Today, the Founder Institute, the world's premier idea-stage accelerator and startup launch program, is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the Chile 2026 Semester!
If you want to build a startup in Santiago and could use expert training and feedback, then apply to the Santiago Founder Institute today, or attend a free event.
Those who apply by the Early Admissions Deadline (abr 21, 2026) will have their application fees waived (typically $50), and if you enroll by the Early Deadline you are also eligible for Founder Institute Fellowships.
Since launching in Santiago in 2012, the Founder Institute has helped launch several promising companies in the region, and {company - linked}, and our efforts in Santiago have also been profiled by several high profile media channels.
To celebrate the launch, the Santiago Founder Institute will several free startup events for the general public, where you can meet top entrepreneurs and learn more about the program:
Chile Events:
- Presenta tus ideas a inversores y expertos : 6:00pm, jul 23, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/401743
- ¿Por qué tu producto no vende? (y no es culpa de ventas): 6:00pm, ago 12, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/400257
Global or Regional Events:
- Stop Overthinking and Build a Great Startup Idea: 12:00pm, jul 20, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/390581
- [Restricted] VIP Pitch Lounge: Pitch Live and Get Feedback from Investors & Advisors: 12:00pm, jul 28, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/401210
- Learn from Solo Alumni: How FI Grads Built Without a Co-Founder: 12:00pm, ago 04, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/391133
- From Idea to Action: The Startup Mindset : 8:30am, ago 10, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/393310
- Stop Guessing, Start Raising: An Investor Q&A : 8:30pm, ago 10, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/392815
- Build a Startup Idea Investors Won’t Ignore: 8:00pm, ago 18, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/391251
- FounderX Silicon Valley 2026: Global Conference in San Francisco: 8:00pm, ago 25, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/399779
- What Makes Investors Say Yes: Startup Funding AMA: 12:00pm, sep 01, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/392927
- How to Build a Strong Pipeline of Entrepreneurs for your Innovation Hub: 1:00pm, sep 15, 2026 (America/Santiago): https://FI.co/e/398328
- 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
Leaders of the world’s fastest-growing startups have used the Founder Institute to transition from employee to entrepreneur, test their startup ideas, build a team, get their first customers, raise funding, and more - like Udemy, Realty Mogul, iCarsClub, Itembase, goplaceit, and Appota. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 200 cities and 100 countries, the Founder Institute's mission is to "Globalize Silicon Valley" and create sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.
Running the Founder Institute's efforts in Santiago are local startup leader Pablo Ambram (Director of ADN-Mentor Network, Dadneo).
In addition, some of Santiago's top entrepreneurs will mentor founders in the program, providing them with expert training, feedback, and evaluation. The list of mentors for the Chile 2026 includes:
- Adeo Ressi: CEO, Decile Group / VC Lab
- Alejandra Ganter: Founder, Chucao Consultores
- Alejandro Pantoja: Director ejecutivo / CEO, OpenBeauchef
- Alejandro Cova: Especialista en MKT B2B & B2C, ACM Group
- Alex Harasic: Business Development Manager - Startups & Venture Capital, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Alexandra Fontalba C.: Estrategia Comercial B2B, Customer Journey | Marketing, .
- Alfredo Zepeda: Consultor Estratégico, Director Independiente
- Alois Bencina Kusmanic: CEO, Inversiones Atardecer
- Álvaro Heredia Morales: Socio fundador, Consultor, UPCHAIN
- Andres Jara Baader: CEO, Alster Legal
- Andres Gallardo: Director Ejecutivo, Desafío Latam
- Andres Ginestar: Director Ejecutivo, Talentoso
- Andrés Leiva: CEO, Videsk
- Andrés Arce Maillard: Tecnología / Políticas Públicas / Govtech, VcM USS
- Ariel Arrieta: Cofounder & CEO, Nextperience Labs
- Beatriz Cereceda Caneo: CEO, Ordenar.me
- 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
- Carla Leal Vega: Founder & CEO | AI, Education & Human Potential Innovator | Startup Mentor, NeeKids
- Carlos Sandoval Castillo: Consultor Estratégico, Innovación y Transformación Digital
- Carolina Lagos Vera: Fundadora, ParsifalLab
- Cássio Falcón: Global Growth Marketing Manager, Founder Institute HQ
- Catalina De La Parra: Dra. en Artes, Facilitadora de capacitaciones para equipos.
- Cecil Acevedo: Co-Founder, HardDrones.com
- Christian Ohnes: Head Chile, Squads Venture
- Christian Cáceres Fuentes: Consultor Estrategia & Finanzas Startup, Mentor Triple Impacto
- Claudia Garrido: CEO & Founder 1995 h2o, h2o
- Claudia Barriga Carrera: Founder, Clo & Co
- Cristhian Vasquez: CEO, NovaMind
- Cristian Frenkel: CEO, Metaversia: 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
- Cristian Leal Durbahn: Asesor Estratégico en Desarrollo de Negocios, Gestión tecnológica
- 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
- Daniel Schwarze Fraile: Strategy & operations lead, Stablecoin & Blockchain
- Derie Fuentes Messina: CSO, Berking Biotechnology
- Diana Bermejo Escalona: Innovación Educativa , IA y Tecnología
- Eduardo Steffens: Director de empresas, Inversionista
- Eduardo Zavala Pulgar: Founder, V73 Studio
- Eduardo Riveros Quiróz: Co-Founder, Yo Aprendo
- Eilyn Roca: Proyectos e innovación, Franquicias Internacionales
- Elena Vega Opazo: CEO, Marketing Simple LAB
- Enrique Villarroel: Founder, La Ruta Silver
- Eric Tureo: CEO, TureosGroup
- Esteban Fernandez: Founder, Palo Negro Biotech
- Esteban Valenzuela Villena: Emprendedor y Mentor, M-Sport
- Evelio Gonzalez: CEO, Symatech
- Evelyn Patricia R. U.: CEO, Lex Work
- 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
- Francisca Salinas: Directora Ejecutiva, Fundación Antonio Hitschfeld
- Francisco Reaño, CoFoundersUp
- Francisco Musso: CEO, Sales World
- Francisco (Chopan) Catrileo: Co-Founder, Palta Labs
- Francisco Salas Correa: CEO & Founder, Innovantgroup.io
- Franco Zapata: Managing Partner, Zapata
- Gabriel Gurovich: Founder, Starter || Sought-after Speaker || Disruptor de Empresas
- Gabriel Cid: Founder & Excecutive Chairman, Capitalizarme
- Gerardo Lagger: CTO & Product, Siembro
- German Velasco Perez: CEO, E-Mov
- German Alberto Godoy: Máster en Evaluación de Proyectos, Mentor de Impacto
- Giancarlo Mañon: Founder, Avanza Logistics
- Gonzalo Ortega Diaz: CEO, KININ
- Gonzalo Migliaro: Director Ejecutivo, Nine Sapiens
- Gustavo Cortinez Aure: Founder, SweetSpot
- Héctor Jorquera: Director, Vinculamos Latam
- Héctor Troquian Sandoval: Founder and CEO, AuroCar
- Hernan Sebastian Bustos Toledo: Líder en Innovación, Educativa y EdTech
- Hussam Sufan: CEO, SearchBrand.ai
- Isabel Torres Vidal: Directora Innovación Abierta, Socialab
- Ivan Pino Saavedra: CEO, Plant Based Biotech
- Ivan Fierro: CEO, Casa W
- Jacob Antonio Arredondo Caro, Los Ríos Innova
- Javier Cueto: Managing Partner, Imagine Ventures
- Javier Hasbun: Managing Partner, VC Group
- Javier Caruso: Founder & CEO , Webstarted
- Javier Cortes: Socio Fundador | Tax & Legal | IA Tech, Cortés Del Río
- Javier Galdames: Estrategia Corporativa e Innovación, Empoderando Economías y Personas a Prosperar por medio de Tecnología
- 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
- Jorge M. Carpanetti: Director of Partnerships, Cámara Chilena de Inteligencia Artificial
- Jose Kont: Director Ejecutivo, Cuantico VP
- José Alvarez: Deal Partner , Ganas VC
- 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 Luis Larroucau: Co-Founder, AIM Manager
- Juan Pablo Cappello: Principal, Greenberg Traurig
- Juan Pablo Merino: Founder, REX Labs
- Juan Pablo Valenzuela Guerrero: Líder Ecosistema y Herramientas , Hubtec Chile
- Karina López Fuentealba: Founder & CEO, ENACTIVA
- Katherine Olguín Gómez: CEO, Patagonia Startups
- Kim Maturana, UPGirl
- Konrad Peschka: Founder, Konredus
- Leo Gmeiner: Founder, School Guardian
- Leyla Cardenas Tavie: Decana Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile
- Lorena Quiroz: Comunicación Estratégica, Hubtec Chile
- Lorena Martinez Parra: Gestora Tecnológica Comercialización y Desarrollo Spin-Offs, Universidad de Concepción
- Luciano Mariani, Torii
- Luis Mourgues: Corporate Venture Lead, Transelec
- Luis Jara Guillén: Start Up Specialist, Banco BCI
- Luis De La Cruz: CEO, Setup Partners
- 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
- Maca Lara: Founder, Kipus
- Manuel Fernandez: CEO , GoVentas
- Manuel Rengifo: CEO, Emprende-T
- Marcelo Guital: CEO and Founder, Guital & Partners
- Marco Antonio Alvarez: Chairman of the Board, CCAF La Araucana
- Maria Eliana Manquez: CEO, Clinica 2020/Visum
- Maria Ines Miranda: CEO, Innovature
- Mario Godoy Zanni: Estratega y business intelligence, M&A
- Marlon Fernandez: CEO, Fintech Multipréstamo
- Matías Gonzalez Duarte: CEO & Founder, Brincus.com
- 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: Head of Marketing at Cromodata, Founder of Areté
- Neudo Buelvas: Co-Founder, Infood Protein
- Nicolás Millán: CEO and Founder, #GetFair
- 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
- Paolo Ottaviani: Sr. Program Manager - Southern Europe | Program Director - Visa Innovation Program Europe | Venture Partner Biometric Ventures, Tenity | Biometric Ventures | Visa Innovation Program Europe
- 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
- Paula Jimenez: Founder, Nonstop Versatility
- Pilar Valenzuela Toledo: Consultura Estratégica en Innovación, Valiente Consultores
- Raimundo Mujica Sotomayor: CEO, Quimun
- Ramon Gutiérrez: CEO, Be You
- Raymundo Diaz Flores: Founder, Ventaja
- Ricardo Ibañez Villaroel: Fundador, Grupo Defensa
- Ricardo Icarte C.: Managing Partner, Austral Angels
- Roberto Camhi: CEO, Mapcity
- 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
- Rodrigo Aravena Muñoz: Director de proyectos, Economía Circular
- Sebastián Felipe Antimán García: CEO, TechBio Innovations
- Tim Delhaes: CEO, Restacked.ai
- Tomas Bercovich: CEO and Founder, Zhetapricing
- Tomás Vial Tagle: CEO, Nova Agro
- Tomás Ortega: Founder, Mushroom Protocol
- Veronica Delgado, I+D entornos industriales
- Veronika Fischer: Experta, Desarrollo de Negocios y Mentoría
- Víctor Pérez-Cotapos: VP of Payments, ComunidadFeliz
- And many more to be announced.
The Founder Institute is the most challenging and effective step-by-step startup launch program for talented and motivated aspiring entrepreneurs. If you are serious about launching a startup, the Founder Institute can give you the structured process, constant feedback and evaluation from expert mentors, and global network of entrepreneurs you need to start an enduring company. In addition, the Founder Institute is the only program of its kind that focuses on people versus ideas, accepts founders with day jobs, and shares equity with all participants.
We hope you will join us in Santiago and launch a company in 2017.
