15 Startup Internships for Undergraduates

Doing an internship is one of the best moves a college student can make, as it bridges the gap between textbook knowledge and the professional world. By working in a professional setting, you gain experience that shows you know how to apply what you’ve learned in class to tasks. This significantly enhances your resume, making it stand out to recruiters by proving you have a track record of success outside of the classroom. Beyond building your profile, internships allow you to test a career to see if it’s a good fit for you while helping you build a network of industry professionals who can offer guidance or job leads later on. 

What startup internships are available for undergraduates?

Undergraduates today can find startup internships across almost every field, with many options in Artificial Intelligence (AI), software engineering, and digital growth. Many early-stage companies are looking for students to help build new product features, manage community engagement on social media, or analyze data to find new market trends. You can find roles in areas such as product management, software development, marketing, business operations, design, and research. 

These internships allow you to work with decision-makers, gain cross-functional exposure, and see how young companies grow. This environment forces you to learn fast and adapt to change. With countless opportunities available, it can be difficult to identify programs that truly add value. To make this easier, we’ve carefully narrowed down a list of the best 15 startup internships for undergraduates.

1. SubImage: Full Stack Software Engineer Intern

Location: San Francisco, CA (Downtown; fully in-person)
Stipend: $6,000 per month
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; very small cohort size
Dates: 10–12 weeks between May and August
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Undergraduates who have U.S work authorization

As a Full Stack Software Engineer Intern at SubImage, you will help build a platform that uses graph theory to map cloud environments and identify security risks. This role covers topics like AI agents, data ingestion pipelines, graph database modeling, and security research. You’ll conduct vulnerability research, develop natural language search features, and refine the Next.js frontend. The role enables you to work directly with the founders on an open-core product used by Fortune 100 companies. Through this experience, you will master professional skills in AWS, Terraform, and LLM engineering. 

2. Ladder Internships

Location: Remote
Cost: Varies depending on the program type; financial aid is available / No stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 10–25%; 70–100 students per session
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter
Application Deadline: Varies as per cohort; Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November)
Eligibility: High school students, undergraduates, and gap year students who can work for 10-20 hours/week for 8-12 weeks

Ladder Internships is a highly selective remote program that connects ambitious undergraduates with high-growth startups across diverse industries. You work on real-world projects with fast-scaling companies in areas such as tech, AI/ML, marketing, consulting, journalism, and health tech. You receive close mentorship from a startup manager and support from a Ladder Coach, gaining firsthand experience in how early-stage and growth-stage companies operate. The 8–12 week virtual internship offers valuable exposure to startup culture, innovation, and problem-solving—no matter where you’re based.

3. Retell AI: Marketing Intern (Content & Video)

Location: San Carlos, CA (On-site)
Stipend: $1,000 + local travel reimbursement up to $300 per month
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive; typically 1–3 interns per department
Dates: Flexible; usually Summer (June–August) or as needed
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Current undergraduates based in the Bay Area and available to regularly shoot in-person with skills in short-form video editing and production using a camera or a phone

As a Marketing Intern at Retell AI, you will work with voice technology and product storytelling. Your day-to-day will involve shooting and editing short-form videos, managing social media channels, and documenting company culture to build a relatable brand. The role is unique because it gives you direct ownership in a fast-moving, YC-backed startup environment where your creative ideas are actually put to use. You’ll develop key skills in video production, digital marketing, and creative direction while learning to communicate complex tech to a broad audience. This position offers you a hands-on way to bridge the gap between technical innovation and modern content creation.

4. Ember: Full Stack Engineering Intern

Location: San Francisco, CA (Onsite)
Stipend: $6,000 – $10,000 per month
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; cohort size not explicitly stated
Dates: Typically 10–12 weeks from May/June to August
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Undergraduates (junior or senior) or Master's students in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related fields; US work authorization required; proficient in Node.js, Python, React, and TypeScript, comfortable with LLM applications and containerized deployments

The Ember Full Stack Engineering Internship for undergraduates allows you to contribute to building high-scale healthcare automation systems. You’ll explore diverse topics, including web application design, backend service architecture, and specialized ML or LLM evaluation infrastructure. During your time, you will lead the implementation of end-to-end features, build internal tools for healthcare AI, and maintain secure, scalable systems. The internship enables you to receive direct mentorship from founders with backgrounds at Google and NVIDIA within a fast-paced startup environment. Through this experience, you'll master proficiency in TypeScript, React, Node.js, and Python, alongside essential skills like containerized deployments and professional code reviews.

5. Anduril Supply Chain Intern

Location: Costa Mesa, CA (On-site at Anduril HQ)
Stipend: Paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; approximately 100 interns annually across all departments
Dates: 12 weeks, typically June – August
Application Deadline: Rolling / Seasonal
Eligibility: Rising undergraduate seniors at the time of the internship, pursuing a degree in Supply Chain, Business, MIS, or Computer Science, having U.S. Person status, and returning to school for at least one semester/quarter after completion

As a Supply Chain Intern at Anduril, you will manage purchase orders and negotiate with vendors to keep hardware production on track. You will also collaborate with engineering teams to source specialized components and analyze data to resolve supply chain bottlenecks. The program provides a high level of ownership to you to support critical national security missions. Through these activities, you will sharpen your skills in ERP software, technical communication, and process improvement. This role prepares you to master the life cycle of hardware manufacturing in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.

6. Aeon: AI Video Marketing Intern

Location: Remote (global)
Stipend: Paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; cohort size not specified
Dates: Typically 10–12 weeks, June – August
Application Deadline: Early March
Eligibility: Current undergraduate students (primarily juniors and seniors) in Marketing, CS, or Communications

In this internship, you will explore the future of digital storytelling by learning AI video generation and prompt engineering. Your role focuses on transforming simple text into professional marketing assets using advanced tools like Veo 3.1 and Nano Banana. You’ll spend your time creating short-form social media clips, refining scripts, and experimenting with AI-driven visuals to maintain brand consistency. The program uses Aeon Playbooks, which provide structured, ready-to-run marketing tasks to simplify your creative workflow. Ultimately, you’ll gain practical skills in AI editing, social media optimization, and data-driven content strategy. This experience prepares you for the fast-paced world of high-tech marketing.

7. Kastle: Founder Intern

Location: San Francisco, CA (In-person/On-site)
Stipend: $8,000 – $8,750 per month
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive; very small cohort sizes
Dates: Flexible; current and Summer opportunities available
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Undergraduates who are extremely technical and US citizens/visa holders

As a Founder Intern at Kastle, you’ll help build an AI-driven operating system for consumer lending. The role covers engineering, growth, and sales, requiring you to ship production-ready products, turn vague prompts into functional systems, and handle customer support. You work directly with the founders, enjoying extreme autonomy and high-stakes responsibility rarely found in undergraduate roles. You will spend your days building new software features, managing daily operations, and spearheading growth initiatives to unblock the leadership team. By the end, you’ll have developed advanced technical skills and the resourcefulness needed to solve complex problems in highly unstructured environments.

8. Ripple: Creative Design & Web Experience Intern

Location: San Francisco, CA (Hybrid: 10+ days per month in-office presence required)
Stipend: $28.00 – $32.50/hr
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; approximately 21–50 interns across the global summer internship program
Dates: 12-week duration beginning in May or June
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate students with a portfolio and intent to return to a degree program after the internship, working knowledge of Figma and Adobe Creative Suite

As a Ripple Web Experience Design Intern, you’ll focus on UI/UX design, component libraries, and design systems for platforms like Ripple.com and XRPL.org. During this 12-week program, you will build high-fidelity wireframes, update responsive web pages, and create interactive prototypes under direct mentorship from industry veterans. The program features an intensive 3:1 support structure and the chance to contribute to live, public-facing products in the crypto space. This role helps you develop the professional collaboration and attention to detail needed to launch a successful design career. Ultimately, you’ll graduate with a polished portfolio featuring high-impact, real-world work.

9. ThirdLayer: AI/ML Engineer Intern

Location: San Francisco, CA (Onsite)
Stipend: $6,000 – $10,000 per month
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; small cohort size
Dates: Summer
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Undergraduates (all years) or new graduates who have strong foundations in Python and TypeScript; experience with LLMs, RL, and ML frameworks is required

As a ThirdLayer AI/ML Engineer Intern, you will engage in building browser-native AI and complex multi-agent systems. You’ll spend your days developing browser agent tools, creating performance evaluation frameworks, and designing searchable memory stores. This role helps you master technical topics like reinforcement learning, prompt engineering, and context handling. You get to live and work in a central three-story hacker house while collaborating directly with the founders. You will sharpen your proficiency in Python and TypeScript as you turn research prototypes into production-ready agents.

10. The Startup Club Internship

Location: Remote
Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; cohort size not specified
Dates: Flexible, part-time
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Undergraduate students and recent graduates

The Startup Club Internship offers students hands-on exposure to the global startup ecosystem through community-building and marketing roles. You will assist with social media management, content creation, database research, event promotion, and startup outreach. The internship emphasizes entrepreneurship, networking, and digital marketing skills. Interns work with an international team and gain insight into investor-startup relationships. While unpaid, the program offers practical experience and portfolio-building opportunities. It is well-suited for students interested in startups, marketing, and ecosystem development, and is a hands-on role designed to bridge the gap between your university studies and the real-world entrepreneurial landscape.

11. 14.ai: Software Engineering Intern

Location: San Francisco, CA (Lower Haight)
Stipend: $5,000 – $10,000 per month
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; small cohort sizes
Dates: Typically 10–12 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Undergraduate students; must be a U.S. citizen or hold a valid visa; proficiency in TypeScript, Supabase, Next.js, and Vercel

This undergraduate role covers AI agent optimization, product infrastructure, and prompt engineering within a fast-paced startup environment. You will build autonomous agents, refine prompts based on live feedback, and act as a human liaison for complex situations requiring judgment. A unique highlight of this program is that you’ll live at the "14ai house," fostering deep collaboration with your peers. You will sharpen technical skills in agentic workflows while gaining professional experience in customer empathy and pragmatic software engineering. This immersive program effectively prepares you to ship impactful, future-proof AI products in the real world.

12. CareYaya: Health Strategy & Operations Intern

Location: Remote (US-based)
Stipend: $20 – $35/hour
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; small cohort sizes
Dates: Year-round (available for Fall, Spring, and Summer cycles)
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Current undergraduates or recent graduates; typically majoring in Business, Economics, Public Policy, Healthcare Management, or Pre-Health tracks

As a Health Strategy & Operations intern at CareYaya, you will help scale an AI-driven eldercare marketplace by keeping daily operations running smoothly across the United States. Your core activities include tracking city-level supply and demand to recommend growth moves, running outreach experiments, and building data dashboards in Google Sheets. You will also create operational playbooks and SOPs to ensure the platform remains reliable and efficient as it expands nationally. By the end, you will have sharpened your skills in executive communication, data-driven decision-making, and operational management. This internship offers high-level exposure to the intersection of healthcare innovation and business strategy within a fast-growing tech environment.

13. BrowserOS: ML Research Engineer Intern

Location: San Francisco, CA (On-site/Hybrid)
Stipend: $6,000 – $10,000 per month
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; small cohort sizes
Dates: Typically 12 weeks, starting May/June
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Undergraduates (sophomore and above); proficiency in TypeScript or experience building AI agents

As an ML Research Engineer Intern at BrowserOS, you’ll help build an open-source agentic browser that automates web tasks through natural language commands. Your work focuses on training Large Action Models and developing intelligent agents that can navigate, click, and type autonomously on behalf of users. During the program, you will fine-tune models for local execution, contribute directly to the Chromium codebase, and build automation workflows using TypeScript. This internship features a privacy-first approach, enabling AI to run entirely on a user's machine rather than in the cloud. You’ll gain professional skills in machine learning, system-level engineering, and agentic design.

14. Bet on Entrepreneurship Program – University of Pennsylvania

Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Stipend: Financial award of at least $2,500 provided upon successful completion of specific program milestones
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; small cohort sizes
Dates: Bootcamp: January – April; Summer Immersion: June 8 – July 31
Application Deadline: November 2
Eligibility: Rising sophomores and rising juniors who identify as First-Generation and/or Limited-Income (FGLI); must have a U.S. visa status authorizing lawful work.

The Bet on Entrepreneurship Program helps you explore entrepreneurship through foundational training, practical experience, and a supportive cohort. You initially attend a Spring Bootcamp to develop entrepreneurial thinking, problem-solving skills, and business basics, after which you are placed in an 8-week summer internship at Philadelphia-area startups, gaining real-world exposure to innovative firms. The program also provides advising, financial support, and networking opportunities with experienced entrepreneurs. You graduate with skills and confidence to pursue leadership roles in any career.

15. Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship – Carnegie Mellon University

Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Stipend: Varies by program; some fellowships and accelerators provide funding support
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; 12–16 students per academic year
Dates: A two-year program commitment spanning the student's junior and senior years.
Application Deadline: Program-specific; check the Swartz Center website for individual offerings
Eligibility: Current sophomores in their second semester from any CMU school or college; must have completed at least one introductory entrepreneurship course.

The Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship accelerates the commercialization of research and supports entrepreneurial activity across Carnegie Mellon. It offers mentorship, funding, accelerators, and experiential programs for students, faculty, and alumni. Programs include the Swartz Fellows Program for MBA students, VentureBridge Summer Accelerator for alumni, and Project Olympus for early-stage innovations. You will gain experience in startup creation, access to corporate partnerships, and mentorship from alumni and industry leaders. The center fosters a collaborative ecosystem to transform ideas into scalable ventures, cultivating entrepreneurial leadership and innovation.

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