Fellows-to-Founders Venture Studio Program

DIAL Ventures’ Fellows-to-Founders Venture Studio Program offers Innovation Fellows a pathway toward becoming co-founders of companies developed in its studio. DIAL Ventures is identified on the program page as part of Purdue Applied Research Institute. DIAL describes the ideation-to-concept phase as just under six months, followed by a business-build phase associated with pre-seed funding.

DIAL advertises customized training, a monthly stipend, access to agrifood industry leaders and potential customers, Purdue research support for market definition and customer understanding, and connections to investors. Business-build support includes software engineering, product design, and marketing resources, as well as legal and human resources as needed. The seventh cohort began in August 2026, and recruiting for it is closed. DIAL says the next cohort will be announced ahead of Studio 8.

DIAL describes Fellows as coming from varied professions, industries, educational backgrounds, and personal histories. It lists leadership and drive, innovation and creativity, intelligence and critical thinking, collaboration and teamwork, and communication and empathy among the characteristics it seeks. A Fall 2026 recruiting post says applicants do not need an agriculture background or to be engineers. These statements describe the backgrounds and qualities DIAL seeks, not formal eligibility requirements.

DIAL says the seventh cohort was selected through a competitive national search and that recruiting for that cohort is closed. The next cohort is to be announced ahead of Studio 8.

DIAL advertises a monthly stipend and customized training, along with access to agrifood industry leaders, potential customers, Purdue research support for market definition and customer understanding, and investor connections. It also advertises help with Fellows’ pitches, support assembling a venture team and advisory board, and access to capital sources. During the business-build phase, DIAL says it adds software engineering, product design, and marketing resources, with legal and human resources available as needed. The program presents a pathway toward becoming a co-founder of a studio-developed company.

DIAL describes the ideation-to-concept phase as just under six months and a subsequent business-build phase associated with pre-seed funding; the evidence does not state the total duration through that later phase. The program page says the seventh cohort began in August 2026, while DIAL’s selection announcement said Fellows would begin work on August 10, 2026. DIAL says the next cohort will be announced ahead of Studio 8.