JetBrains Horizon
Student startup program, where bold ideas spark innovation and shape the future
Have you ever thought about your own tech startup?
If the answer is yes,
You can start your entrepreneurial journey with JetBrains Horizon!
The program has two steps: pre-incubator and incubator
Pre-Incubator
October–November 2025
Open online classes for everyone: from those who already have an idea to those who are just dreaming of one. We will talk with top experts about DevTools, EdTech and HealthTech markets, and how AI will change the future. Together we will discover new landscapes, form bold hypotheses, and conduct market research.
Incubator
February–May 2026
A 12-week online program where you will develop your idea from prototype to working MVP with go-to-market strategy, technical roadmap, and first real users. Get valuable feedback from senior PMs at JetBrains, top software developers, and experienced startup founders and investors.
Why JetBrains Horizon?
With so many incubators out there, why choose us?
The short answer is that we offer a unique opportunity for students to build connections within the JetBrains tech community and receive feedback from experienced mentors. We're passionate about bringing brilliant tech ideas to life.
Here’s a closer look at what we offer:
Pre-Incubator
October-November 2025
This first semester is open to all interested students, whether you have a team or not. The goal is to explore emerging fields, learn how to generate and validate ideas, and build a foundational prototype.
Who It's For
For students who want to create a startup but don't have a settled idea yet.
Topics Covered
- The Startup Landscape: Navigating the new era of launches
- The AI & EdTech Market
- Modern Professional Tools (Dev, Marketing, Sales, e.t.c)
- BioTech and Healthcare as a Business
- Market Research and Rapid Prototyping with AI Tools
Outcome
A working prototype or landing page that validates your idea and helps you get your first potential customers.
How to apply
This program is free for all students. Simply fill out the application form to join this batch.
Attend Open Lectures
Learn from leading JetBrains experts, scientists, and industry leaders about the latest trends in high-growth fields.
Market Deep Dives
Get an insider's view of pressing challenges and opportunities in EdTech, Developer Tools, and Life Sciences.
AI-Powered Idea Generation
Use our unique AI toolkit and frameworks to brainstorm, research, and validate your own startup concepts in virtual idea-generation sessions.
Incubator
February-May 2026
After an interview process, teams with the most promising ideas and prototypes from Step 1 are invited to join the Startup School. This semester is all about execution, growth, and getting investor-ready.
Who It's For
Teams that have a validated idea and a working prototype.
Program
- Small, but effective teams;
- Tools for AI dev and launch;
- Go To Market Strategy;
- AI Marketing;
- Users feedback and pivots;
- Investments & Pitch.
Outcome
A working MVP and a seed-level pitch deck, ready for the next stage of your startup journey.
How to apply
1. Have a Working Prototype: You must have a prototype or landing page for a validated idea. This can be achieved in one of two ways:
- Graduate from our Pre-Incubator program, OR
- Develop one independently.
2. Form Your Team: The Incubator is a team-based program. Assemble a team of 2-3 members.
3. Submit Your Application: Fill out the official application form with your project and team details.
4. Pass the Interview Process: Based on your application, the most promising teams will be invited to an interview in January. Successful teams will be accepted into the Incubator.
Join the Startup School
Dive deep into turning your concept into a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). You'll gain essential knowledge on product development, marketing, finance, and operations using AI-based best practices.
Access Mentorship
Work with a network of experts and advisors to refine your strategy.
Pitch at Demo Day
Present your working MVP and pitch deck to a jury of JetBrains professionals and potential investors for a chance to win grants and gain valuable feedback.
Requirements for participants
1. Student status
Be a current student or graduate student at a university in Europe, the UK, or the US.
3. A team
Have a team of students pursuing STEM degrees or specialties.
2. Time
Be ready to dedicate at least 10 hours per week to your startup.
4. Enthusiasm
Possess a passion for driving change and creating cutting-edge innovations.
AI at the Core
In a world where AI is everywhere, the most successful founders won't just be aware of it; they will build with it.
We've redesigned the JetBrains Horizon program to move beyond theory and give you a direct competitive advantage. You'll learn how to leverage AI not as a gimmick, but as a fundamental tool for speed, insight, and innovation from day one.
Research and Validate with AI
Learn to use modern LLMs as a powerful research engine. We'll teach you how to ask the right questions to acquire deep, up-to-date intelligence on any industry, identify unmet customer needs, and validate your assumptions in hours, not weeks.
Prototype and Interact with AI
Bring your idea to life without writing a single line of code. You will build a working landing page or app prototype using no-code platforms that support the integration of AI. Create an interactive experience with a custom-trained chatbot to engage your first potential customers.
Learn from AI Pioneers
Gain invaluable knowledge directly from the source. Our program features lectures and Q&A sessions with industry-leading experts who are actively building and shaping AI products. They will share their most relevant, practical expertise on where the technology is heading and where the real opportunities lie.
Students about the program
Most of our students create exciting projects, and some of them even return to the course to start out on new adventures.
This course provided practical help through
expert feedback that helped shape our
project into a more thoughtful and market-
ready product. The direct interaction with
experts was insightful, offering
valuable lessons on building projects from
scratch and planning their growth. It is the
best course for anyone looking to turn ideas
into actionable strategies. Our small idea of an app for storing medical data showed potential and gave us confidence that startups are not as scary as it might seem.
Before the course, the concept of startup timelines was ambiguous to me. Over time my team had to overcome numerous hindrances, which taught us to prioritize a rapid idea lifecycle and to let go of a failed hypothesis. The course showed the founder's path from a realistic perspective, helping us understand how to adapt our work as a team in this fast-paced discipline.
I’ve completed the JetBrains Horizon Program twice, and I can confidently say it’s one of the most impactful programs for aspiring founders.
One of the biggest strengths of the program is its community: I found our first clients through fellow participants, and even met a co-founder to work with.
The guidance from teachers and experts was another standout feature. Each session brought valuable insights and actionable feedback that helped us improve rapidly and make informed decisions.
If you're serious about building a startup and want a practical, supportive environment to grow in – JetBrains Horizon is the place to be.
I took this course for the second time, and it gave me even more clarity and practical skills. The first time, I gained skills I didn’t have before; this time, I consolidated them and built even more confidence to start my projects. Each time the course gets better, and I’m excited to see its future developments.
The JetBrains Horizon program really helped us a lot both with the theory around startups that we hadn’t come across before and with the practical part where industry experts gave us tasks and supported us in developing the technical and business sides of our own startup. All in all, it was a great experience that allowed us to learn new things while pushing our idea forward at the same time.
The TEP course was truly one of the most valuable experiences for me and my team. We learned a great deal about practical aspects of building and scaling a startup, from validating ideas to structuring business models, and gained insights that we are already applying in our project. The mentorship sessions, constructive feedback, and interaction with peers from different fields gave us new perspectives and motivated us to think bigger. Overall, the program significantly shaped our approach and gave us the confidence and tools to move forward more effectively. I would warmly recommend it to anyone who wants to accelerate their entrepreneurial journey. 🙌🏻👨💻
Meet experts
For each lesson, we invite some of the best people from the industry to share their experience and help the students develop their project
JetBrains Horizon Lead. With over 12 years of experience in entrepreneurship and project management, Maria has launched offline companies, as well as C2C and B2B products. She led the product management program at the Computer Science Center and has conducted more than 10 startup schools for projects at the idea stage. She was ranked among the top 200 women CEOs and founders of global EdTech startups by Holon IQ.
Jacques is a founder, investor, and enterprise technology leader with a passion for helping startups succeed. As a former AI Pioneer at Google, he used Cloud AI and Machine Learning to drive innovation for some of the world's largest life science companies. Today, as the CEO & Founder of TechStride Partners and a Venture Scout, Jacques focuses on the other side of the table, empowering new companies with growth strategy, fundraising, and exit planning.
Nikita is a head of Product at JetBrains. A product leader driving a portfolio of innovative tools and solutions for data professionals. With experience in sales, business development, and go-to-market strategies, he has a proven track record of successfully delivering 0-to-1 products in the areas of ML and cloud. He is currently focused on scaling and enhancing a mature business unit to achieve long-term growth.
With a degree in computer science, he has held roles at industry giants like Microsoft and AliExpress.
Head of the Education Research group for JetBrains Research. Anastasia has taught Kotlin to undergraduate students at two European universities and authored several in-IDE Kotlin courses and official Kotlin educational materials. She is currently focused on - applying her experience with the Kotlin compiler and IDE development to educational tools to improve computer science education
Product Manager and researcher for JetBrains Academy. Katharina is a computer science education enthusiast with a focus on LLM applications for in-IDE learning.
Department Lead at JetBrains
Andrew is a product leader with experience building effective teams, initiating new product directions and delivering launches of B2C products with a scale up to 100 million active users. He has a proven track record of accelerating growth applying ML/Al technologies, enabling a culture of rapid product experimentation and a growth mindset. He currently leads the AI coding agents product direction at JetBrains.
A seasoned entrepreneur in biotech and medtech. Artem has a master degree in Mathematics and Mechanics. Worked in Accenture. And afterwards was a co-founder, advisor and consultant of companies in diagnostics, genetics, SaaS and cloud services.
Research Scientist at Bell Labs. Liubov combines expertise in mathematics and theoretical physics to study network dynamics, time series analysis, and AI. After receiving her PhD from Humboldt University of Berlin and holding research positions in European and South American universities, she now focuses on network robustness, stochastic processes, and embedding techniques.
Head of Software Division at BostonGene. Denis is focused on bringing the latest tech innovations and best development practices to the field of precision oncology. A strong advocate for statistical methods in genetics and a GWAS enthusiast, he’s always looking for new ways to push the boundaries of science and technology.
FAQ about the Fall Startup School 2025
We conduct our classes online, so students and experts from different countries can join us.
Our classes take place on Wednesday evenings, each class lasts 3 hours.
Fall semester will start in September and end in November, 2025. Spring semester will start in February and end in May.
We will cover all crucial aspects of startup development, from idea assessment and user identification to business planning and MVP presentation.
During the course, you will have a full support from curators helping you outside of classes, additional 1-on-1 sessions to help you to overcome any obstacles, access to all JetBrains IDEs and a chance to win funding to continue developing your company after the course concludes.
Nothing! We just want to share our knowledge, and the only thing we will ask you for is your attention and dedication during your journey.
Yes, you can. But participating in the first semester helps you develop a stronger idea and better prepares you for the Incubator interview.