All the best startup accelerators to apply in 2026 (below FULL spreadsheet):
[ Top-Tier ]
1. Y Combinator (~$500k, 7% on $125k + uncapped SAFE)
2. a16z Speedrun (~$500k for 10% + $500k follow-on)
3. Techstars (~$220k, bumped from $120k in fall 2025)
4. Founders Inc (~$100-250k for 4-7%)
5. Sequoia Arc (~$1M, terms per company)
6. South Park Commons (~$1M total, $400k for 7% + $600k guaranteed)
7. HF0 (up to $1M uncapped for 5%, repeat founders only)
8. On Deck ODX (DISCONTINUED 2022, skip)
9. Pear VC PearX (~$250k-2M for ~10%)
10. 500 Global Flagship (~$150k for 6%)
[ AI / ML Specific ]
11. AI Grant (~$250k for 7%, Nat Friedman + Daniel Gross)
12. AI Fund (~$1M+, Andrew Ng, studio model)
13. NVIDIA Inception (credits + perks, no equity)
14. Microsoft for Startups (up to $150k Azure credits, no equity)
15. Google for Startups AI Accelerator (credits, no equity)
[ Vertical / Deep Tech ]
16. SOSV (~$525k across IndieBio, HAX, Orbit)
17. IndieBio (biotech, ~$525k = $250k for 6-8% + Genesis SAFE)
18. HAX (hardware, ~$525k via SOSV)
19. Greentown Labs (cleantech, workspace + grants)
20. Activate (deep science fellowship, 2-yr stipend)
[ Crypto / Web3 ]
21. a16z crypto CSX (~$500k for 7%, SF in-person)
22. Alliance (~$500k, ALL18 starts Sept 7)
23. Outlier Ventures Base Camp (~$250k, per-chain verticals)
24. Coinbase Base Builder (varies, mostly non-dilutive)
[ International / Regional ]
25. Seedcamp (~€350k-1M first check, rolling, Europe)
26. Entrepreneur First (~$250k = $125k for 8% + uncapped MFN)
27. Antler Disrupt US (~$400k = $250k for ~9% + uncapped)
28. Brinc (~$100k, Asia + Middle East)
29. Station F (Paris campus, hosted-program terms)
30. Founder Institute ($499-999 fee + 2.5% Equity Collective warrant)
[ Pre-Seed / Idea Stage / Niche ]
31. Z Fellows (~$10k for 1%, pre-product)
32. ERA NYC (~$100k for 8%, generalist)
33. The Residency (community-first, no standard check)
34. Plug and Play (varies, often non-dilutive)
35. Build For Tomorrow (community + grants)
Four things worth knowing:
1. small program acceptance rates are higher than YC, not because they're easier, because the funnel is smaller. apply to 5-7, not 1
2. brand premium on YC is real but not infinite. Arc + Speedrun + HF0 carry signal too
3. "$X for Y%" is the only number that matters. uncapped MFNs are not free money, they dilute you on the next round
4. avoid any list still quoting Techstars at $120k, ODX as active, HF0 at $100k, or Founder Institute as "$10k for 4%". all wrong
Shared with you those where I am going to apply with my ideas and products
Terms shift annually. Verify on each program's site before applying
gl with successful raising
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