Top Accelerators &amp; Incubators

Deadline: May 4, 2026Apply

Y Combinator

The gold standard. $500K investment ($125K for 7% + $375K uncapped SAFE). 3-month batch in SF. ~60% AI companies now. Acceptance rate ~1-3%.

Deadline: May 17, 2026Apply

a16z Speedrun

Andreessen Horowitz

Up to $1M ($500K for 10% + $500K follow-on within 18 months) plus $5M+ in AI/cloud credits from OpenAI, Anthropic, NVIDIA, AWS. SR007 cohort: July 27 – Oct 11, 2026 in SF.

Up to $1M + $5M credits

Equity: 10%

12 weeks

San Francisco

Deadline: Invalid DateApply

Sequoia Arc

Sequoia Capital

Sequoia's bi-annual open call for pre-seed/seed founders. $500K-$1M investment. Intensive 7-week company-building immersion. Spring 2026 closed Feb 23 — Fall 2026 round opens this summer.

Equity: ~5% participation rights

Neo Residency

Neo (Ali Partovi)

$750K uncapped SAFE (no valuation cap!) + $450K+ compute credits. 3-month SF workspace + Oregon bootcamp. Student track: $40K no-strings grant.

$750K uncapped SAFE

3 months

San Francisco

Deadline: RollingApply

fellowship Solo ✓

$400K for 7% + $600K guaranteed follow-on + $1M+ in compute credits. Frontier-tech focused. Pre-idea welcome — you don't need an idea to apply. Spring 2026 cohort closed Feb 1 — Fall 2026 applications open this summer.

$400K + $600K follow-on

Equity: 7%

2-month bootcamp + residency

San Francisco / NYC

Deadline: Invalid DateApply

Equity: Founder-friendly terms

Solo Founders Program (SFP)

Julian Weisser

Built specifically for solo founders. $100K on founder-friendly terms. 3 months in SF with 9 other solo founders, weekly 1:1s with Julian. Only 10 spots per cohort. Next cohort starts May 22, 2026.

$100K

3 months

San Francisco

Deadline: Rolling (10 spots)Apply

More Opportunities31

$220K5% equity 13 weeks Multiple cities + remote

Techstars

$220K total ($20K for 5% + $200K uncapped SAFE). Mentorship-driven. Programs across multiple verticals and cities worldwide.

Deadline: Rolling by program

MentorshipGlobal

$100K–$150K6% equity 4 months Silicon Valley

500 Global

$150K for 6% (Flagship Accelerator). Year-round rolling applications for Batch 37 starting Q2 2026 in Palo Alto. Alumni include Canva, Grab, Talkdesk.

Deadline: Rolling (year-round)

Solo Founders ProgramGlobal

$250K–$2MNegotiated equity 12 weeks Bay Area

PearX

Pear VC

$250K–$2M per company. Small cohorts (max 30) with 1:1 partner support. 90% of companies go on to raise from top-tier VCs. Strong AI focus. S26 closed April 12 — W27 batch opens later this year.

AIEnterpriseSmall Cohort

$25K–$500K~6% equity Ongoing Remote-friendly

LAUNCH Accelerator

Jason Calacanis

$25K–$500K investment, ~6% equity. Free program. Backed Uber, Robinhood, and Calm early. 100+ startups funded per year.

High-agency BuildersFlexible

$25K–$125K for top grads 10–12 weeks Remote

Founder University

LAUNCH / Jason Calacanis

Free 10-12 week pre-accelerator. Top graduates get $25K or $125K investment. Pipeline into LAUNCH Accelerator for top performers.

FreePre-acceleratorLearning

Up to $250K~8–10% equity Two 12-week sprints London → San Francisco

Entrepreneur First

Back individuals before they have a team or idea. Co-founder matching for technical founders. Up to $250K. London Fall 26 early deadline May 10. SF "The Bridge" residency final deadline June 1. Bangalore Fall round 2 closes May 1.

Deadline: May 10, 2026

Co-founder MatchingPre-ideaTechnical

accelerator

Antler

Day-zero VC in 27+ cities. Join solo, find a co-founder during the residency, and get funded. $100K–$250K investment. 2026 cohort start dates: Tokyo (May 11), Sydney (Jul 27), Amsterdam/Berlin/Munich (Sep 14), London (Sep 22), Nairobi (Oct 5).

$100K–$250K~8.5% equity 6-week residency 27+ cities globally

Deadline: Rolling by city

Co-founder MatchingGlobal

Compute + token creditsVaries equity Ongoing community Hangzhou, China

Honghub (鸿鹄汇)

Honghub

China's first accelerator dedicated to one-person companies. Based in Hangzhou. AI infrastructure (subsidized compute + LLM tokens), business registration help, peer network of 40+ AI-powered OPC projects. International expansion planned.

ChinaOPC-onlyAI Infrastructure

grant No EquitySolo ✓

Thiel Fellowship

Thiel Foundation

$200K grant over 2 years. Zero equity taken. For people under 23 who want to build instead of attending college. Alumni: Vitalik Buterin, Dylan Field (Figma).

$200K grant 2 years Flexible

GrantNo EquityUnder 23

$350K credits 10 weeks Global (hybrid)

Google for Startups: AI

Google

Equity-free 10-week program for AI/GenAI startups. Up to $350K in Google Cloud credits. Google mentorship and product access.

Deadline: Varies by region

AINo EquityCredits

competition No EquitySolo ✓

MassChallenge

Zero-equity, zero-fee accelerator with cash prizes up to CHF 1M. Operates in US, UK, Switzerland, Mexico. Impact-focused. 2026 cohorts closed (US Fintech, US Healthcare, UK extended to April 15, Switzerland March 4) — 2027 applications typically open in Q1.

Up to CHF 1M prizes 4 months US, UK, Switzerland, Mexico

No EquityPrizesImpact

Credits + perks Ongoing Global

NVIDIA Inception

NVIDIA

Free ongoing program for AI startups at any stage. Cloud credits, hardware discounts, DLI training, VC intros. 19,000+ member startups. Apply anytime.

Deadline: Rolling (open year-round)

AINo EquityAny Stage

$10KMinimal ($1B cap) equity 1 week Virtual + SF/NYC

Z Fellows

Z Fellows (Cory Levy)

$10K at a $1B valuation cap — practically free equity. 1-week fellowship connecting young builders with billion-dollar founders. Investment optional.

Young BuildersLow Commitment

grantSolo ✓

1517 Fund

VC fund backing college dropouts, students, and young scientists. $50K–$1M investments. Also offers $1,000 Medici Grants for young builders.

$50K–$1MNegotiated equity Ongoing relationship Remote

Deadline: No formal deadline

StudentsDropoutsDeep Tech

$100K–$2M0% (uncapped SAFE) equity Ongoing Remote

Soma Capital Fellows

Soma Capital

$100K–$2M on uncapped SAFEs (0% equity at investment). Connect with 30+ unicorn founders. $1B AUM fund, 900+ investments, 34+ unicorns.

Uncapped SAFENetwork

No investment (paid program) 10 weeks Remote

On Deck Founder Fellowship

On Deck

10-week remote cohort for early-stage founders. No investment, paid program (~$2,990). Up to 80% scholarships available. Strong network.

CommunityNetworkRemote

Training program 4 months (part-time) 200+ cities globally

Founder Institute

World's largest pre-seed accelerator. 4-month part-time program in 200+ cities. For idea-stage, first-time founders. 8,900+ entrepreneurs globally.

Deadline: Rolling by city

Idea-stageGlobalPart-time

~$25K~5% equity 6 months San Francisco Bay Area

Alchemist Accelerator

Alchemist

Enterprise-focused (B2B) accelerator backed by major VCs and corporates. 6-month program in the Bay Area. Strong network for selling to enterprises.

~$250KVaries equity Grant-based Remote / SF community

B2BEnterprise

grantSolo ✓

AI Grant

Nat Friedman & Daniel Gross

~$250K grant for individuals and small teams working on AI projects. Founded by ex-GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and investor Daniel Gross. Light-touch, community-driven.

AIGrantResearch

$500KVia SAFE equity ~3 months San Francisco

Embed

Homebrew (Hunter Walk & Satya Patel)

$500K via SAFE for pre-seed founders. Structured support program by Homebrew, one of the most respected seed funds in SF.

Pre-seedOperator Support

$1M ($400K + $600K)Via SAFE equity 12 weeks San Francisco

HF0 (Hacker Fellowship)

HF0

$1M total ($400K upfront + $600K guaranteed follow-on). 12-week residency in an SF mansion with food, housing, workspace covered. For repeat technical founders. No demo days.

TechnicalHousingCommunity

Non-dilutive support 5 months New York City

Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab

Morgan Stanley

Non-dilutive (0% equity) 5-month program for startups led by diverse founders. Mentorship, resources, and investor access from Morgan Stanley network.

No EquityDiversityFinance Network

$100K~8% equity 4 months New York City

Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator

ERA

$100K for ~8% equity. NYC-based, one of the top-ranked US accelerators. Strong focus on company building and investor access.

NYCInvestor Access

$150K–$200K~6–8% equity 6 months Los Angeles

MuckerLab

Mucker Capital

$150K–$200K for ~6-8% (SAFE). LA-based accelerator from former operators. Hands-on operational support for seed-stage startups.

LAOperatorsSeed

Up to $1M credits 10 weeks Virtual / hybrid

AWS Generative AI Accelerator

Amazon Web Services

Up to $1M in AWS credits for generative AI startups. Zero equity. Mentorship and access to Amazon's AI/ML resources. 10-week program.

AINo EquityCloud Credits

$100K–$250KVia SAFE equity Ongoing support San Francisco / Remote

NFX Fast

NFX

$100K–$250K via SAFE. Rapid-decision pre-seed investment from the network-effects VC. Signal platform for founder discovery. Remote-friendly.

Pre-seedNetwork EffectsFast Decision

$500K~7% equity 3 months San Mateo, CA

Boost VC

Boost VC (Adam Draper)

$500K via SAFE (~7% target). Pre-seed fund for frontier tech — AI, VR/AR, and sci-fi-inspired tech. 3-month program in San Mateo.

Frontier TechAISci-fi

$500K–$1M~5–15% equity ~6 months Seattle, WA

AI2 Incubator

Allen Institute for AI

$500K–$1M for AI-focused startups. Spun out of Paul Allen's AI research institute. Deep technical resources and research talent access in Seattle.

AIResearchDeep Tech

$25K–$500K (varies)0–5% (varies) equity 3 months Sunnyvale, CA + 40 global locations

Plug and Play Tech Center

Plug and Play

One of the world's largest accelerator platforms. 20+ industry verticals, 40+ global locations. Connects startups with major corporations. Many programs are non-dilutive.

Deadline: Rolling by program

Corporate PartnersGlobalMulti-vertical

$25K–$50K~5% equity 20 weeks Pittsburgh, PA

AlphaLab

Innovation Works

$25K–$50K for ~5% equity. Pittsburgh-based, one of the longest-running US accelerators. Software and hardware startups. 20-week program.

PittsburghHardwareSoftware

~$750KVia SAFE equity Ongoing relationship San Francisco / Remote

Afore Capital Founders in Residence

Afore Capital

~$750K pre-seed check for founders before they've started building. Specifically targets people still exploring ideas. The ultimate pre-idea investment.