The journey from a mere idea to a completely operational tech startup is exciting and challenging. An accelerator program can empower so many startups to accelerate growth quite rapidly. These programs remain one of the best means for early-stage companies to access mentorship, funding, networking opportunities, and much more, enabling such companies to scale up rapidly. For this reason, accelerator programs have been generally pivotal in fast-tracking innovation in the USA and navigating the competitive market with tech startups.
This article covers 25 of the best accelerator programs in the USA for tech startups, including a few examples of companies that graduated from the programs and succeeded.
Table of Content
| S. No. | Accelerator Programs in the USA for Tech Startups |
| Y Combinator (Mountain View, CA) | |
| Techstars | |
| 500 Global, San Francisco, CA | |
| MassChallenge (Boston, MA) | |
| Alchemist Accelerator (San Francisco, CA) | |
| StartX (Stanford, CA) | |
| AngelPad (New York & San Francisco) | |
| Plug and Play Tech Center | |
| Dreamit Ventures (Philadelphia, PA) | |
| Launchpad LA (Los Angeles, CA) | |
| REV1 Ventures (Columbus, OH) | |
| Next Coast Ventures | |
| Capital Innovators (St. Louis, MO) | |
| The Brandery (Cincinnati, OH) | |
| Boomtown (Boulder, CO) | |
| Blue Startups (Honolulu, HI) | |
| Health Wildcatters (Dallas, TX) | |
| Carbon Ventures | |
| Entrepreneur Roundtable Accelerator New York, NY | |
| 20. | MuckerLab, Los Angeles, CA |
| 21. | SCALE Venture Partners |
| 22. | UpWest Labs (Palo Alto, CA) |
| 23. | Zeroth.ai (San Francisco, CA) |
| 24. | SUSA Ventures Accelerators |
| 25. | SkyDeck Berkeley, CA |
| 26. | Conclusion |
- Y Combinator
Founded: 2005
Notable Alumni: Airbnb, Dropbox, Stripe
YC is regarded as the gold standard of all the worldwide tech accelerators. In exchange for 7% equity, the accelerators invest $500,000 and then offer an intensive, 3-month programme where the startups will work with very efficient, experienced mentors to develop their products and scale quickly. The programme comes to fruition with a Demo Day in which the startup pitch to a room full of investors.
For instance, Airbnb launched the Y Combinator in 2009. Today, Airbnb is over $100 billion.
Source: Fortune
- Techstars
Founded: 2006
Prominent Alumni: SendGrid, ClassPass, DigitalOcean
Techstars has presence in over 15 US cities and internationally, investing in local ecosystems. Startups are seeded with $20K to $120K depending on the accelerator program, as well as exposure to a worldwide network of mentors, investors, and potential partners.
Example: SendGrid is a leading email infrastructure platform which had undergone Techstars Boulder before being acquired by Twilio for $2 billion.
Source: Techstars
- 500 Global, San Francisco, CA
Incorporated: 2010
Notable Portfolio Companies: Canva, Credit Karma, Udemy
About: 500 Global has proved its diversity in portfolio with investments in over 2,500 startups in 77 countries. They provide early-stage tech start-ups with investment, mentorship, workshops.
Example: Credit Karma; one of those free credit scores, from 500 Startups with growth which took this company to be acquired by Intuit for $7.1 billion.
Source: Facebook
- MassChallenge (Boston, MA)
Year Founded: 2009
Prominent Graduates: Ginkgo Bioworks, Harmonix, Toast
MassChallenge is an equity-free accelerator who picks early stage ventures from any sector to go through the program. This accelerator gives access to the robust network of mentors and all the resources in addition to the non-dilutive cash prizes over $2 million.
Example: Toast, restaurant management software company was accelerated through MassChallenge, today public with over $16 billion in market cap.
Source: masschallenge.com
- Alchemist Accelerator (San Francisco, CA)
Year Established: 2012
Notable Graduates: Rigetti Computing, LaunchDarkly, RigUp
Alchemist Accelerator is enterprise-focused with special interest in SaaS, IoT, and blockchain startups. The accelerator provides funding of $60,000 and deep expertise in enterprise sales and go-to-market strategies.
For instance: Quantum computing startup Rigetti Computing went through Alchemist and today is over $1 billion valuation and a leader in the quantum computing space.
Source: Alchemist Accelerator
- StartX (Stanford, CA)
Founded: 2010
Notable Alumni: Branch Metrics, Lemonade, Lime
StartX is a nonprofit accelerator that hosts Stanford-affiliated entrepreneurs. There will be no investment in the company itself, but access to an entire community of mentors, resources, and an intimate network that inspires innovation will be granted.
Source: StartX
- AngelPad (New York & San Francisco)
Year Founded: 2010
Best exits/companies out of the accelerator: Postmates, Buffer, CoverHound.
Selective and focuses on product-market fit, fundraising, and growth. In an intensive, 10-week program, startups workshop their business model.
Example: Postmates-It is an on-demand delivery service company that was a part of the AngelPad program in 2011 and Uber bought it in 2020 for $2.65 billion.
Source: anglepad.com
- Plug and Play Tech Center
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Year of Establishment: 2006
Portfolio Companies: PayPal, LendingClub, Dropbox
Plug and Play is one of the largest innovation platforms in the world with a large network of corporate partners and investors. Sector-specific activities also include activities like FinTech, InsurTech, and HealthTech, for accelerator programs
Example: One of the most commonly used online payment services is PayPal, which arose as a seed of Plug and Play and has invaded the finance technology world today.
Source: BusinessWorld Online
- Dreamit Ventures (Philadelphia, PA)
Year Established: 2008
Notable alumni in this company include Houseparty, LevelUp, and Adaptly.
Dreamit Ventures focuses on HealthTech, SecureTech, and UrbanTech. They select companies that already have product-market fit and are ready to scale up. This way, the accelerator program will have opportunities alongside approaching customers, investors, as well as pilots with big corporations.
Example: Houseparty, video chat app graduated out of Dreamit and then got acquired by Epic Games.
Source: Dreamit Ventures
- Launchpad LA (Los Angeles, CA)
Year Founded: 2009
Notable Alumni: Club W, Ring, Maker Studios
Launchpad LA is a seed-stage accelerator whose focus lies in mentorship, funding, and access to large networks of entrepreneurs and investors in Southern California.
Example: Ring graduated from Launchpad LA; Amazon bought the smart doorbell company for more than $1 billion.
Source: Cal State LA
- REV1 Ventures (Columbus, OH)
Year Founded: 2014
Alumni to note: MentorcliQ, ScriptDrop, Simple-Fill
REV1 Ventures
Location: Ohio – early stage, based out of the Midwest tech company.
Growing at a rate of innovation; funding, mentorship, and advisory services are offered.
Example: MentorcliQ- enterprise mentoring software platform. It has progressed through the pipeline of REV1 Ventures, and every year, it’s been doing well with clients like Fortune 500 companies.
Source: The Business Journal
- Next Coast Ventures
Headquarters: Austin, TX
Year Established: 2016
Notable Startups: Everlywell, AlertMedia, Pensa Systems
Next Coast Ventures targets what they call “Next Coast” cities such as Austin, providing fundings and mentorships to tech startups besides a strong entrepreneurial community. The accelerator looks at founders who solve real-world problems through technology.
Everlywell is a platform through which people can get health testing done right from the comforts of one’s home. The company was backed by Next Coast Ventures and became nationally recognized, valued over $1 billion.
Source: www.nextcoastventure.com
- Capital Innovators (St. Louis, MO)
Year Founded: 2011
Well-known Graduates: LockerDome, Balto, Immunophotonics
Capital Innovators invests money, mentors, and business expertise into seed stage tech-based startups in return for equity thereby helping such startups for the growth and scaling stage.
Example: Lockedome, a social media and an advertising platform, went through Capital Innovators and raised more than $50 million in funding.
Source: Facebook
- The Brandery (Cincinnati, OH)
Year Founded: 2010
Well-known Graduates: Astronomer, Spatial, Roadtrippers
The Brandery is for product-facing consumer tech startups. It offers brand positioning, office space, and funding.
Company examples: Roadtrippers, after The Brandery accelerator program was acquired by TH2, a joint venture between Thor Industries and Tourism Holdings.
Source: LinkedIn
- Boomtown (Boulder, CO)
Founded: 2014
Notable Alumni: Stedi, Shyft, Pana
Boomtown offers a 12-week accelerator program focused primarily on tech in industries such as healthcare, real estate, and hardware. Startups get access to a mentor network, capital, and post-program support.
Example: Shyft, a mobile workforce management platform, graduated from Boomtown and now continues to scale its niche in the tech vertical.
Source: The Business Journal
- Blue Startups (Honolulu, HI)
Year Founded: 2013
Notable Alumni: Volta Charging, Hobnob, MeetingSift
Blue Startups is a company geared to scale tech companies from Hawaii into the global market. Its program gives access to funding, mentorship and a jump-start on route to Asia-Pacific investors.
Example: Volta Charging, the company installing free electric vehicle charging stations, graduated from Blue Startups and now spreads across the U.S.
Source: The Business Journal
- Health Wildcatters (Dallas, TX)
Year Founded: 2013
Notable Alumni: Lantern Pharma, Nodenix, MedCognetics
Health Wildcatters
Health tech accelerator that gives startup support for companies in the healthcare world- funding, mentoring, and networking
Example: Cancer-focused biotech company Lantern Pharma graduated from Health Wildcatters and went public at over $100 million market cap.
Source: www.healthwildcatters.com
- Carbon Ventures (Pittsburgh, PA)
Year Founded: 2016
Notable Alumni: Gecko Robotics, Maven Machines, Locomation
Carbon Ventures invests in companies focused on robotics, automation, and AI. They help the companies create the next generation of technical innovation.
Example: Gecko Robotics – Companies creating the industrial robots passed through Carbon Ventures and are more than $100 million.
- Entrepreneur Roundtable Accelerator New York, NY
Founding Year: 2011
Some notable alumni: Adstruc, TripleMint, Fund That Flip
Entrepreneur Roundtable Accelerator, or ERA, is one of the largest seed programs in New York City. The accelerators fund tech startups with a seed grant and also provide key mentors to help them develop into viable products. This deal includes a $100,000 seed for 8% equity and also comes with a solid network of investors and mentors who can help guide entrepreneurs.
Example: Real estate brokerage TripleMint has had success through the ERA accelerator-it went through the program, and now the tech-first brokerage has brought in millions in venture capital.
Source: EIC Service Catalogue
20. MuckerLab, Los Angeles, CA
Start-Up Year: 2011
Alumni in the Headlines: Honey, ServiceTitan, Papaya
MuckerLab offers seed capital along with a detail-oriented approach to accelerate technology start-ups growth. The accelerator platform invests in companies building next generation technology that is solving problems in real life.
Take the Case of Honey. Honey is the ecommerce shopping technology through which you can find deals. It was sold out of MuckerLab and later sold to PayPal for $4 billion.
Source: dot.LA
21. SCALE Venture Partners
Menlo Park, CA
Founded: 2000
Graduates: Box, HubSpot, DocuSign
SCALE Venture Partners is as much a venture capital firm focused on growth stage technology companies as it is an accelerator. The firm seeks out companies using enterprise software, SaaS, and other cloud technologies that are ready to scale around the world.
Example: When Box, the cloud content management company, went public in 2015, it had a market cap of more than $2 billion, and it had graduated from UpWest Labs’ accelerator program.
Source:SCALE Venture Partners
22. UpWest Labs (Palo Alto, CA)
Founded: 2012
Notable Alumni: SentinelOne, HoneyBook, CyberX
UpWest Labs: On-ramping Israeli Startups into the US Market
The accelerator provides seed funding, mentorship and networks that enable the graduates to hit Silicon Valley and scale globally.
Example: The graduating company, SentinelOne, cybersecurity unicorn valued over $5 billion.
Source: Medium
23. Zeroth.ai (San Francisco, CA)
Year: 2017
Notable Alumni: Fable, Vicarious AI, iCarbonX
Zeroth.ai is an accelerator that exclusively focuses only on AI-driven tech startups. The firm helps them with funding and mentorship toward that individual who starts to explore solutions using artificial intelligence in ways such that they address problems that require industry-wide solutions.
Example: Fable was an AI start-up that was working toward building accessibility tools for the blind and visually impaired. The start-up graduated from Zeroth.ai, which was making ripples in AI circles.
Source: GJAEL Accident attorney
24. SUSA Ventures Accelerators
Susa Ventures was headquartered in San Francisco, CA. The accelerator was established in the year 2013. Amongst the most prominent alumae include Flexport, Robinhood, Expanse.
SUSA Ventures seed and pre-seed investment firm specializes on investment in tech start-ups. The firm acts as a supporter for start-ups by providing funding opportunities, mentorship, and network, which helps these start-ups scale their business real time.
Here, companies are investing in Susa Ventures for the companies that have a specific future vision. These firms are in areas like logistics, finance, and AI .
Example: Flexport – It is an international firm in the logistics platform company that has been through transition in Susa Ventures with a valuation of over $8 billion.
Source: Supply Chain Innovat
25. SkyDeck Berkeley, CA
Year Founded: 2012
Notable Alumni: Lime, Skylo, Kiwi Campus
SkyDeck is the acceleration program of UC Berkeley, which avails an opportunity to avail all the resources available as well through access to connections with hundreds of thousands of UC Berkeley alumni, researchers, and investors. Many received access to funding and the push required to enter the tech space by leveraging the accelerator.
Lime, a scooter-sharing company, was a SkyDeck alumni and now became one of the significant players in the micromobility industry, operating in cities all over the globe.
Source: SMAU
Conclusion
These accelerator programs are what brought forth much of the success by some of the recognized names in the tech startup world. It is when early-stage companies come together with whatever tools, mentorship, and funds they require to grow and flourish in the very competitive market. Whether it was building a worldwide network of investors as means of entry, formulating tailored guidelines from industry experts for specific circumstances or seed funding, accelerator programs have opened doors allowing tech startups across the USA to generate unbelievable value.
