Columbia Entrepreneurship

Open House, March 5, 2026 - Columbia Startup Lab in SoHo
2026-03-05 18:00 - 19:00 UTC
The Columbia Startup Lab opens its doors to a new group of Alumni ventures! Applications are open March 1 through March 31. Join us for an information session. Meet the team, and founders, and ask us any questions you may have about the Lab. Space is limited! Please only sign up if you are eligible for the 2026-2027 cohort.
Please note that there will be two sessions, so be sure to mark the dates! As we have a waitlist, please do let us know if you’re unable to make it so we can accept waitlisters.
RSVP Here

The Insider Conversation with Founders x Ventures
2026-03-24 16:00 - 19:30
Curious what really happens behind the scenes in startups and healthcare venture? Join Columbia Healthcare Ventures on March 24 for an interactive evening with founders and investors who are building, backing, and scaling innovation in real time.
This isn’t a panel — it’s small-group, discussion-based sessions where you’ll sit face-to-face with founders and VCs, ask your questions, and get unfiltered insights. We’ll wrap up with a networking reception so you can continue the conversation and make meaningful connections.
RSVP here: https://luma.com/vzhr4bfq

Columbia Startup Lab Open House, March 26, 2026
2026-03-26 18:00 - 19:00
The Columbia Startup Lab opens its doors to a new group of Alumni ventures!

Applications are open March 1 through March 31.
Join us for an information session to meet the team, connect with current founders, and ask questions about the Lab. Space is limited. Only guests who RSVP in advance will be admitted to the space. Please only sign up if you are eligible for the 2026–2027 cohort.
RSVP for the Open House on Thursday, March 26 here.

Columbia Engineering Lecture Series in AI
2026-03-27 10:30 - 12:00
“Integrating Past and Present in Continual Learning”
Continual learning aims to bridge the gap between typical human and machine-learning environments. The continual setting does not have separate training and testing phases, and instead models are evaluated online while learning novel concepts and tasks. The most capable current AI systems struggle to learn new knowledge sequentially without forgetting old ones. Challenging research questions include how to rapidly assess a learner system’s abilities and how to most efficiently train it to improve on a sequence of tasks. I will describe recent progress on these questions, across various research groups in ARNI, our NSF AI Institute for Artificial and Natural Intelligence. Finally we will consider open issues and challenges in continual learning.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Richard Zemel is the Trianthe Dakolias Professor of Engineering and Applied Science in the Computer Science Department at Columbia University. He is the Director of the NSF AI Institute for Artificial and Natural Intelligence (ARNI), and was the co-founder and inaugural Research Director of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. His awards include an AI Lifetime Achievement Award (CAIA) and a Pioneer of AI Award (NVIDIA). His research contributions include foundational work on systems that learn useful representations of data with little or no supervision; graph-based machine learning; and algorithms for fair and robust machine learning.
Register here

Application Deadline: Columbia Startup Lab SoHo, 2026-2027
2026-03-31
Applications are now open for the Columbia Startup Lab!
Grow your venture with tailored programming, subsidized space, and a vibrant community of Columbia entrepreneurs – applications are now live for the Columbia Startup Lab through March 31. Questions about the CSL? Join us for an Open House on Thursday, March 5, for a chance to meet the team, see the space, and hear from a few resident ventures.
RSVP here
Note: We have a second Open House on Thursday, March 26
Can’t make an Open House? Get a feel for the space with this video.

Application Deadline: Spring 2026 Start Me Up Bootcamp with Columbia Engineering
2026-04-10
Join a select group of entrepreneurs for a two-week hybrid program designed to build your startup. The bootcamp introduces participants to the Lean Launchpad methodology and techniques to direct customer discovery through field interviews. Participants are required to conduct at least 20 customer interviews, attend online sessions and engage with other bootcamp teams and entrepreneurs.
Teams “get out of the building” to learn from potential customers to determine if they are solving a real-world problem with a sizeable market opportunity. In addition to providing entrepreneurial training, this program helps students and researchers identify new ways to apply research to solve global challenges. Teams that complete this bootcamp may be eligible to receive conference travel or stipend funding, including eligibility to apply for the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program. Click here to explore eligibility and expectations.
Spring 2026 Dates
April 24, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
May 1, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
May 8, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Rolling admissions, apply by April 10th

Data Science and AI Exchange 2026
2026-04-14
Join the Data Science Institute on April 14th to explore how leaders across academia, industry, and government are shaping the future of Responsible AI.
Learn more.

IDE x CORE Entrepreneurship in Hard Tech: A Conversation with Alumni Founders
2026-04-14 17:30 - 19:30
Join Columbia Engineering and CORE for a candid look at building a hard-tech startup before the pitch decks and headlines. Hear from young Columbia founders about ideation, finding mentors and co-founders, testing early ideas, and navigating the early stages of a tech venture as Columbia students. The talk will feature Vignesh Karthik and Valentina Marini Fichera, and will be moderated by Katherine Brown, SEAS ’28.
This event will include Q&A, networking and mentorship opportunities, and dinner will be provided.
When: April 14, 2026, 5:30 – 7:30pm
Where: Columbia Engineering, Mudd Building, Carleton Commons

RSVP

AI with a Soul: Guardrails, Access, and the Future of Healthcare
2026-04-17 09:00 - 14:00
Friday, April 17th
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM

The Forum at Columbia University
601 W. 125th Street, NYC

The 2026 HPM Healthcare Conference will focus on AI and humanity, exploring how artificial intelligence can advance healthcare while preserving equity, trust, and human-centered care. Through a keynote and morning panel, we will examine what AI can do and how it should be responsibly implemented in public health, health systems, and communities.

The Keynote Address will be given by Renée Cummings.

The Morning Panel will feature Divya Pathak, Deepesh Chandra, and Dr. Remle Newton-Dame. Moderated by Professor Thalia Porteny.

A lunch reception will follow, featuring a poster showcase that highlights the work of current Columbia Public Health students.
Register Here

Lecture Series in AI: Byron Cook, PhD, VP/Distinguished Scientist, Amazon-AWS
2026-04-17 10:30 - 12:00
Schedule:
10:30-11:00am Check-in
11:00-12:00pm Lecture
Advance registration required for both Columbia non-affiliates and Columbia affiliates.
About the Speaker
Byron Cook is a vice president and distinguished scientist at Amazon, program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and a professor at the University College London (UCL). He is well-known for his work on automatic methods for proving program term ination and the Terminator termination prover, showcasing that automatic termination proving was impossible. He contributed to Microsoft’s SLAM and Static Driver Verifier. Bryan Cook revived automatic program verification research in various ways and founded Amazon’s Automated Reasoning Group (ARG). He has received multiple awards for his research contributions, notably the Roger Needham Award and the distinction of Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
About the Lecture
“Neurosymbolic AI at AWS”
This talk will discuss work at AWS to bring the power of agentic/generative AI with the safety and correctness of formal reasoning.
Campus Access
In accordance with the University’s current visitor guidelines, all non-Columbia guests will receive a QR code within a few hours of the event date. The code will be sent to you via email from CU Guest Access and must be presented for campus entry, along with a government-issued ID.
Accessibility
Columbia University makes every effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you require disability accommodations to attend an event at Columbia University, please contact the Office of Disability Services at 212.854.2388 or access@columbia.edu.
Photography/Videography
Columbia Engineering reserves the right to capture and use images (including video, photo, audio) of student participants at this event in its current or future marketing materials. These materials include but are not limited to: social media, digital and/or print posters, email and web-based materials. By attending and participating in this event, you are consenting to having your image captured for these purposes. If you have concerns about your likeness being used, please reach out to engineeringcommunications@columbia.edu and we will accommodate your request.

CVC Presents: 2026 NYC Venture Community Monthly Networking Happy Hours (April, FinTech)
2026-04-21 18:00 - 19:00
Tuesday, April 21 | 6 PM EST
Penny Farthing, 103 3rd Avenue, NYC, NY 10003
Columbia Venture Community is pleased to invite you to a Networking and Social Event in support of our NYC venture community! Come out and join us for drinks and socializing with the goal of meeting and supporting the many entrepreneurs and investors in our community. This event is open to all. We look forward to seeing you there!
RSVP

Funding Opportunity: Ignition Grants 2026
2026-04-30
Ignition grants assist Columbia University engineering students in launching new businesses, social and not-for-profit ventures. Ignition grants support the initial stages of early venture development from formation, IP protection, and incubation to building prototypes and creating proofs of concept. Teams that have won the Technology Challenge or received Ignition Grants in the past will not be eligible. Applicants must have a current SEAS student on the team to apply. Teams who applied to Startup Columbia Round 2 in the Tech Challenge are welcome to update their applications before resubmitting.
Deadline: Friday, April 30
APPLY HERE

Deadline: Columbia Build Lab Application
2026-05-10
Columbia Build Lab (CBL) matches Columbia students pursuing Computer Science (or related degrees) with CBS student-founders of an early-stage startup. Engineers in the Build Lab program gain experience working to solve real-world challenges with teams of peers and CBS founders. This is an excellent opportunity for any engineering or computer science student looking to gain valuable experience this Fall! Submit your application to the Spring 2026 cohort before May 10th!

CVC-NY Presents: Incubation Night (May 14, 2026)
2026-05-14 19:00 - 21:00
Details: If you have ideas with a potentially viable business model or just want to hear what people are working on, join the Columbia Venture Community at our Quarterly CVC Incubation Night! This event puts entrepreneurs, “idea people,” and connectors in a room to engage in intense, non-stop collaboration on how to start and grow a venture.
RSVP

Founded in 2006, Columbia Venture Community (CVC) is a private, global network of more than 7,500 Columbia University alumni, students, and staff who are interested in all aspects of entrepreneurship and innovation.
Join the Community Here

CVC Presents: 2026 NYC Venture Community Monthly Networking Happy Hours (May, AI)
2026-05-19 18:00 - 19:00
Columbia Venture Community is pleased to invite you to a Networking and Social Event in support of our NYC venture community! Come out and join us for drinks and socializing with the goal of meeting and supporting the many entrepreneurs and investors in our community. This event is open to all. We look forward to seeing you there!

RSVP TBA

CVC Presents: 2026 NYC Venture Community Monthly Networking Happy Hours (June, Crypto and Web3)
2026-06-16 18:00 - 19:00

CVC NYC Pitch Night - June 25, 2026 (Deadline for founders to participate - May 29!)
2026-06-25 18:00 - 20:00
CVC NYC Pitch Night is one of our biggest annual events, bringing together early-stage Columbia-affiliated founders, investors, operators, and builders for an evening of live pitches, feedback, and networking.
Date and Time: Thursday, June 25, 2026 at 6:00 PM ET
Location: DLA Piper, 1251 6th Ave, New York, NY
For founders: We’re inviting early-stage Columbia-affiliated founders to apply to pitch in front of 100+ alumni investors and operators. Selected founders will receive live feedback, visibility in the NYC ecosystem, and direct access to the Columbia startup community.
Application deadline: May 29, 2026
Apply here: https://forms.gle/3pAPr98V2mcGwtjv6
For attendees: Early bird tickets are live: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/13th-annual-columbia-venture-community-pitch-night-nyc-tickets-1988733837443
