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Accelerators, Incubators, Residencies and Other Programs for 2026 AI Startup Founders

January 2026 (Updated July 2026)

A no-nonsense list of the top 2026 founder opportunities — fellowships, accelerators, residencies, and early-stage programs, backed by VC firms and others and organized by stage and focus with key dates and deal terms.

How to Use This Resource

Start with programs matching your stage: pre-idea founders should look at fellowships and residency programs first, while founders with traction should target VC-backed accelerators. Apply broadly but prioritize programs offering the specific resources you need most (compute credits, network access, or capital). Most applications take 1-2 hours, so batch your applications and reuse content where possible.

Key Upcoming Deadlines

🟢 July 15, 2026 — Google Xoogler AI Startup Incubator

🟢 July 24, 2026 — Creative Destruction Lab (CDL)

🟢 July 27, 2026 — Y Combinator F26 (on-time deadline; late apps still considered)

🟢 August 2, 2026 — South Park Commons Fall 2026

Founder Fellowships & Residency Programs

Best for: Pre-idea to very early stage, technical founders exploring ideas, researchers transitioning to startups

Ideal if: You need compute credits, technical mentorship, or co-founder matching more than capital

• EWOR Fellowship — EWOR — Rolling — €500K (€110K + €390K uncapped SAFE) for 7%, virtual-first, Europe, unicorn-founder mentorship

• HF0 Residency — HF0 — Rolling — 12 weeks SF, up to $1M uncapped SAFE for 5%, repeat/technical founders

• On Deck Founder Fellowship (ODF) — On Deck — Rolling — ODF27 Feb 2026, 1-week SF sprint + year-long community, pay-what-you-can (~$1K suggested), no equity

• Anthropic Fellows Program 2026 — Anthropic — Rolling — July 2026 + beyond cohorts, 4 months, $3,850/week + ~$15K/month compute, no equity

• South Park Commons — SPC — August 2, 2026 — Fall cohort kicks off late Sep 2026, Up to $1M ($400K upfront for 7%, $600K in next round), SF/NYC/Bangalore, -1 to 0 stage

AI & Deep Tech Accelerators

Best for: Technical founders building AI-first products, researchers commercializing novel AI research

Ideal if: You need cloud/compute credits, technical mentorship from AI experts, or access to cutting-edge tools

• AI Grant — Nat Friedman & Daniel Gross — Rolling — $250K uncapped SAFE, AI-native products, $600K+ in credits

• AI2 Incubator — Allen Institute for AI — Rolling — Up to $600K + $1M compute credits, 12 months, Seattle, AI-first startups, technical founders

• Conviction Embed — Conviction — Rolling — $150K-$250K uncapped MFN SAFE, 8 weeks, AI-native, $350K AWS + $350K Azure + $500K+ other credits

• OpenAI Converge — OpenAI Startup Fund — Periodic cohorts — $1M equity investment, 5-6 weeks, early access to OpenAI models, 10-15 startups

• Alchemist Chicago — Alchemist + UChicago — Rolling — Phase II Jan-Mar 2026, $50K, deep tech/quantum/AI

• Boost VC — Boost VC — Rolling — $500K for 15%, deep tech (crypto, VR/AR, AI, space, robotics, biotech), housing included

• Google for Startups: AI First (North America) — Google — Future cohorts TBD (last ran Apr-Jun 2024) — 10 weeks, NO EQUITY, up to $350K credits, Seed-Series A

• AWS Generative AI Accelerator — AWS — 2026 dates TBD (apps typically Jun-Jul) — 8 weeks hybrid, up to $1M credits, global

• Station F F/ai — Station F — Invite/recommendation only (no open applications) — Two 20-company cohorts/year, Paris, backed by OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, Sequoia, General Catalyst, Lightspeed; $1M+ in model and compute credits, 0% equity

• Google Xoogler AI Startup Incubator — Xoogler.co + Google AI Futures Fund — July 15, 2026 — 12 weeks, 10-20 startups, up to $100K access to capital + up to $350K Google Cloud and AI credits, early access to Google AI models, Google/DeepMind alumni focus

VC-Backed Programs for Founders

Best for: Founders with MVP or early traction, established founding teams

Ideal if: You want top-tier VC access, are building enterprise AI, or need strategic guidance over capital

• Alchemist Accelerator — Alchemist — Rolling (next class starts Jan 22, 2026) — 6 months SF, $25K for 5%, B2B/enterprise focus

• Greylock Edge — Greylock — Rolling — 3 months, flexible funding (seed to uncapped SAFE), $500K+ credits

• Betaworks Camp — Betaworks — Rolling — 12 weeks NYC, up to $500K, thematic AI focus

• Collaborative Fund AIR — Collaborative Fund — Rolling — 10 weeks NYC, $500K for 10%, consumer AI focus

• Designer Fund — Designer Fund — Rolling — $100K-$1M, design-led startups

• Afore Capital Founder-in-Residence — Afore Capital — Rolling — 10 weeks SF, $100K+, -1 to 0 stage

• Drive Capital Seed Program — Drive Capital — Rolling — $500K for 6%, Columbus OH, pre-seed/seed stage

• Soma Capital — Soma Capital — Rolling — $100K-$1M uncapped SAFE, 0% equity, strong YC network

• Unshackled Ventures — Unshackled Ventures — Rolling — $1M-$3M, immigrant founders only

• Village Global — Village Global — Rolling — $25K-$100K

• Backdrop Build — Backdrop — Rolling — $500K for 7%, AI-native products, SF-based

• AIX Ventures Studio — AIX Ventures — Rolling — $250K-$500K, AI/ML focus, technical founders

• Day One Ventures Catalyst — Day One Ventures — Rolling — Pre-seed to seed, AI infrastructure focus

• Sequoia Arc Intensive — Sequoia — Portfolio Only — 4-day intensive for Sequoia-backed founders

• Lightspeed Launch Program — Lightspeed — Portfolio Only

• Bain Founder's Studio — Bain & Company — Internal Only

Global Accelerators

Best for: First-time founders with a validated idea, teams seeking structure and accountability

Ideal if: You need hands-on guidance, brand credibility, or access to corporate partnerships

• Y Combinator F26 — Y Combinator — July 27, 2026 (on-time deadline; late apps still considered) — 3 months Oct–Dec SF, $500K total ($125K for 7% + $375K MFN SAFE)

• Techstars — Techstars — Rolling by program — 3 months, $20K for 5% equity + $200K uncapped MFN SAFE

• 500 Global Flagship — 500 Global — Rolling (Batch 37 Q1 2026) — 4 months Palo Alto, $150K for 6%

• Antler — Antler — Rolling by location — US Mar 2026 round closed; check site for next US cohort — 6 weeks + investment phase, $100K-$190K for 10-12%, 30+ global locations, co-founder matching

• Entrepreneur First (EF Global) — Entrepreneur First — Rolling by location — 3-4 months, $80K-$100K for 8-10%, co-founder matching, technical talent only

• Seedcamp — Seedcamp — Rolling — €100K-€200K for 7-7.5%, Europe's seed fund, portfolio includes Wise, Revolut, UiPath

• Plug and Play — Plug and Play — Rolling — 12 weeks, NO EQUITY, corporate partnership focus, 25+ verticals

• MassChallenge — MassChallenge — Rolling by program — 4 months, NO EQUITY, $200K+ in prizes, Boston/Switzerland/Israel/Texas

• Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) — CDL — July 24, 2026 — 9 months, NO EQUITY, science/deep-tech focus, 15 global sites

• HAX — SOSV — Rolling — 6 months Newark (+ Shenzhen/Pune/Tokyo), $250K initial ($150K cash + $100K in-kind), hardware/robotics/climate

• IndieBio — SOSV — Rolling — 4 months SF/NYC, $525K total for ~10%, biotech/climate/food, lab access included

• APX — Axel Springer + Porsche — Rolling — Up to €500K (typically €50K for 5%), Berlin, pre-seed/seed stage

• Startup Wise Guys — Startup Wise Guys — Rolling — Up to €65K for equity, Europe, B2B SaaS focus

Traditional Accelerators & Incubators

Best for: Founders seeking capital + mentorship without top-tier VC pressure

Ideal if: You're optimizing for ownership percentage or prefer remote/flexible programs

• LAUNCH Accelerator — LAUNCH — Rolling — 14-15 weeks, $125K for 7%

• Pear VC (PearX) — Pear VC — Rolling — 12 weeks, $250K-$2M, max 20 companies

• Neo Residency — Neo — Rolling — Replaces Neo Accelerator as of Feb 2026 — 3 months SF + 2-week Oregon bootcamp, $750K uncapped SAFE + $450K+ compute credits for 12–15 startups per cohort; also $40K grants for 5–8 student teams; no fixed equity %

• Founder Institute — Founder Institute — Rolling — 4 months, equity-based (warrants), 200+ cities worldwide, structured curriculum

• IDEO CoLab Ventures — IDEO — Rolling — 3-month Creative Residency

• 1752vc (formerly Pegasus) — 1752vc — Rolling — $100K for up to $3.5M cap, remote-first, Southern California

• Seed Club — Seed Club — Rolling — 12 weeks, 3% tokens, web3/DAO focus

• AlleyCorp Startup Studio — AlleyCorp — Internal Only

Pre-Idea & Very Early Stage Programs

Best for: Technical talent exploring ideas, researchers, side-project founders

Ideal if: You want low-commitment exploration before going full-time

• Founders Inc — Founders Inc — Rolling — Up to $250k for 4-7% for emerging tech and industries

• Z Fellows — Z Fellows — Rolling — 1 week, $10K at $1B cap

• Founder University — LAUNCH — Rolling — 12 weeks, $25K for 2.5% or $125K for 7%

• Pioneer — Pioneer — No longer accepting applications — Was $20K for 1%, remote accelerator for ambitious outsiders

• Gold House Fellowship — Gold House — Expected Fall 2026 — $250K, for API founders

Sector-Specific Programs

Best for: Founders in niche verticals like fintech, climate, food tech, or specialized industries

Ideal if: You need industry-specific expertise, pilots, or corporate connections

• The Mint — Better Tomorrow Ventures — No longer accepting applications — 10 weeks NYC/SF, $500K for 10%, fintech-focused, pre-seed

• Forum Ventures — Forum Ventures — Rolling — $100K for 7.5%, B2B SaaS/fintech focus

• Third Derivative (D3) — RMI + New Energy Nexus — Rolling — 18 months virtual, optional $100K convertible note, 286+ portfolio companies, climate tech

• Greentown Labs — Greentown Labs — Rolling — Boston/Houston, largest climate tech incubator in North America, lab/prototyping access

• Google for Startups: Climate Change — Google — Future cohorts TBD — 10 weeks, NO EQUITY, up to $350K credits, Seed-Series A

• FoodSeed — FoodSeed — Rolling — €250K equity, European food & agtech focus

• ForgeUp Ventures — ForgeUp Ventures — Rolling — Venture Studio model, 12-16 week programs

• Founders Fellowship — Founders Fellowship — Rolling — $150K for 5-10%

Compute and GPU Programs for Founders

Best for: All AI founders, especially those building LLM-based applications or training models

Ideal if: Compute costs are your primary burn or you need specialized GPU access

• Claude for Startups — Anthropic — Free Claude API credits + priority rate limits for early-stage founders building with Claude

• Google Cloud for Startups — Google — Up to $350K credits over 2 years

• NVIDIA Inception Program — NVIDIA — GPU access, technical support, go-to-market credits

• AWS Activate for AI — Amazon — Up to $100K credits

• Microsoft Founders Hub — Microsoft — Azure credits + OpenAI API credits

• Nebius for Startups — Nebius — GPU cluster credits, H100 access

• Oracle for Startups — Oracle — Free cloud credits + GPU discounts

• Lambda Labs GPU Cloud — Lambda Labs — Competitive GPU pricing, H100 clusters

• Together AI — Together AI — $25K+ credits for inference, model hosting

• Replicate — Replicate — $1K-$10K credits, serverless GPU deployment

• CoreWeave — CoreWeave — Enterprise GPU infrastructure, credits for qualifying startups

• Trinity Builders Program — Arcee AI — A community credit grant for developers, researchers, and open source builders working with Trinity models; apply for free inference access on the Arcee API

• Databricks for Startups — Databricks — Up to $200K credits across Databricks + Neon, technical guidance + GTM support, early-stage venture-backed (pre-seed–Series A)

• Startup with IBM — IBM — Up to $120K IBM Cloud credits over 12 months (watsonx.ai/.data/.governance), no equity; Builder tier $1K/mo, Premium tier $10K/mo; under 5 yrs, under $1M revenue, max $5M raised

• Cohere Startup Program — Cohere — 25% discount on all models for 12 months + technical support and co-marketing, Series B and earlier

• Hugging Face for Startups — Hugging Face — Free Pro period for eligible startups + monthly inference credits, access to Inference Providers and Pro features (apply/inquire directly)

• Cursor for Startups — Cursor — Free Cursor Pro (typically 12 months) for early-stage startups (pre-seed–Series A); access via YC/Techstars/500 Global partnerships or direct outreach

• OpenAI for Startups — OpenAI — Up to $5K API credits ($2,500 via Ramp), venture-backed via partner VC/accelerator, under 5 yrs, one grant per org, expires 12 months

• RunPod Startup Program — RunPod — Rolling — Starter Tier: $1K credits (pre-Series A); Growth Tier: $25K bonus credits on $50K commit ($75K total), H100 access, serverless GPU requests

• DigitalOcean Hatch — DigitalOcean — Rolling — 12 months, up to $100K compute credits + 3 months free GPU Droplet access, AI-native startups only, must have raised $10M or less

Recently Closed Founder Programs (For Reference)

These programs have closed for their current cohorts but typically run annually. Check their websites for future application cycles.

• Lux Fellowship — Lux — May 26, 2026 — $15,000 non-dilutive grants, deep mentorship, and a world-class network to the boldest undergrads pushing the boundaries of physical, computational, and life sciences

• Y Combinator S26 — Y Combinator — CLOSED (May 4, 2026) — 3 months Jul–Sep SF, $500K total ($125K for 7% + $375K MFN SAFE)

• The House Fund AI Accelerator — The House Fund — CLOSED (May 1, 2026) — rolling review continues after deadline — June-Aug 2026, 10 weeks in-person Berkeley, SAFE for 7-10%, UC Berkeley-affiliated founders, AI-first focus

• Google Summer of Code (GSoC) — Google — CLOSED (Apply Mar 24-Apr 8, 2026) — 12+ weeks, stipend, open source development

• a16z Speedrun Alpha — a16z — CLOSED (Mar 6, 2026) — places top early-career engineers into full-time roles at fast-growing a16z portfolio companies; future founders are provided capital before a team or idea even exists

• Vercel AI Accelerator — Vercel — CLOSED (Feb 16, 2026 for 2026 cohort) — 6 weeks virtual-first, 40 teams, NO EQUITY, $6M+ in credits (Vercel, AWS, Anthropic, OpenAI, and 20+ others), Demo Day SF; runs annually — check for next cohort

• The Bridge Residency — Entrepreneur First — CLOSED (Feb 16, 2026) — July 2026, 8 weeks Bay Area, up to $250K for 8%, European grads 2023+

• Berkeley SkyDeck — UC Berkeley — CLOSED (Feb 13, 2026) — 6 months, $200K for 7.5%, 900+ advisors, Demo Day to 600+ investors

• Presight AI Accelerator — Presight/G42 — CLOSED (Jan 31, 2026) — 6 months hybrid (Abu Dhabi), $150K compute credits + $50K cash (UAE ops), G42 ecosystem access

• Accel Atoms AI Cohort 2026 — Accel + Google AI Futures Fund — CLOSED (Jan 26, 2026) — Feb-May 2026, 3 months, up to $2M, Indian/Indian-origin founders, $350K Google Cloud credits

• OpenAI Grove 2026 — OpenAI — CLOSED (Jan 12, 2026) — Jan 22-Feb 27, 5 weeks, $50K credits, ~15 participants, no equity

• Flagship Pioneering Fellowship — Flagship Pioneering — CLOSED (Jan 12, 2026) — Jun-Aug 2026, 12 weeks paid (stipend), scientists/AI builders, health/sustainability focus, Cambridge MA

• CrowdStrike/AWS/NVIDIA Cybersecurity Accelerator — CrowdStrike — CLOSED - 2026 cohort running Jan-Mar — 8 weeks free, AI security focus, Demo Day Mar 24 SF

• Founders, Inc. Artifact Program — Founders, Inc. — CLOSED (Dec 31, 2025) — Jan 12-Feb 13, 2026, 5 weeks SF, up to $250K + $500K credits for 4-7%

• Thrive Capital Summer Fellowship — Thrive Capital — CLOSED (Dec 1, 2025) — June-Aug 2026 NYC, 10 weeks, $40K grant, college students only (not founders)

• The R[3]sidency — Fabric Ventures — CLOSED (Nov 22, 2025) — A UK accelerator for web3, AI, and frontier tech founders obsessed with building category-defining companies.

• Robinhood Catalyst — Blue Ridge Labs — CLOSED (Nov 21, 2025) — Feb-Jun 2026, 4 months Brooklyn, $100K for 5.5%, social impact/economic mobility focus

• Startmate (Summer 2026) — Startmate — CLOSED (Nov 3, 2025) — 12 weeks, AUD $120K at $1.5M post-money, Australia/NZ

• a16z Speedrun — a16z — CLOSED (Sep 28, 2025) — SR006 Jan-Apr 2026, 12 weeks, $500K for 10% + $500K pro-rata + $5M+ credits

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