Top 164 AI Accelerators and Incubators (2026)
The AI industry has seen a rapid increase in accelerators designed to support early stage companies. These programs provide capital and mentorship to founders building new AI tools and platforms.
Top firms like Y Combinator have made over 7,800 investments, while Techstars has backed over 6,300 startups.
Below is our list of the best 164 AI accelerators and incubators.
Failory's Top 10 Picks
1. Y Combinator
Y Combinator offers a standard $500,000 deal to early-stage startups, accelerating growth for founders across a vast range of industries from SaaS to climate tech. Their intensive, three-month program has become a legendary launchpad for tech giants like Airbnb, Stripe, and Dropbox.
| Headquarters | Mountain View, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2005 |
| Founders | Trevor Blackwell, Jessica Livingston, Armand Cognetta, Paul Graham, Robert Morris |
| Investment Amount | $500,000 ($125K for 7% + $375K uncapped MFN SAFE) |
| Equity Taken | 7% + SAFE conversion (~2.5% more typical) |
| Nº of Investments | 7818 |
| Nº of Exits | 687 |
| Program Type | On-Site |
| Duration (Weeks) | 11 |
2. Techstars
Techstars fuels the growth of early-stage startups with pre-seed investment and hands-on mentorship across a vast range of industries. Through their renowned accelerator programs, they provide founders with the capital and network needed to build and scale their businesses on a global level.
| Headquarters | Boulder, Colorado, United States |
| Year Founded | 2006 |
| Founders | Jakub Kulisa, Nikita Gupta, Jared Polis, Brad Feld, Asetila Koestinger Von Sonnenland, David Brown, Mike Romano, David Cohen |
| Investment Amount | $220,000 ($200K uncapped MFN SAFE + $20K for 5% equity) |
| Equity Taken | 5% + SAFE conversion |
| Nº of Investments | 6394 |
| Nº of Exits | 570 |
| Program Type | On-Site |
| Duration (Weeks) | 13 |
3. 500 Global
As a multi-stage venture capital firm, 500 Global provides early-stage funding to founders building fast-growing technology companies. Their accelerator program has helped launch a portfolio of over 3,000 companies, including notable successes like Canva and Udemy.
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2010 |
| Founders | Kai Roh, Dave McClure, Christine Tsai |
| Investment Amount | $150,000 (minus $37.5K program fees = $112.5K net) |
| Equity Taken | 6% |
| Nº of Investments | 3177 |
| Nº of Exits | 423 |
| Program Type | On-Site |
| Duration (Weeks) | 16 |
Thrive Capital partners with top founders to build and invest in category-defining internet, software, and technology companies. The firm has backed some of technology's most iconic companies, including Stripe, GitHub, and OpenAI, by providing long-term capital and hands-on partnership.
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States |
| Year Founded | 2009 |
| Founders | Joshua Kushner |
| Nº of Investments | 392 |
| Nº of Exits | 78 |
Through specialized programs like AlphaLab and the Robotics Factory, Innovation Works invests capital and expertise into early-stage tech companies. They help launch startups across a wide spectrum of industries, including software, robotics, and life sciences, by providing critical seed funding and resources.
| Headquarters | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Year Founded | 1999 |
| Founders | Lisa Greenleaf |
| Investment Amount | AlphaLab/AlphaLab Gear: $100K convertible note + 2% common equity; Robotics Factory: up to $100K |
| Equity Taken | 2% common equity + convertible note |
| Nº of Investments | 666 |
| Nº of Exits | 54 |
Operating a global network of industry-focused accelerators, Startupbootcamp supports early-stage companies in fields like FinTech, AI, and HealthTech. They provide startups with seed funding, intensive mentorship, and access to a wide network of partners to fast-track their growth.
| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Year Founded | 2010 |
| Founders | Aldo de Jong, Ruud Hendriks, Carsten Kolbek, Patrick Zeeuw, Kalie Moore, Marc Wesselink, Richard Celm, Alex Farcet, Marianne Sanche, Kasper Vardrup |
| Investment Amount | €15K-€40K (or €20K-€100K depending on program); €25K cash + €100K+ deal kit |
| Equity Taken | 6-8% average |
| Nº of Investments | 617 |
| Nº of Exits | 52 |
| Program Type | On-Site |
| Duration (Weeks) | 13 |
Forum Ventures champions early-stage B2B SaaS founders through its specialized pre-seed fund and accelerator program. They provide initial capital and a community of operators to help companies build a strong go-to-market strategy and prepare for future funding rounds.
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States |
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Nick Mehta, Michael Cardamone, Bruce Morrison |
| Investment Amount | Pre-Seed Accelerator: $100K |
| Equity Taken | Pre-Seed: 7.5% (via post-money SAFE) |
| Nº of Investments | 497 |
| Nº of Exits | 48 |
| Program Type | Online |
| Duration (Weeks) | 24 |
Entrepreneurs First brings together exceptional individuals, often before they have a team or an idea, to build globally significant deep tech companies. The program supports these newly formed teams with pre-seed funding and intensive coaching to help them launch and scale their ambitious ventures.
| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Alice Bentinck, Anoushka Menon, Matt Clifford |
| Investment Amount | $250,000 |
| Equity Taken | 8% (US & Europe); 10% (alternative Europe terms) |
| Nº of Investments | 483 |
| Nº of Exits | 43 |
| Program Type | On-Site |
| Duration (Weeks) | 24 |
9. NFX
NFX champions pre-seed and seed-stage startups, specializing in companies with powerful network effects. Beyond capital, they equip founders with a unique suite of software and content designed to help early-stage ventures scale.
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | James Currier, Gigi Levy Weiss, Pete Flint, Stan Chudnovsky |
| Investment Amount | $500K-$2M standard; $1.5M-$3M for FAST program |
| Equity Taken | 15% (standard terms) |
| Nº of Investments | 436 |
| Nº of Exits | 42 |
| Duration (Weeks) | 12 |
NTT DOCOMO Ventures functions as the investment arm for Japan's largest telecommunications company, funding startups across diverse sectors like AI, IoT, and FinTech. Portfolio companies gain not just capital but also strategic collaboration opportunities and access to the parent company's extensive network.
| Headquarters | Minato, Chiba, Japan |
| Year Founded | 2008 |
| Founders | — |
| Nº of Investments | 168 |
| Nº of Exits | 41 |
154 Additional AI Accelerators and Incubators Worth Applying To
While our top picks offer great starting points, the support for AI founders doesn't end there. Together, the programs below have invested in over 6,400 startups and helped more than 400 of them exit.
You'll find opportunities everywhere from the US and Canada to South Korea and Australia. Here’s a look at the rest of the accelerators helping founders in the AI field.
| Accelerator/Incubator | Country | Year Founded | Nº Investments | Nº Exits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Idealab | United States | 1996 | 100 | 38 |
 DMZ | Canada | 2010 | 278 | 38 |
 European Innovation Council | Belgium | 1957 | 1199 | 35 |
 Founder Friendly Labs | United States | 2011 | 176 | 35 |
 FounderFuel | Canada | 2010 | 101 | 18 |
 H-FARM | Italy | 2005 | 86 | 18 |
 BonAngels Venture Partners | South Korea | 2007 | 247 | 16 |
 London Co-Investment Fund | United Kingdom | 2014 | 119 | 16 |
 South Park Commons | United States | 2016 | 229 | 15 |
 PreAngel | United States | 2011 | 137 | 11 |
 Surge | Singapore | 2019 | 212 | 11 |
 Microsoft for Startups | United States | 2018 | 141 | 10 |
 Jolt Capital | France | 2011 | 31 | 9 |
 SparkLabs Accelerator | South Korea | 2012 | 229 | 9 |
 UTokyo Innovation Platform | Japan | 2016 | 73 | 9 |
 Accelerator Centre | Canada | 2006 | 211 | 9 |
 IDEA: Northeastern University's Venture Accelerator | United States | 2009 | 130 | 9 |
 Outlier Ventures | United Kingdom | 2014 | 348 | 8 |
 muru-D | Australia | 2014 | 90 | 8 |
 IndieBio | United States | 2014 | 535 | 7 |
 AppWorks | Taiwan | 2009 | 150 | 7 |
 Digital Magics | Italy | 2003 | 93 | 7 |
 BizTEC | Israel | 2004 | 9 | 7 |
 Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence | United States | 2014 | 15 | 6 |
 Cyberport Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 2004 | 199 | 6 |
 dunnhumby Ventures | United States | 2013 | 20 | 6 |
 IMT Starter | France | 1999 | 40 | 6 |
 Northern Stars | United Kingdom | 2010 | 26 | 6 |
 Skyland Ventures | Japan | 2012 | 106 | 5 |
 SCALE AI | Canada | 2017 | 17 | 5 |
 Founders, Inc. | United States | 2020 | 86 | 5 |
 H2 Ventures | Australia | 2013 | 57 | 5 |
 NIVALIS Group | Switzerland | 2002 | 28 | 5 |
 Startupbootcamp Commerce Amsterdam | The Netherlands | 2010 | 35 | 5 |
 EXPERT DOJO | United States | 2014 | 308 | 4 |
 TandemLaunch | Canada | 2010 | 54 | 4 |
 Zeroth.AI | Hong Kong | 2016 | 51 | 4 |
 NetApp Excellerator | India | — | 82 | 4 |
 Breed Reply | United Kingdom | 2014 | 38 | 4 |
 Archimedes Labs | United States | 2005 | 19 | 4 |
 Open Network Lab | Japan | 2010 | 40 | 4 |
 Beyond Next Ventures | Japan | 2014 | 116 | 3 |
 AI Fund | United States | 2017 | 61 | 3 |
 Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies | United States | 2005 | 21 | 3 |
 ICONYC labs | United States | 2015 | 53 | 3 |
 Nex Cubed Digital Health | United States | 2016 | 27 | 3 |
 Nestholma | Finland | 2013 | 26 | 3 |
 Deepcore | Japan | 2005 | 97 | 2 |
 super{set} | United States | 2018 | 24 | 2 |
 CAS Star | China | 2020 | 208 | 2 |
 Next AI | Canada | 2016 | 88 | 2 |
 Bigbang Angels | South Korea | 2012 | 97 | 2 |
 Sputnik ATX | United States | 2017 | 121 | 2 |
 TURN8 | United Arab Emirates | 2013 | 45 | 2 |
 Alphawave Group | South Africa | 1995 | 17 | 2 |
 WNT Ventures | New Zealand | 2014 | 40 | 2 |
 Accelerating Asia | Singapore | 2018 | 98 | 2 |
 Bishop Ranch Intelligence Innovation Accelerator | United States | 2017 | 30 | 2 |
 Fuel | United States | 2018 | 56 | 2 |
 Collider | United Kingdom | 2012 | 81 | 2 |
 Fc Centripetal | United States | 2022 | 17 | 2 |
 JL Partners | South Korea | 2017 | 20 | 2 |
 IOT Valley | France | 2011 | 4 | 2 |
 The Pearse Lyons Accelerator | Ireland | 2017 | 22 | 2 |
 Startupbootcamp Smart City Dubai | United Arab Emirates | 2010 | 14 | 2 |
 Syddansk Innovation | Denmark | 1998 | 37 | 2 |
 R/GA IoT Venture Studio UK | United Kingdom | 2016 | 10 | 2 |
 Rokk3r | United States | 2012 | 10 | 1 |
 Collider | Israel | 2018 | 32 | 1 |
 Hive Ventures | Taiwan | 2018 | 23 | 1 |
 Innosphere Ventures | United States | 1998 | 9 | 1 |
 Future Labs | United States | 2009 | 13 | 1 |
 Decidr Ventures | Australia | 2024 | 3 | 1 |
 ABBALab - Atom to Bit, Bit to Atom | Japan | 2013 | 27 | 1 |
 AFWERX | United States | 2017 | 43 | 1 |
 Invest Ottawa | Canada | 1983 | 36 | 1 |
 Nvidia Inception | United States | 1993 | 69 | 1 |
 AI Grant | United States | 2017 | 27 | 1 |
 GSD Venture Studios | United States | 2019 | 56 | 1 |
 Govin Capital Pte Ltd | Singapore | 2014 | 13 | 1 |
 International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology | India | 2011 | 19 | 1 |
 Exponential Impact | United States | 2017 | 19 | 1 |
 I3P | Italy | 1999 | 29 | 1 |
 Vertical.vc | Finland | 2015 | 38 | 1 |
 E-magine Ventures | United Arab Emirates | 2024 | 2 | 1 |
 Berlin Startup Academy | Germany | 2012 | 2 | 1 |
 DEFT | United States | 2016 | 2 | 1 |
 MKB Fintechlab | Hungary | 2016 | 13 | 1 |
 CyberLaunch | United States | 2015 | 2 | 1 |
 Nex Cubed FinTech | United States | 2019 | 7 | 1 |
 United Utilities Innovation Lab | United Kingdom | 2018 | 6 | 1 |
 LUMO labs | The Netherlands | 2016 | 41 | — |
 AI2 Incubator | United States | 2013 | 20 | — |
 Digital Catapult | United Kingdom | 2013 | 16 | — |
 Tampa Bay Innovation Center | United States | 2003 | 27 | — |
 First Drop Ventures | United States | 2020 | 1 | — |
 Skymind Global | United Kingdom | 2020 | 6 | — |
 ArtPark | India | 2020 | 1 | — |
 FoolFarm | Italy | 2020 | — | — |
 GIGA Venture | United Kingdom | 2023 | 1 | — |
