Accelerators & Incubators Explained — Global Capital Network

Accelerator

Y Combinator

The programme that defined the modern accelerator model, running batches twice a year since 2005.

Accelerator

Techstars

A global accelerator network running programmes in cities worldwide, often in partnership with corporations.

Accelerator & Fund

500 Global

A global venture firm and accelerator with an unusually wide geographic reach into emerging markets.

Corporate Innovation Platform

Plug and Play

A corporate innovation platform matching startups with enterprise partners across many industry verticals.

Venture Builder

Antler

A global venture builder that backs founders before a company exists, helping them form teams and validate ideas.

Talent Investor

Entrepreneur First

A talent-first programme investing in exceptional individuals before they have a company or co-founder.

Multi-Stage Fund & Accelerators

SOSV

A venture firm running specialist accelerator programmes for biotechnology and hardware companies.

Hardware Accelerator

HAX

SOSV's hardware programme, providing prototyping facilities and engineering support to physical product companies.

Biotech Accelerator

IndieBio

SOSV's biotechnology programme, giving early-stage science companies laboratory space and seed capital.

Accelerator

Alchemist Accelerator

An accelerator focused exclusively on companies whose revenue comes from enterprises rather than consumers.

Seed Fund

Seedcamp

One of Europe's earliest seed funds, backing founders from pre-seed with an emphasis on network access.

Startup Campus

Station F

The world's largest startup campus, hosting dozens of independent programmes under one roof in Paris.

Zero-Equity Accelerator

MassChallenge

A non-profit accelerator that takes no equity, funded instead by corporate and public partners.

Venture Studio & Accelerator

Founders Factory

A venture studio and accelerator funded by corporate partners, building and scaling companies in their sectors.

Corporate Venture Arm

Wayra

Telefónica's corporate innovation and investment arm, connecting startups to one of Europe's largest telecom groups.

Industry Accelerator Network

Startupbootcamp

A network of industry-specific accelerator programmes run in cities across Europe, Asia, and beyond.

Accelerator Network

gener8tor

A US accelerator network operating in cities outside the traditional coastal hubs.

Vertical Accelerator

Dreamit Ventures

A vertical accelerator for post-revenue companies in health, security, and urban technology.

Innovation Hub

Newlab

A frontier technology community and workspace at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, focused on hardware and climate.

Tough Tech Fund & Incubator

The Engine

An MIT-founded fund and incubator backing companies whose timelines are too long for conventional venture capital.

Seed Accelerator

AngelPad

A deliberately small accelerator taking very few companies per cohort in exchange for concentrated attention.

Objectives-Based Program

Creative Destruction Lab

A non-profit programme using an objectives-based model, run across universities on several continents.

University Accelerator

Berkeley SkyDeck

UC Berkeley's accelerator, combining university research access with an affiliated investment fund.

Accelerator & Fund

Boost VC

An early-stage fund and accelerator backing what it calls sci-fi technology, including crypto and immersive computing.

Fellowship

Activate

A fellowship paying scientists a salary to spend two years turning their research into a company.

Pre-Seed Program

Founder Institute

A part-time pre-seed programme operating through local chapters in cities worldwide.

Equity-Free Accelerator

StartX

A non-profit, equity-free accelerator for founders affiliated with Stanford University.

Accelerator & Hub

Capital Factory

Austin's central startup hub, combining coworking, mentorship, and early-stage investment.

Accelerator & Seed Fund

MuckerLab

A Los Angeles accelerator run by Mucker Capital, focused on companies outside Silicon Valley.

Accelerator

Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator

One of New York City's longest-running accelerators, with a large mentor network across industries.

Studio & Thematic Camp

Betaworks

A New York studio and camp programme that builds and backs companies around emerging technology themes.

Incubator & Studio

AI2 Incubator

A Seattle incubator spun out of the Allen Institute for AI, building companies around applied machine learning.

Pre-Seed Programme

PearX

Pear VC's pre-seed programme, working with very early teams before conventional seed rounds.

Talent Community & Accelerator

Neo

A community and accelerator built around identifying exceptional technical talent early in their careers.

Accelerator

LAUNCH Accelerator

A San Francisco accelerator run by angel investor Jason Calacanis, oriented toward early traction and fundraising.

Accelerator

AlphaLab

Pittsburgh's long-running software accelerator, operated by the non-profit Innovation Works.

Climate Incubator

Greentown Labs

A large climate technology incubator providing lab and prototyping space to hardware-heavy startups.

Climate Funder & Programme

Elemental Impact

A climate-focused investor and programme funding projects in real communities, formerly Elemental Excelerator.

Climate Accelerator

Third Derivative

A climate accelerator founded by RMI, connecting startups with corporate and investor networks.

Corporate Accelerator

Illumina Accelerator

A corporate-backed genomics accelerator providing lab space, sequencing access, and capital.

Corporate Incubator

JLABS

Johnson & Johnson's no-equity life science incubator network, offering lab space without taking ownership.

Impact Accelerator

Village Capital

An impact-focused programme known for letting cohort founders select which companies receive investment.

Scale-Up Network

Endeavor

A global network supporting high-impact entrepreneurs at the scale-up stage rather than at founding.

Government Programme

Start-Up Chile

A government-backed programme offering equity-free funding to founders willing to base themselves in Chile.

Accelerator

Startup Wise Guys

A leading Central and Eastern European accelerator, focused on business-to-business software.

Accelerator & Fund

Rockstart

A Dutch accelerator and investor working in defined verticals including agrifood, energy, and emerging technology.

Pre-Seed Investor & Programme

APX

A Berlin early-stage investor and programme backed by Axel Springer and Porsche.

Seed Programme

Surge

Peak XV's early-stage programme for founders building in India and Southeast Asia.

Accelerator

Iterative

A Southeast Asia accelerator run by founders, modelled on intensive small-cohort programmes.

Seed Programme

Flat6Labs

One of the most active seed programmes across the Middle East and North Africa.

Government Ecosystem

Hub71

Abu Dhabi's government-backed technology ecosystem, offering incentives to companies that relocate.

Training Programme & Incubator

MEST Africa

A Ghana-based training programme and incubator building software entrepreneurs across Africa.

Corporate Programme

NVIDIA Inception

A large, equity-free programme giving AI startups technical resources and go-to-market support.

Corporate Accelerator

Google for Startups Accelerator

An equity-free corporate accelerator pairing startups with Google engineers and mentors.

Venture Studio

Idealab

The original startup studio, creating companies internally in Southern California since 1996.

Venture Studio & Fund

AlleyCorp

A New York venture studio that both founds companies internally and invests externally.

Venture Studio

Atomic

A venture studio that co-founds companies with operators and funds them from its own vehicles.

Venture Studio & Fund

Pioneer Square Labs

A Seattle studio that validates ideas internally and spins the survivors out as funded companies.

Venture Studio & Fund

High Alpha

An Indianapolis venture studio focused specifically on business software company creation.

Studio, Fund & Workspace

Company Ventures

A New York firm combining early-stage investment with a workspace and community for founders.

Sector Accelerator & Fund

XRC Ventures

A New York accelerator and fund focused on retail, consumer goods, and the supply chains behind them.

Shared Lab & Incubator

LabCentral

A shared laboratory facility in Kendall Square giving early biotech companies bench space and equipment.

Industry Hub & Incubator

MassRobotics

A Boston hub providing robotics startups with workspace, test facilities, and industry connections.

Accelerator Competition

Cleantech Open

A long-running national accelerator competition for early clean technology companies in the United States.

Studio & Seed Fund

Rev1 Ventures

A Columbus studio and fund that combines investment with hands-on operating support.

Pre-Accelerator

DivInc

An Austin-based accelerator working specifically with founders underrepresented in venture capital.

Social Impact Incubator

Halcyon

A Washington incubator giving social entrepreneurs residency, living space, and a long runway.

Sector Accelerator & Fund

THRIVE by SVG Ventures

An agrifood accelerator connecting startups to growers and food corporations from California's farm belt.

Company Builder

Rocket Internet

A Berlin company builder known for launching proven business models rapidly in new markets.

Venture Studio

Hexa

A Paris startup studio, formerly eFounders, specialising in business software company creation.

Mission-Led Venture Builder

Zinc

A London venture builder that assembles teams around specific social missions.

Science Venture Creator

Deep Science Ventures

A London venture creator that builds science companies from first principles rather than from existing research.

PhD Venture Programme

Conception X

A UK programme that turns doctoral researchers into deep technology founders during their PhD.

University Partnership Incubator

SETsquared

A partnership of southern English universities running one of the world's most established incubators.

European Innovation Engine

EIT InnoEnergy

A European innovation engine funding and scaling sustainable energy companies across the continent.

Climate Innovation Body

EIT Climate-KIC

The European Union's climate innovation body, funding ventures alongside systemic change programmes.

Emerging Markets Accelerator & Fund

Seedstars

A Geneva-based organisation investing in and supporting founders across emerging markets.

Impact Accelerator & Fund

Katapult

An Oslo impact accelerator investing in ocean, climate, and technology ventures.

Hardware & Climate Accelerator

Brinc

A Hong Kong accelerator specialising in hardware, food technology, and climate ventures.

Seed Investor & Incubator

Samurai Incubate

One of Japan's longest-running seed investors, also active across African markets.

Accelerator Group & Fund

SparkLabs

A Seoul-founded accelerator group operating programmes and funds across Asia-Pacific.

Innovation Hub & Incubator

Co-Creation Hub

Africa's most prominent innovation hub, operating across Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda.

Accelerator & Seed Fund

NXTP

An early Latin American accelerator, now an early-stage fund backing business software across the region.

Venture Builder

Polymath Ventures

A Bogotá venture builder creating companies for Latin America's middle class.

Graduating from a programme?

Global Capital Network connects accelerator graduates with the investors funding their next round.

Explore Opportunities Contact GCN

Where founders get their start.

Y Combinator

Techstars

500 Global

Plug and Play

Antler

Entrepreneur First

SOSV

HAX

IndieBio

Alchemist Accelerator

Seedcamp

Station F

MassChallenge

Founders Factory

Wayra

Startupbootcamp

gener8tor

Dreamit Ventures

Newlab

The Engine

AngelPad

Creative Destruction Lab

Berkeley SkyDeck

Boost VC

Activate

Founder Institute

StartX

Capital Factory

MuckerLab

Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator

Betaworks

AI2 Incubator

PearX

Neo

LAUNCH Accelerator

AlphaLab

Greentown Labs

Elemental Impact

Third Derivative

Illumina Accelerator

JLABS

Village Capital

Endeavor

Start-Up Chile

Startup Wise Guys

Rockstart

APX

Surge

Iterative

Flat6Labs

Hub71

MEST Africa

NVIDIA Inception

Google for Startups Accelerator

Idealab

AlleyCorp

Atomic

Pioneer Square Labs

High Alpha

Company Ventures

XRC Ventures

LabCentral

MassRobotics

Cleantech Open

Rev1 Ventures

DivInc

Halcyon

THRIVE by SVG Ventures

Rocket Internet

Hexa

Zinc

Deep Science Ventures

Conception X

SETsquared

EIT InnoEnergy

EIT Climate-KIC

Seedstars

Katapult

Brinc