Two Stanford students have raised $2 million to launch Breakthrough Ventures, a new accelerator designed to back startups founded by college students and recent graduates across the United States.
Breakthrough Ventures was founded by Roman Scott and Itbaan Nafi, who began organizing Demo Days at Stanford in 2024. After seeing strong traction and early success from participating student teams, the founders decided to turn the initiative into a full-scale accelerator.
According to Nafi, who is currently completing his master’s degree at Stanford, the funding transforms the firm from a short-term program into a long-term partner for student founders. Scott completed his undergraduate degree at Stanford in 2024 and earned his master’s the following year.
Backed by VCs and Stanford alumni
The accelerator raised capital from venture firms including Mayfield and Collide Capital, alongside a group of Stanford founder alumni. Early in the process, the founders brought on Raihan Ahmed to lead the accelerator’s operations.
The Accelerator is targeting student-founded companies across AI, health, consumer, deep tech, and sustainability, with a focus on founders who often lack early access to capital and networks.
Advertisement
Built by students, for students
While student accelerators already exist at institutions such as UC Berkeley, MIT, and Stanford itself, Breakthrough positions itself as a founder-led alternative spanning multiple campuses nationwide.
The program is explicitly designed by student founders for student founders, with the goal of connecting talent across different universities rather than operating within a single campus ecosystem.
Hybrid accelerator model with early capital
Breakthrough Ventures will run a hybrid model combining in-person meetups at leading venture capital firms with a final Demo Day hosted at Stanford. Participating teams gain access to up to $10,000 in grant funding, compute credits through partners including Microsoft and Nvidia Inception, legal support, mentorship, and the opportunity to receive a $50,000 follow-on investment at the end of the program.
The founders plan to deploy the fund over three years, with a target of incubating at least 100 startups.
Aiming to become a hub for Gen Z entrepreneurship
The team behind Breakthrough says the initiative is designed to address growing economic uncertainty among young people by giving student founders the tools, confidence, and backing to pursue entrepreneurship earlier.
Applications for the next cohort are now open, as Breakthrough Ventures begins its push to become a nationwide platform for the next generation of founders.
About the Accelerator
Breakthrough Ventures is a student-founded startup accelerator supporting college students and recent graduates across the United States. The program provides early capital, mentorship, and access to industry networks, with the goal of closing the funding and opportunity gap for student entrepreneurs and building a national community for Gen Z innovation.
