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Virginia's next great companies start with visionary builders

Virginia Innovation Commons selects exceptional AI-native founders, de-risks the leap to full time, and helps them build from the customer backward—so more venture-scale companies can start and grow in Virginia

Apply for the residencyHow the Commons works

Go full time on the company you should be building

Get housing, food, structure, mentorship, customer access, and a high-agency peer group—so your next move is building, not taking another job

Apply for the residency

Scheduling the VIC Founder Residency call starts the application process and does not guarantee acceptance or immediate residency capacity.

Fund the founders building Virginia's next great companies

Give rare AI-native builders the runway to work full time—and give your support a high-leverage path toward more Virginia companies, capital, and high-paying jobs

Back Virginia's founders

How the Commons works

  1. 01

    Select visionary builders

    Identify exceptional AI-native founders with the vision, speed, and ambition to build at venture scale.

  2. 02

    De-risk going full time

    Cover housing, food, and essential living costs so founders can focus on building.

  3. 03

    Build from the customer backward

    Put customer discovery before product assumptions and move from problem evidence toward commitment, product, and revenue.

  4. 04

    Make Virginia home to venture-scale startups

    Create a path for the companies that emerge to build, raise, hire, and grow in Virginia.

Partners

Help exceptional builders become Virginia founders

Give standout technical talent a credible path from campus, research, or industry into full-time venture-scale company building

Refer founders

Put property to work for Virginia's next companies

Explore donated use, discounted rent, or an ownership path that advances your goals and Virginia's founder economy—without promising a tax outcome

Provide a place