San Francisco remains a central place for new companies seeking support and funding. The city is home to many programs designed to help early-stage founders grow their businesses.
Among them, 500 Global has backed over 3,100 companies, resulting in more than 400 exits. HAX, which concentrates on hard tech, has made over 600 investments.
Below is our list of the best 100 accelerators and incubators in San Francisco.
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2,189 Accelerators & Incubators
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1,600+ Unicorns
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250 BioTech & Health Investors
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250 AI Investors
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250 Fintech Investors
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Get the Sheet for $50With a portfolio spanning over 80 countries, 500 Global provides early-stage funding and mentorship to founders building fast-growing technology companies. Their accelerator program combines capital with access to a massive global network, helping launch category-defining companies like Canva, Talkdesk, and Grab.
| 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 |
Alchemist Accelerator champions startups whose revenue comes from enterprises, guiding them through the complexities of B2B markets. The program offers seed funding and a deep network of corporate partners and investors to help founders succeed in the enterprise space.
| Year Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | Charles Blanluet, Ravi Belani, Haamid Ali |
| Investment Amount | $36K-$50K |
| Equity Taken | ~5% |
| Nº of Investments | 598 |
| Nº of Exits | 68 |
| Program Type | Online |
| Duration (Weeks) | 26 |
They invest $100K in early-stage startups across sectors like digital media and enterprise software through an intensive 16-week online program. This founder-centric approach has helped build a portfolio that includes breakout companies like Calm, reflecting a focus on hands-on mentorship to help ventures scale.
| Year Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Jason Calacanis |
| Investment Amount | $100K per startup |
| Equity Taken | 6% |
| Nº of Investments | 595 |
| Nº of Exits | 61 |
| Program Type | Online |
| Duration (Weeks) | 16 |
AngelPad runs a highly selective accelerator for seed-stage startups, focusing on intense mentorship to help them find product-market fit. This hands-on approach has helped launch notable companies like Postmates and Buffer, guiding them through the critical early stages of growth.
| Year Founded | 2010 |
| Founders | Carine Magescas, Thomas Korte |
| Investment Amount | $120K |
| Nº of Investments | 183 |
| Nº of Exits | 43 |
| Program Type | On-Site |
| Duration (Weeks) | 12 |
Specializing in companies with powerful network effects, NFX provides pre-seed and seed funding to ambitious tech founders. They offer significant capital and founder-led guidance, having helped build iconic companies like DoorDash and Lyft.
| 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 |
SAP.iO champions B2B software startups, helping them build and scale solutions that integrate with SAP's enterprise products. They provide equity-free acceleration and venture funding, giving founders unique access to SAP's technology and massive customer network.
| Year Founded | 2017 |
| Founders | Ram Jambunathan |
| Investment Amount | Foundries: $0 (equity-free); Fund: $50K-$250K+ |
| Equity Taken | 0% |
| Nº of Investments | 236 |
| Nº of Exits | 42 |
| Program Type | Online |
| Duration (Weeks) | 10 |
Specializing in an equity-free model, Founder Friendly Labs supports experienced professionals building companies in high-growth areas like AI and Big Data. The online program provides a strong community and the resources needed to help founders scale their ventures while maintaining full ownership.
| Year Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Samantha Quist, Mendel Chuang |
| Nº of Investments | 176 |
| Nº of Exits | 35 |
| Program Type | Online |
South Park Commons fosters a community for technologists, builders, and domain experts, helping them navigate the earliest "negative one to zero" phase of starting a company. They provide a collaborative environment and up to $1 million in capital to support founders from the initial idea through their next funding round.
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Ruchi Sanghvi, Abhinav Vora, Ben Yang, Remi Gai, Shaun Sims, Rahul Madduluri, Amy Shen |
| Investment Amount | $400K upfront + $600K guaranteed in next round = $1M total |
| Equity Taken | 7% |
| Nº of Investments | 229 |
| Nº of Exits | 15 |
| Program Type | On-Site |
Functioning as a venture studio and VC fund, Expa partners with entrepreneurs to build and invest in early-stage companies across sectors like FinTech and enterprise software. They provide deep operational support, access to a network of experts, and the necessary capital to guide new businesses from concept to launch.
| Year Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | Garrett Camp |
| Nº of Investments | 128 |
| Nº of Exits | 15 |
As SOSV's venture program for hard tech, HAX provides pre-seed funding and hands-on support for founders building complex physical products. They specialize in helping startups across sectors like industrial automation and climate tech bring their ambitious ideas from prototype to market.
| Year Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Cyril Ebersweiler, Sajjad Rimaz, Sean O'Sullivan, Jay Bullen, Saeid Masudy Panah, Sofia Bensily, Syed Shakeel Ahmed |
| Investment Amount | $250K-$500K ($150K cash + $100K in-kind support) |
| Equity Taken | 10-20% (varies by source: 10% or 12-20%) |
| Nº of Investments | 627 |
| Nº of Exits | 14 |
| Duration (Weeks) | 26 |
90 Additional San Francisco Accelerators and Incubators Worth Applying To
Our top picks are just the beginning of what the Bay Area has to offer. The other programs on our list have collectively backed over 2,000 startups and helped more than 150 of them reach an exit.
There's a wide range of support available for founders at every stage. Here’s a look at the rest of the accelerators and incubators helping build great companies in San Francisco.