1) Y Combinator
Y Combinator pioneered a new paradigm for early-stage startup funding. They invest $500,000 in a big number of startups twice a year.
Details of the startup:
- City: Mountain View
- Started in: 2005
- Founders: Jessica Livingston, Lucas Thomaz, Paul Graham, Robert Morris, Trevor Blackwell
- Industries: Industry Agnostic
- Number of investments: 4,129
- Funding amount: $120,000
- Number of exits: 389
- Equity Taken: 7%
- Accelerator Duration (in weeks): 12
You can find their website here.
2) Techstars
Techstars is one of the largest pre-seed investors in the world.
Details of the startup:
- City: Boulder
- Started in: 2006
- Founders: Brad Feld, David Brown, David Cohen, Jared Polis
- Industries: Industry Agnostic
- Number of investments: 3,421
- Number of exits: 338
You can find their website here.
3) 500 Startups
500 Global is a venture capital firm that invests early in founders building fast-growing tech companies. It has more than $2.7 billion in assets under management.
Details of the startup:
- City: San Francisco
- Started in: 2010
- Founders: Christine Tsai, Dave McClure
- Industries: Industry Agnostic
- Number of investments: 2,676
- Number of exits: 312
- Accelerator Duration (in weeks): 16
You can find their website here.
4) MassChallenge
MassChallenge is a global network of people who are coming up with new ways to solve big problems.
Details of the startup:
- City: Boston
- Started in: 2009
- Founders: Akhil Nigam, Caitlin Reimers Brumme, David Constantine, John Harthorne
- Industries: Industry Agnostic
- Number of investments: 2,659
- Number of exits: 139
- Accelerator Duration (in weeks): 20
You can find their website here.
5) SOSV
SOSV is a global venture capital firm that runs programs to help startups in their early stages.
Details of the startup:
- City: Princeton
- Started in: 1994
- Founders: Sean O’Sullivan
- Industries: Industry Agnostic
- Number of investments: 2,127
- Number of exits: 53
- Accelerator Duration (in weeks): 16
You can find their website here.
6) Plug and Play Tech Center
Plug and Play connects the biggest companies in the world with the best startups through industry-focused accelerator programs in Silicon Valley and beyond.
Details of the startup:
- City: Sunnyvale
- Started in: 2006
- Founders: Ali Safavi, Jackie Hernandez, Saeed Amidi
- Industries: AgTech, Animal Health, Retail, Crypto, Energy, Enterprise, FinTech, Food, Beverage, Health, InsurTech, IoT, Maritime, Media, AdTech, Mobility, Real Estate, Travel
- Number of investments: 1,285
- Number of exits: 116
You can find their website here.
7) Alchemist Accelerator
The Alchemist Accelerator is a venture-backed program that aims to speed up the development of seed-stage businesses.
Details of the startup:
- City: San Francisco
- Started in: 2012
- Founders: Ravi Belani
- Industries: Industry Agnostic
- Number of investments: 563
- Funding amount: $36,000
- Number of exits: 41
- Equity Taken: 5%
- Accelerator Duration (in weeks): 26
You can find their website here.
8) Innovation Works
Innovation Works puts money, business knowledge, and other resources into companies that are most likely to help the regional economy.
Details of the startup:
- City: Pittsburgh
- Started in: 1999
- Founders: Lisa Greenleaf
- Industries: Music, Media, Software, SaaS, Information Technologies, HealthTech, Electronics, Robotics, Energy, Consumer Goods, Biotech, Medical Devices
- Number of investments: 512
- Number of exits: 34
You can find their website here.
9) HAX
SOSV’s hard tech pre-seed program is called HAX. Startups apply to HAX with their first prototype, information about their customers, and their vision.
Details of the startup:
- City: San Francisco
- Started in: 2011
- Founders: Cyril Ebersweiler, Sean O’Sullivan
- Industries: B2B, Consumer, Healthcare
- Number of investments: 465
- Number of exits: 10
- Accelerator Duration (in weeks): 26
You can find their website here.
10) Berkeley SkyDeck
UC is the official startup accelerator for Berkeley.
Details of the startup:
- City: Berkeley
- Started in: 2012
- Founders: Abhra Banerjee, Caroline Winnett
- Industries: Biotech, Consumer Software, FoodTech, EdTech, CivicTech, Enterprise, B2B Software, FinTech, Sustainability Tech, HealthTech, HRtech, Legal Tech, Securitytech, Sport Tech
- Number of investments: 463
- Number of exits: 14
- Accelerator Duration (in weeks): 24
You can find their website here.
