No. You can apply to pre-defined projects with our launch faculty or propose your own project, and we can help find you a faculty advisor to work with.

Encode is not just a one-year program—it’s a launchpad. Fellows can also continue their research, launch startups, or join leading labs through ARIA’s network—whatever best advances their scientific impact. After the fellowship, we provide continued support for company formation and fundraising, funder and investor introductions, and hiring and talent recruiting.

Faculty hosts will provide a well-defined research challenge aligned with an ARIA’s opportunity space, and offer mentorship and lab resources. Each fellow will work closely with their faculty host and other lab members and collaborators.

Encode & Pillar VC will not own or have any rights to IP created. Intellectual property generated through Encode-funded research will be owned by the universities where the work is conducted. Our IP framework follows a similar approach to ARIA, and agreements with universities will be set up based on principles aligned with ARIA's standard grant template.

In the context of this fellowship, "faculty" or "faculty advisor" refers to academic staff such as professors, lecturers, or research leads at a university or research institution. We are looking for individuals who are not only spearheading innovative research and mentoring students but also eager to integrate state-of-the-art AI/ML techniques into their work. As a faculty advisor, you'll collaborate closely with a fellow to bring these cutting-edge methods into your ongoing projects, driving impactful advances in your field.