Tartan Entrepreneurs Fund

Tartan Entrepreneurs Fund

Funds Pittsburgh-based CMU alumni and faculty founders building high-growth startups with $100,000 in non-dilutive grant funding over two years.

Eligibility · Pittsburgh, PA (CMU alumni/faculty founders only)

The Tartan Entrepreneurs Fund is a grant program administered by the CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University. It operates as a standalone fund — not under a federal or state scheme — and is one of several CMU Swartz Center funding instruments for CMU-affiliated founders. The fund provides $100,000 in funding disbursed over two years, along with mentorship, guidance, and access to a network of later-stage founders. No cost-share or match is required, and the source does not describe an equity component, making this a non-dilutive instrument.

Eligibility is restricted to founders who are CMU alumni or faculty, based full-time in Pittsburgh, and building a startup with what the program describes as "unicorn potential" — meaning a high-growth, venture-scale company. The program does not restrict by industry or sector. The source does not state a minimum or maximum team size, revenue cap, or company age limit beyond the CMU affiliation and Pittsburgh residency requirements.

The source page does not describe a formal application sequence, scoring rubric, submission portal, or open/close dates. Interested founders should contact the CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship directly via the program page. No deadline information is published.

Practical caveats: the program requires the founder to be Pittsburgh-based and full-time, meaning remote CMU alumni who have relocated outside Pittsburgh do not qualify. The source does not describe whether the $100,000 is paid upfront or in tranches. No information on expected award count or total pool size is published.