Launch your AI venture in 8 weeks.
Eight Thursday nights. A cohort of twenty founders. A proven curriculum that takes you from idea to first customers. Funded by the Federal Government.
- founders per cohort
- 20
- online, Thursday evenings
- 8 weeks
- next cohort starts
- 12 May
- applications close
- 7 April
Eight workshops. Eight weeks. One shipped venture.
Every Thursday, 7:30–9:00pm AEST. Each week builds on the last — miss one and recordings keep you moving.
- Week 1
Intro, meet your cohort, and the #1 thing for new ventures.
Deliverable: Your one-sentence venture thesis.
- Week 2
Making something people want.
Deliverable: Five customer problem conversations.
- Week 3
Customer development.
Deliverable: A validated problem and solution hypothesis.
- Week 4
Doing things that don't scale.
Deliverable: A manual MVP in front of real users.
- Week 5
Your most important metrics.
Deliverable: One North Star metric, measured weekly.
- Week 6
Minimum viable products and your version 1.
Deliverable: A shippable v1 live.
- Week 7
Pivot or proceed.
Deliverable: A go / no-go call with a mentor.
- Week 8
Fundraising & pitching.
Deliverable: A pitch deck and investor one-pager.
Built for builders. Not everyone should apply.
This is for you if
- You're based in Australia and can commit one evening plus roughly five hours a week for eight weeks.
- You have an idea for an AI venture — or you want to find one in the first three weeks.
- You want direct feedback from people who've built and shipped, not pre-recorded lectures.
- You're comfortable being told your first idea probably won't work.
This isn't for you if
- You want theoretical AI education. Take Andrew Ng's course instead.
- You want a certificate for LinkedIn.
- You expect a job placement, job board, or recruiting pipeline.
- You can't commit Thursday evenings for the full eight weeks.
What you'll walk away with.
- 01
A validated problem.
You'll have spoken to at least fifteen potential customers and know what they actually want — not what you assumed.
- 02
A live version one.
Not a prototype. A real product being used by real customers, even if parts of it are held together manually.
- 03
One metric that matters.
The number your business runs on. You'll check it every morning and know why it moved.
- 04
A cohort that lasts.
Twenty founders working on AI ventures in Australia. You'll leave with peers you actually keep in touch with.
- 05
A pitch that holds up.
A deck and one-pager refined weekly with mentors who've raised and sold real companies.
- 06
A clear go / no-go.
Either you'll be raising, or you'll know why you're not — and what to do next.
AI Pathfinder is part of the AI Adopt program — an Australian Government initiative to help SMEs adopt AI. You don't pay, we don't take equity, and we don't own your IP.
Ready to commit eight Thursdays?
- 01A five-minute application form at criticalpathapp.com/apply.
- 02We review within five business days.
- 03A short call if we need more context.
- 04Offer, calendar invites, and Week-1 prep pack.
Applications close Tuesday 7 April 2026 at 11:59pm AEST.
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