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The xFoundry pipeline
xFoundry built its programs around the idea that defining, solving, and launching are unique jobs, each deserving its own time and diligence. So we built programs around each. We believe you learn to solve problems by solving one, and not just any one. NASA and industry partners help identify challenges that need a solution. To find that solution, you need perspective. So we built in TEAMS: Technology, Entrepreneurship, Arts & Athletics, Marketing, and Science. Each mindset sees a problem differently, and you need a mix of them on your team to participate.
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Define the problem.
Student teams work on a NASA or industry focus area and make the case for a specific challenge inside it. The deliverable is the problem statement, not a solution. The winning problem becomes the next national Xperience competition.
Duration: One semester
Learn more →Pitch the problem.
Finalists pitch live at xFoundry's two-day summit in Washington, DC, to 400-plus investors, scientists, and NASA experts, who give feedback and vote. The winning team earns $2,040 and accelerated entry into the Xperience built on their problem.
Learn more →Bring the problem.
Corporations, agencies, and prize organizations bring a technology gap directly to xFoundry, and it becomes the target of a multidisciplinary student competition. Partners help set the standard every solution must meet.
Learn more →Refine the problem.
Leaders from industry and academia turn the winning problem or a partner's topic into a clear Xperience brief with industry-grade standards attached. Teams build toward a market bar, not an academic one.
Learn more →Solve the problem.
Teams from engineering, business, design, and science spend 12 to 18 months building an investment-grade MVP with Xpert mentors alongside. Students finish with roughly 1,500 documented hours, LinkedIn credentials, and a UMD experiential learning certificate. Up to four teams pitch the investor panel at the finals.
Duration: 12–18 months
Learn more →Solve a sponsor's problem.
A company, agency, or prize organization sets the challenge and commits up front to the outcome: a contract, an investment, both, or a prize. Students work a real client's problem. Sponsors get a dedicated team on a gap they own.
Duration: 6–12 months
Learn more →Get investment-ready.
Winning teams receive six months of fractional CXO leadership, scoped legal and marketing support, technical check-ins, customer introductions, and structured time with the Xponential investor panel. The goal is a company ready to take capital.
Duration: 6 months
Learn more →Fund the launch.
Work with an independent fund consortium built to back xFoundry ventures, investing up to $2M through a SAFE. Founders keep their IP and launch as independent companies.
$2 Million
Maximum investment per venture
Start at the Horizons Challenge →