throughout the pre-seed stage, including aspiring founders with a full-time job, solo founders, teams, and founders of established companies that are pre-funding. The Founder Institute's mission is to "Globalize Silicon Valley" and create sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.
Join us in Santiago to build a great company in 2019.
Apply to the Chile 2026 Founder Institute today, or learn more at FI.co/overview.
