Founder-in-Residence, Core AI Ventures (LG NOVA)

The role

You will validate and launch an AI-native software venture from the ground up. You will develop a venture thesis, conduct buyer discovery, and secure evidence of demand to potentially lead the venture as Founder and CEO.

What you will do

• Develop and sharpen a venture thesis
• Run buyer discovery with budget holders
• Pin down the economic buyer and budget owner
• Validate the pain, workflow, and size of demand
• Design and test a paid pilot, design partner program, or early offering
• Secure evidence of willingness to pay
• Build the commercialization plan and business model
• Bring back a recommendation grounded in market feedback

Required qualifications

• Founder, repeat founder, or founding executive experience
• Deep expertise and credibility in a specific industry or problem space
• A live network of buyers and decision makers in your domain
• A track record of building, commercializing, or scaling something new
• Comfort in ambiguity with a bias toward evidence and revenue
• A clear view on why AI makes your venture buildable now
• Experience building, leading, or commercializing businesses at the core AI layer or adjacent products/tools
• Understanding of the AI lifecycle including model training, fine tuning, evaluation, deployment, inference, optimization, and production scale operation

Nice to have

• Hands-on engineering experience

Benefits

• Competitive compensation at market rates
• Concept testing budget
• Budget of up to $500K to carry a validated idea toward commercialization
• Government partnerships for pilots and customers
• LG backed fund for validated ventures
• Market research, market sizing, and financial modeling
• Engineering services
• Equity in the venture if it progresses to a Seed round

Before you apply

• You are not building, advising, or holding an active role in another startup during the program
• If you already have a company or a product you are trying to push forward, this is not the right fit
• The first 90 day validation sprint is targeted to begin on December 1, 2026

About the company

LG Electronics is a global technology leader with a presence in over 290 locations. LG NOVA is the LG Electronics North America Innovation Center that builds and spins out new ventures.