Accelerators and startup programs for dev-tool and AI startups

Cohort programs that invest cash in early startups; most take equity and run a few months.

• Y Combinator$500,000

  Standard deal plus the YC network, partner perks and Demo Day.

  Equity

  7% for $125k + $375k uncapped MFN SAFE

  Format

  3-month batch in San Francisco (Winter 2027: January to March)

  Focus

  Any startup, strong on software and AI

  Apply

  Winter 2027: apply by Nov 2, 8pm PT; later applications still considered

  Catch: In person in San Francisco; 7% for $125k plus an uncapped MFN SAFE.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• Techstars Anywhere Accelerator$220,000 ($200k uncapped MFN SAFE + $20k)

  Mentor-led program with a worldwide application; the same terms apply to most Techstars programs.

  Equity

  5% common stock + whatever the MFN SAFE converts to

  Format

  3-month program (starts Mar 8, 2027; Demo Day Jun 3, 2027)

  Focus

  Early-stage startups, any sector, worldwide

  Apply

  Applications open; final deadline Nov 18, 2026

  Catch: Terms can differ by program; Techstars also takes equity (5% common plus the SAFE's future share).

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• a16z speedrunUp to $1M plus $10M+ in credits

  Up to $1M in funding, $10M+ in credits, and hands-on help with sales, hiring and fundraising.

  Format

  Cohort with Demo Day; apply from anywhere

  Focus

  Games, consumer, AI and infrastructure founders

  Apply

  Apply form; no deadline stated on the page

  Catch: Program length and equity terms are not published on the page.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• Entrepreneur FirstEquity-free grant while ideating; up to $250k once a company is formed

  You can apply without a co-founder or idea; EF helps you find one and start.

  Format

  Pre-team talent investor; cohorts in London, Bangalore and San Francisco

  Focus

  Talented individuals who want to found a deep-tech or AI company

  Apply

  Apply at apply.joinef.com

  Catch: Equity share is not stated; the page itself is inconsistent on SF office duration.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• Antler

  Day-zero investor that helps find co-founders and test ideas.

  Format

  Residency-style program in 20+ cities (see site for cohort dates)

  Focus

  Pre-seed founders, many cities, with a later-stage Elevate track

  Apply

  Online form by region and stage

  Catch: Cheque size and equity are not on the application page.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• South Park Commons$1M to $10M for members ready to build

  Free, no-equity residency; first checks come only once a founder is ready.

  Format

  6-month residency community

  Focus

  Technical founders and researchers exploring ideas

  Apply

  Apply on site

  Catch: Funding of $1M to $10M applies only to those who are ready; not every member is funded.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• Alchemist AcceleratorAverage net $30,000 (optional investment offsets tuition)

  Mentorship, perks above $450k in aggregate, and a virtual Demo Day; founders can be anywhere.

  Equity

  Single-digit common equity, most grant 5%

  Format

  6-month rolling cohorts; in-person week in the SF Bay Area, then mostly virtual

  Focus

  Enterprise AI-SaaS and deeptech startups with enterprise revenue

  Apply

  Rolling deadlines; replies within 3 weeks

  Catch: Tuition fee applies, offset by a small optional investment; most grant 5% equity.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• Berkeley SkyDeck$210,000 (cohort teams)

  $210k fund investment for cohort teams, workspace, advisors and Demo Day.

  Format

  6-month cohort of 20 to 25 teams in Berkeley, plus a lighter Pad-13 track

  Focus

  Industry-agnostic; prioritises UC-affiliated and international startups

  Apply

  Batch 23 closed Aug 21, 2026; Batch 24 opens in January

  Catch: Pad-13 teams get no guaranteed investment; equity terms not stated.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• 500 Global Flagship Accelerator

  Mentoring and a global network; also runs regional programs.

  Format

  Silicon Valley program

  Focus

  Early-stage tech startups

  Apply

  See programs page

  Catch: Investment terms and open status not shown on the page; some regional programs are regional only.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• 500 Global LatAm ProgramUS$300,000

  Funding plus personalised support for LatAm founders.

  Format

  Regional program

  Focus

  Latin American tech startups

  Apply

  See programs page

  Catch: Open status and equity are not stated on the page.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• HF0

  A residency built for people who have founded companies before.

  Format

  Residency with batches (September and January starts listed)

  Focus

  Repeat founders

  Apply

  Apply at hf0.com/apply

  Catch: Investment terms and location are not on the homepage; repeat founders only.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• Thiel Fellowship$250,000 grant over two years

  A grant for young builders who skip or leave college.

  Format

  Two-year fellowship

  Focus

  Young people building new things

  Apply

  Apply via the site

  Catch: Aimed at young people who skip or stop out of college.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

Programs from AI and cloud companies that give credits, tools or equity-free support to AI startups.

• Google for Startups AcceleratorEquity-free

  Equity-free support with Google and industry mentors and early access to Google AI products.

  Format

  Cohorts of 10 to 15; mix of remote and in-person; Americas, EMEA and APAC

  Focus

  Technical startups, ideally using AI and machine learning

  Apply

  Pick a regional accelerator on the site

  Catch: Application windows differ by region and are not listed on this page.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• Google Cloud AI startup tierUp to $350,000 in credits

  Up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits over two years, plus support credits.

  Format

  Credits over two years

  Focus

  AI-first startups that use Google's AI platform or Gemini

  Apply

  Apply on cloud.google.com/startup

  Catch: Needs seed to Series A VC funding, founded in the last 10 years; third-party models are billed.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• NVIDIA InceptionFree membership

  Free training, cloud credits from NVIDIA and partners, hardware pricing, and VC introductions.

  Format

  Ongoing membership; no cohorts or deadlines

  Focus

  AI and data-science startups

  Apply

  Rolling via the Inception portal

  Catch: No set credit amount; needs incorporation, a website and a developer; under 10 years old.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• Microsoft for Startups Founders HubUp to $150,000 in Azure credits

  Azure credits for AI models and developer tools.

  Format

  Credits and tools

  Focus

  Startups building on AI, models and developer tools

  Apply

  Apply via the Get started page

  Catch: Eligibility criteria are not listed on this page.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• Anthropic startup program$1,000 API credits; up to $45K partner offers; up to $100K more via partner VCs

  API credits, a year of Claude Team, and partner offers.

  Format

  Credits and perks

  Focus

  Startups building on the Claude API

  Apply

  Apply in Claude Console; most decided within minutes

  Catch: Credits expire after six months; first-party API only; founded within 5 years or funded within 2.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• AWS ActivateFounders up to $5,000; Portfolio up to $200,000; AI $200,000+

  Founders tier for bootstrapped teams; Portfolio tier for funded ones.

  Format

  Credit tiers by funding stage

  Focus

  Startups on AWS, including AI

  Apply

  Apply directly (Founders) or via a provider org ID (Portfolio)

  Catch: Pre-series B, founded in last 10 years; the AI tier is invite-only.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

Cloud, payments and tooling credits that cut early-stage costs for software startups.

• Cloudflare for Startups$10k, $100k or $350k credit tiers by funding raised

  Cloud credits plus enterprise-tier services (WAF, CDN, DDoS) free.

  Format

  Credits for one year

  Focus

  Early-stage tech startups

  Apply

  Apply online; review up to 48 hours

  Catch: One-time per startup; credits last a year; higher tiers need a partner funder.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• DigitalOcean Startups (Hatch)

  Credits for DigitalOcean cloud services.

  Format

  Credits for about 12 months

  Focus

  AI-native and software startups raised $10M or less

  Apply

  Apply via form; choose Other if no partner

  Catch: Core credits exclude GPU, serverless inference and third-party models; unused credits are forfeited.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• Stripe for Startups

  Credits against Stripe fees, capped invoicing fee, and founder community; Atlas forms a Delaware C corp.

  Format

  Fee credits and perks

  Focus

  Venture-backed startups

  Apply

  Apply on site

  Catch: Credit amount and duration not on the page; aimed at venture-backed startups.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• JetBrains for Startups50% off up to 10 seats per product group

  50% off IDE, team tool and JetBrains AI subscriptions.

  Format

  Discount for five years

  Focus

  Privately owned software startups

  Apply

  Reviewed within 48 hours

  Catch: Company must be under 5 years old; one use per organisation; not combinable with other discounts.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

Non-dilutive programs that fund open-source work.

• GitHub Secure Open Source Fund$10,000 per project plus $10,000 Azure credits

  Cash, security training, Security Lab office hours and Azure credits.

  Format

  3-week security program with 6 and 12 month check-ins

  Focus

  Open-source maintainers improving security

  Apply

  Rolling; apply by Microsoft form

  Catch: Roughly 20 hours of commitment; selected applicants are interviewed.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• NLnet (NGI Zero)First grants EUR 5,000 to 50,000

  Grants for open-licence technical work.

  Format

  Grants

  Focus

  Open-source software, hardware and content, mainly European

  Apply

  Next deadline Nov 3, 2026, 12:00 CET

  Catch: Needs a European dimension; AI-generated proposals not accepted.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• Sovereign Tech FundMinimum project cost EUR 50,000

  Funds development and maintenance of widely used open-source infrastructure.

  Format

  Financing or work commissions

  Focus

  Open digital base technologies

  Apply

  Apply at apply.sovereign.tech; page does not say if open now

  Catch: Costs must exceed EUR 50,000; contract start about 6 months after submission; no prototypes.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• Open Technology Fund

  Funds include Internet Freedom, Rapid Response and FOSS Sustainability.

  Format

  Several funds

  Focus

  Internet freedom and censorship-circumvention tools

  Apply

  Apply at apply.opentech.fund; open status per fund

  Catch: Limited to internet-freedom technology; amounts not shown on the page.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08

• US SBIR/STTRPhase I up to $323,090; Phase II up to $2,153,927 (without waiver)

  Non-dilutive government R&D funding.

  Format

  Phase I and Phase II awards through federal agencies

  Focus

  US small businesses with R&D-heavy technology

  Apply

  Agency solicitations; see sbir.gov/apply

  Catch: US small businesses only; each agency sets its own deadlines and topics.

  official source · checked 2026-10-08