BioTech startups face a long road from the lab to the market, often needing expert guidance and funding. The accelerators and incubators here provide the resources to help these companies grow.

Some programs, like Techstars, have made over 6,300 investments across many sectors. Others, such as Innovation Works, have a strong regional focus with over 650 investments.

Below is our list of the best 39 BioTech accelerators and incubators.

Failory's Top 10 Picks

Techstars Logo

Techstars provides early-stage startups with pre-seed investment and intensive mentorship through its vast global network. They help founders across a wide array of industries build their companies from the ground up by providing critical resources and connections.

HeadquartersBoulder, Colorado, United States
Year Founded2006
FoundersJakub 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 Taken5% + SAFE conversion
Nº of Investments6394
Nº of Exits570
Program TypeOn-Site
Duration (Weeks)13

Tapping into the Stanford University ecosystem, StartX supports the university's most promising entrepreneurs through a founder-focused, educational non-profit model. The community offers custom-tailored education and a powerful network of experts, all without taking any equity from the startups it helps launch.

HeadquartersPalo Alto, California, United States
Year Founded2011
FoundersMatt Man, Richard Rabbat, Anuj Khandelwal, Christopher Morace, Arthur Meng, Dan McEleney, Danny Yu, Katie Fo, Steve Petersen, Lily Sarafan, Dan Ha, Jonathan Golden, Juan Vera, Haamid Ali, Charles Blanluet, Karen Katz, Cameron Teitelman
Nº of Investments339
Nº of Exits81

As one of the most active seed-stage investors in the country, Innovation Works fuels tech startups with capital and hands-on business expertise. Their family of accelerator programs includes the nationally ranked AlphaLab for software, AlphaLab Gear for hardware, and the Robotics Factory for robotics and AI.

HeadquartersPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Year Founded1999
FoundersLisa Greenleaf
Investment AmountAlphaLab/AlphaLab Gear: $100K convertible note + 2% common equity; Robotics Factory: up to $100K
Equity Taken2% common equity + convertible note
Nº of Investments666
Nº of Exits54
WILCO Logo

4. WILCO

Through a unique KPI-driven program, WILCO accelerates innovative startups toward their first million euros in revenue in just three years. They offer business expertise, financing, and networking to a wide range of tech companies, including those in FinTech, MedTech, and Cleantech.

HeadquartersParis, Ile-de-France, France
Year Founded2001
Founders—
Nº of Investments211
Nº of Exits53
Program TypeOn-Site

By purchasing royalties on approved and late-stage biopharmaceutical products, Royalty Pharma provides significant, non-dilutive funding to drug developers. This capital injection allows companies to accelerate the delivery of new medicines for complex conditions like cancer, diabetes, and rare diseases.

HeadquartersNew York, New York, United States
Year Founded1996
FoundersPablo Legorreta, Rory Riggs
Nº of Investments17
Nº of Exits11

As a pre-traction venture fund, Accelerace backs early-stage startups across the Nordics, Baltics, and Italy in sectors ranging from FoodTech to Life Sciences. Their online program helps these companies secure crucial early-stage investment to build and scale their businesses.

HeadquartersCopenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
Year Founded2008
FoundersDavid Today Ventzel, Peter Torstensen
Nº of Investments73
Nº of Exits8
Program TypeOnline
Duration (Weeks)12

As both an accelerator and VC, 50 Partners backs promising early-stage startups across the Tech, Impact, and Healthtech industries with funding and support. The program's unique strength lies in its collective of 50 seasoned entrepreneurs who provide deep mentorship and industry connections.

HeadquartersParis, Ile-de-France, France
Year Founded2012
FoundersStéphane Romanyszyn, Charles Fourault, Jerome Masurel, Christophe Berly
Nº of Investments93
Nº of Exits8
Program TypeOn-Site
Duration (Weeks)520

Operating as a publicly listed holding company, LVenture Group invests in seed-stage digital startups across a range of industries including biotech, cleantech, and edtech. They provide essential funding and resources through their acceleration program, aiming to fast-track the growth of these early-stage ventures.

HeadquartersRoma, Lazio, Italy
Year Founded2013
FoundersLuigi Capello
Nº of Investments160
Nº of Exits8
Program TypeOn-Site
Duration (Weeks)20
Illumina Logo

Illumina provides genomics-focused startups with seed funding and unparalleled access to its sequencing technology and expertise. They help founders accelerate their research by offering business guidance and fully operational lab spaces to develop breakthrough therapies and diagnostics.

HeadquartersSan Diego, California, United States
Year Founded1998
FoundersDavid R. Walt, John Stuelpnagel, Satnam Alag, Steven R. Auger, Larry Bock
Nº of Investments22
Nº of Exits7

With a unique focus on two critical sectors, What If Ventures invests in early-stage mental health and national security startups. They provide capital from the pre-seed to Series B stages, helping founders build companies that address both personal wellbeing and defense technology.

HeadquartersFrisco, Texas, United States
Year Founded2019
FoundersStephen Hays
Nº of Investments88
Nº of Exits7

29 Additional BioTech Accelerators and Incubators Worth Applying To

The programs we've highlighted are excellent, but they're just the start of what's available for biotech founders. The accelerators below have collectively invested in nearly 2,000 startups and helped over 50 of them reach an exit. While many of these are based in the United States, you'll find strong options across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Here’s a look at the rest of the startup accelerators helping founders in biotech.

Accelerator/IncubatorCountryYear FoundedNº InvestmentsNº Exits
Eurasante logo EurasanteFrance19942366
Startupbootcamp Commerce Amsterdam logo Startupbootcamp Commerce AmsterdamThe Netherlands2010355
Westlake Village BioPartners logo Westlake Village BioPartnersUnited States2018324
Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies logo Vermont Center for Emerging TechnologiesUnited States2005213
InnovX logo InnovXRomania20191463
Eretz.bio logo Eretz.bioBrazil2017503
Genesys Venture logo Genesys VentureCanada199763
CAS Star logo CAS StarChina20202082
adMare Bio Innovations logo adMare Bio InnovationsCanada2019122
Matter logo MatterUnited States2012282
ShangPharma Innovation logo ShangPharma InnovationUnited States2016102
CQDM logo CQDMCanada2008102
Sunbo Angel Partners logo Sunbo Angel PartnersSouth Korea2016732
JL Partners logo JL PartnersSouth Korea2017202
Alentejo Accelerator logo Alentejo AcceleratorPortugal201852
Dynamk Capital logo Dynamk CapitalUnited States2017191
MTPConnect logo MTPConnectAustralia2015231
Invenshure logo InvenshureUnited States201131
MATTER logo MATTERUnited States201481
IIT Mandi Catalyst logo IIT Mandi CatalystIndia20163111
Startup Braga logo Startup BragaPortugal20141241
BioTools Innovator logo BioTools InnovatorUnited States—531
ProVeg Incubator logo ProVeg IncubatorGermany2018691
Venture Catalysts logo Venture CatalystsPortugal201031
Govin Capital Pte Ltd logo Govin Capital Pte LtdSingapore2014131
SmiLe Incubator logo SmiLe IncubatorSweden2007201
MBC BioLabs logo MBC BioLabsUnited States201371
International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology logo International Centre for Entrepreneurship and TechnologyIndia2011191
IKP Knowledge Park logo IKP Knowledge ParkIndia1999191
Brain Trust Accelerator Fund logo Brain Trust Accelerator FundUnited States200661
Hartnett Enterprise Acceleration Centre logo Hartnett Enterprise Acceleration CentreIreland—511
Eckert Life Science Accelerator logo Eckert Life Science AcceleratorGermany199211
Lundbeckfonden Emerge logo Lundbeckfonden EmergeDenmark201291
Curie.Bio logo Curie.BioUnited States202211—
SCVC logo SCVCUnited Kingdom202021—
Activation Capital logo Activation CapitalUnited States199311—
First Flight Venture Center logo First Flight Venture CenterUnited States19919—
Xontogeny logo XontogenyUnited States201610—
Conscious Venture Lab logo Conscious Venture LabUnited States201329—
Proto Axiom logo Proto AxiomAustralia20212—
LifeX Labs logo LifeX LabsUnited States20172—
Paragon Biosciences logo Paragon BiosciencesUnited States20105—
Convergent Research logo Convergent ResearchUnited States20211—
North Shore InnoVentures logo North Shore InnoVenturesUnited States20082—
Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives logo Massachusetts Biomedical InitiativesUnited States19852—
BiovelocITA logo BiovelocITAItaly20152—
IntuitiveX logo IntuitiveXUnited States2017——
Centenara Labs logo Centenara LabsSwitzerland20193—
Le Camp logo Le CampCanada20151—
InfoCapital Group logo InfoCapital GroupUnited Kingdom20195—
CQIB logo CQIBCanada19966—
New Flight logo New FlightSouth Korea20167—
Next Sequence logo Next SequenceUnited States20212—
SF500 logo SF500Argentina202224—
Natural Capital logo Natural CapitalUnited States20199—
Southeast TechInventures logo Southeast TechInventuresUnited States2003——
VentureStudio logo VentureStudioIndia20112—
FONGIT Innovation Fund logo FONGIT Innovation FundSwitzerland202149—
Cites logo CitesArgentina201417—
Petri logo PetriUnited States20199—
The Ganesha Lab logo The Ganesha LabChile201734—
Hula logo HulaUnited States20184—
Foodland Ventures logo Foodland VenturesTaiwan202013—
Sling Health logo Sling HealthUnited States20131—
Harbr logo HarbrUnited Kingdom20186—
BiotechTown logo BiotechTownBrazil201822—
ABio-X logo ABio-XUnited States20212—
Ferment.Co logo Ferment.CoUnited States20212—
Accelerate New York Seed Fund logo Accelerate New York Seed FundUnited States201721—
adVentures Startup Studio logo adVentures Startup StudioFrance20102—
2b AHEAD Ventures logo 2b AHEAD VenturesGermany20177—
Creative Accelerator logo Creative AcceleratorHungary20153—
LaunchCyte logo LaunchCyteUnited States20003—
Barcelona Ventures logo Barcelona VenturesSpain20133—