Introducing: The Long Journey Residency at Edge Esmeralda 2025

Summary

Edge City and Long Journey share a core belief: the biggest breakthroughs come from those willing to chase ideas that seem absurd before they become consensus. These founders dare to experiment and push their vision forward before the rest of the world sees what is possible. 

This summer, we're excited to host a collaborative month-long residency at Edge Esmeralda 2025 (May 24 - June 21), a popup village gathering some of the world’s most ambitious builders, created in partnership with the new city project Esmeralda. 

The Long Journey Residency will bring together 10 future founders ready to turn bold ideas into real-world ventures. You don’t need to have a startup yet. Just a powerful idea you're ready to build. We’re looking for high-agency individuals who can make the most of a one-of-a-kind environment: a month living and building alongside top minds in tech, science, and society.

If that sounds like you, apply here by April 24th. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so the earlier you apply, the better. 

About the partners: Edge City gathers frontier builders in popup villages around the world. Long Journey is an early-stage venture firm that has invested early in companies like SpaceX, Uber, Anduril, Notion, and DeepMind.

What is the Long Journey Residency?

The Long Journey Residency is a one-month launchpad during Edge Esmeralda 2025 for misfits, outliers, and builders of the absurd.

It will bring together 10 early-stage founders and future founders who are chasing ideas that seem strange today but could transform the world tomorrow. For one month, you’ll live and build inside an Edge City popup village, surrounded by a constellation of technologists, scientists, artists, and dreamers.

Along the way, you’ll get support from Long Journey investors, mentorship from top founders, and access to a network that knows how to believe in the unbelievable.

Think of it as a pre-accelerator moment for the magically weird,  helping you go from -1 to zero, and ready to build your dream. 

Who Should Apply 

This residency is for people who want to build something at the edge of normal and aren’t afraid to look a little crazy while they do it.

You’re a good fit if: 

• You have a bold startup idea you can't stop thinking about, and you're ready to start building the MVP and finding your first collaborators and users.
• You’re high-agency and resourceful — someone who thrives in a network of ideas and people. Your initiative will drive the majority of the value that you’ll get from this residency. 
• Your idea seems "too early," "too weird," or "too ambitious" for traditional investors.
• You care about long-term impact more than short-term noise.
• You want to build something transformative, and you're ready to find your collaborators, early backers, and second believers.

What the program offers:

As part of the Long Journey Residency, you'll get:

• A full ride to Edge Esmeralda 2025 (May 24 – June 21): Includes housing in a shared founder house, one extra meal per day (plus standard Edge Esmeralda discounted lunch), home cleaning, full access to the Edge Esmeralda village, and all residency programming.
  
  
• A tight cohort of 10 ambitious builders: Live and work alongside curious people chasing bold ideas.
  
  
• Dedicated programming just for residents: Weekly demos, founder dinners, Long Journey office hours, curated expert matching, and a final demo day to showcase what you’ve built.
  
  
• Mentorship from Long Journey investors and operators: Tap into guidance from people who’ve backed some of the world’s most transformative startups.
  
  
• Access to a deep network: Connect with Long Journey’s portfolio founders, operators, and the broader Edge Esmeralda community.

How to apply:

Join us at the edge of what's possible. Applications are open: Link

Reach out to grants@edgecity.live with any questions!

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About Long Journey

Long Journey is an early-stage venture capital firm led by Lee Jacobs, Cyan Banister, and Arielle Zuckerberg — veterans of AngelList, Founders Fund, and Kleiner Perkins/Coatue, respectively. At Long Journey, we are second believers in the magically weird, partnering with entrepreneurs on absurd, unconventional ideas before they become consensus. Collectively, our team has invested early in over +35 unicorns, including SpaceX, Uber, Anduril, Notion, DeepMind, Postmates, and Flock Security. Notable recent seed investments where we were second believers include Crusoe, Together AI, and Truemed. 

Recently, we announced the launch of Fund IV, a $181.818 million fund to fan entrepreneurs' flames to create the world that they imagine, bringing our AUM to $450 million.

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About Edge City 

Edge City convenes people working at the frontiers of tech, science, and society in popup villages across the globe. We are building a "society incubator" — an IRL lab of experimentation for new ideas, technology, culture, and institutions, all aimed at accelerating human flourishing.

Our popup villages last 1–2 months and gather leaders from fields like AI, biotech, crypto, hard tech, governance, philosophy, and beyond. They’re designed for deep connection and collaboration, creating the ideal environment for ambitious builders to focus, experiment, and prototype new ways of living and working.

We’ve had over 10,000 people participate across five gatherings. Over time, we will build a global network city that shares incubations and learning across the world. 

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About Edge Esmeralda

Edge Esmeralda is a month-long popup village designed to be the healthiest, most productive, and most inspiring month of your year. It takes place each summer in Northern California and brings together innovators from across tech, science, culture, and society.

Edge Esmeralda 2025 will be the second edition of the village and serves as a prototype for Esmeralda, a permanent new town being built just 15 minutes away. It’s a place to live, build, and experiment alongside thoughtful peers—where new projects, startups, organizations, and ideas take root.

Each week features focused tracks like decentralized AI, hard tech, biotech, governance, and more, alongside deep work infrastructure, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and opportunities for adventure and connection in the beautiful Sonoma countryside.

Apply here to attend: https://edgeesmeralda.com/

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