AI Accelerators in 2026: Programs, Terms and How to Get In
The leading AI accelerators in 2026 are Y Combinator ($500,000 for 7% plus an uncapped MFN SAFE), a16z speedrun (up to $1M, $500,000 of it for 10% upfront), Techstars ($220,000 for 5% plus an uncapped MFN SAFE), AI Grant ($250,000 on an uncapped SAFE), Entrepreneur First (up to $250,000 once you form a company) and Antler (terms vary by country). If you want support without giving up equity, Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First and NVIDIA Inception are equity-free. The right pick depends on three things: how much of the company you're willing to sell, whether you already have a co-founder, and whether you can move to San Francisco for three months.
Building an agent that works on the live web? Apply to TinyFish for Startups. Accelerator-backed teams qualify for Tier 2: up to $12,000 in value.
We're TinyFish. We ran our own accelerator earlier this year (more on it below), and we work with founders coming out of most of these programs. Every term here comes from the accelerator's own page as of October 2026, linked in each entry. Accelerators update their deals, so check the link before you sign.
At a glance
| Accelerator | Investment | Equity | Length and place | Next deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y Combinator | $500,000 | 7% + uncapped MFN SAFE | 3 months, San Francisco | Winter 2027: Nov 2, 2026 |
| a16z speedrun | Up to $1M | 10% for the first $500,000 | 12 weeks, San Francisco | SR008: Nov 1, 2026 |
| Techstars | $220,000 | 5% + uncapped MFN SAFE | 3 months, city programs | Varies by program |
| AI Grant | $250,000 | Uncapped MFN SAFE | Summit + Demo Day, SF | Batch 4 closed |
| Entrepreneur First | Grant, then up to $250,000 | Varies | London, Bangalore, SF | Rolling cohorts |
| Antler | Varies by country (e.g. €200,000 in the Nordics) | Varies (e.g. 8.5% + SAFE in the Nordics) | 6–8 week residencies | Rolling, by city |
| Google for Startups: AI First | None (equity-free) | 0% | ~3 months, regional, hybrid | Varies by region |
| TinyFish Accelerator | $2M seed pool | Not published | 9 weeks, remote | 2026 cohort closed |
How we grouped these
We split the list by what you give up. First the classic equity accelerators that write a check for a fixed stake, then the programs built for individuals who don't have a team yet, then the AI-specific funds, and last the equity-free programs. Each entry covers the deal, the format, who it suits and where it falls short.
Equity accelerators
Y Combinator
The deal. YC invests $500,000 in every company it accepts, per its standard deal page: $125,000 on a post-money SAFE for 7%, and $375,000 on an uncapped SAFE with a most-favored-nation (MFN) clause, which converts on the terms of the lowest-cap SAFE you raise later. YC also gets a pro rata right and charges no fees.
The format. Four batches a year. The Winter 2027 batch runs January to March in San Francisco. The on-time deadline is November 2, 2026 at 8 PM PT, with decisions by December 11. Interviews happen by video, and YC invests as soon as you're accepted. Companies get access to $12M+ in credits and deals from partners including OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, Google Cloud and Azure.
Who it suits. Teams that can be in San Francisco and want the strongest alumni network and Demo Day in the business.
Where it falls short. YC invests in US, Canadian, Cayman and Singapore corporations, so companies incorporated elsewhere need to "flip" to a new parent company. The MFN SAFE means more dilution if your next round has a low cap.
a16z speedrun
The deal. Up to $1M: $500,000 for 10% upfront via a SAFE, plus up to another $500,000 in your next round within 18 months, per a16z's SR008 announcement. a16z aims to close in two weeks and doesn't take board seats. Companies also get $10M+ in credits from 200+ partners through the speedrun Marketplace.
The format. A 12-week in-person residency in a16z's San Francisco office. SR008 applications are open October 12 to November 1, 2026 (11:59 PM PT). The residency runs February 1 to April 18, 2027, with Demo Day on April 13.
Who it suits. AI, consumer and games founders who want a16z's distribution: SR Insiders (150+ C-suite members), Brand Lab, Launch Lab and a 171,000-person talent network.
Where it falls short. 10% for $500,000 is a lower valuation than YC's $125,000-for-7% fixed part, so compare the effective price, not the headline.
Techstars
The deal. $220,000: $200,000 on an uncapped MFN SAFE and $20,000 through a convertible equity agreement for 5% common stock, per Techstars' published investment terms. There's no program fee. Techstars notes one exception: programs in Asia-Pacific offer a $100,000 uncapped MFN SAFE.
The format. Three-month, mentor-driven programs run city by city (New York, Boston, London, Tokyo and more), plus an Anywhere program. Deadlines differ per program, so check the accelerators list.
Who it suits. Founders who want a vertical or regional program (healthcare, energy, finance) and a large mentor network.
Where it falls short. Quality varies by program and managing director, so talk to alumni from the specific city before you apply.
Programs for individuals without a team
Entrepreneur First (EF)
The deal. From EF's site: an equity-free grant while you're still exploring ideas, up to $250,000 once you form a company, and up to $5M in follow-on funding through later rounds. EF lists over $600,000 in credits, including $350,000 in Azure credits and $250,000+ from OpenAI, Anthropic, GitHub, PostHog, Datadog, ElevenLabs and others.
The format. You join as an individual, meet potential co-founders in a cohort, then build. Office space for nine months in London, Bangalore or San Francisco, and a San Francisco Demo Day attended by 200+ VC partners. EF says its companies typically raise $1M to $7M within weeks of Demo Day.
Who it suits. Strong technical or domain experts who haven't found a co-founder yet.
Where it falls short. Pairing with a co-founder you just met is risky. EF doesn't publish its equity terms on the homepage, so ask before you join.
Antler
The deal. Antler's terms are set by country. In the Nordics, for example, Antler invests €200,000: €100,000 for 8.5% and €100,000 on an uncapped MFN SAFE, with another €300,000 pre-committed for your first round if it happens within nine months. Founders also get access to $4M+ in perks.
The format. In-person residencies of six to eight weeks in cities around the world. You can join as an individual or as a team, and Antler invests in the strongest teams at the end.
Who it suits. Founders outside the US who want a local program with global reach.
Where it falls short. Terms, fees and equity differ by country. Some locations have charged a program fee, so read your city's terms page carefully.
AI-specific funds
AI Grant
The deal. $250,000 on an uncapped, no-discount MFN SAFE for an AI-native product startup, per aigrant.com. Winners also get $350,000 in Azure credits plus about $250,000 in other credits, including $55,000 from PostHog, $50,000 from Replicate, $30,000 from Anthropic and $15,000 from OpenAI.
The format. A summit in San Francisco with advisors and founders, then a Demo Day with invited investors. Past companies include Perplexity, Cursor, Browserbase, Granola and Vapi.
Who it suits. Technical pre-seed and seed founders who want a light-touch program and a strong AI network. Anyone can apply, solo founders included, and you don't need a company until you're accepted (AI Grant only invests in Delaware corporations).
Where it falls short. Applications for Batch 4 are closed, and there's no fixed calendar, so watch the site for the next batch.
The TinyFish Accelerator
The deal. A $2M seed funding pool from TinyFish and Mango Capital, per the accelerator page. Founders work directly with Robin Vasan, Managing Partner at Mango Capital, and get free TinyFish API access plus credits across 15+ partner companies.
The format. Nine weeks, fully remote. Instead of a pitch deck, you apply by building a working agentic app on TinyFish and posting a raw demo on X. We called it Public Proof-of-Work: slides got rejected, running code got through. The launch post explains the thinking.
Who it suits. Technical founders building agents that need to navigate and act on real websites, not thin wrappers on a model.
Where it falls short. The 2026 cohort closed on April 2, 2026. If you missed it, TinyFish for Startups is open now, and accelerator-backed teams qualify for its Tier 2.
Equity-free programs
Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First
The deal. Equity-free. Participants get mentoring from Google teams, technical project support, early access to Google AI products, Google product credits and free Cloud TPU access for open source ML research, per the accelerator page.
The format. Regional programs (India, Africa, MENA, Europe, Brazil, North America and others) of roughly three months, with cohorts of 10 to 15 startups, mixing remote and in-person sessions.
Who it suits. Seed to Series A startups with traction that are deeply technical and building with ML and AI.
Where it falls short. No cash. Each region runs its own calendar, so the window may be closed in yours.
NVIDIA Inception and Microsoft for Startups
Neither is an accelerator, but both often get listed as one. NVIDIA Inception is free, takes no equity, and gives training, preferred hardware pricing and partner cloud credits. Microsoft for Startups gives up to $150,000 in credits. You can join both alongside any accelerator. Our startup programs guide covers them in detail.
How the deals compare
The headline check isn't the price. What matters is how much equity you give up for it. Here's the fixed part of each deal, before any SAFE converts:
- YC: $125,000 buys a fixed 7%, which works out to about $1.8M post-money for that slice. The other $375,000 converts at your next round's cap.
- a16z speedrun: $500,000 for 10% works out to $5M post-money.
- Techstars: $20,000 buys a fixed 5%, so think of that 5% as the price of the program, mentors and network. The real cash is the $200,000 SAFE, which converts at your next round's terms.
- Antler Nordics: €100,000 buys 8.5%, about €1.18M post-money for that slice. The other €100,000 is an uncapped SAFE.
The MFN SAFEs all convert on your next round's terms, so a higher next round means less dilution from them.
How to choose an AI accelerator
- No co-founder yet? EF or Antler. Both are designed to help you find one.
- Want the biggest network and can move to SF? YC or a16z speedrun. Compare the deals above.
- Don't want to give up equity? Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First and NVIDIA Inception.
- Already shipping an AI product and want light-touch money? AI Grant.
- Building outside the US? Techstars and Antler city programs, or Google's regional accelerators.
- Building an agent for the live web? Watch for the next TinyFish Accelerator cohort, and use TinyFish for Startups in the meantime.
Mistakes to avoid
- Comparing headline checks. Compare equity for the fixed part, and what each SAFE converts into.
- Applying with slides when you could show a demo. A short video of the product working tells reviewers more than a deck, and some programs (ours included) ask for nothing else.
- Missing the deadline window. YC's on-time deadline (November 2) and speedrun's (November 1) are days apart this cycle.
- Ignoring the credits. YC, speedrun, EF and AI Grant each bundle hundreds of thousands in credits. Activate them as you need them, since most expire after 12 months.
Got into an accelerator? Apply to TinyFish for Startups, Tier 2: free TinySearch and TinyFetch at 4x rate limits for a year, 50% off TinyAgent and TinyBrowser for 24 months, and $500 in your wallet. Your batch page is enough proof.
Keep reading
- TinyFish for Startups: Up to $12,000 in Credits, Tiers and How to Apply
- Best Startup Programs and Perks in 2026
- AI Credits for Startups in 2026
- 25 AI Startup Ideas Built on Live Web Data
- How to Build an AI Agent: A Founder's Guide
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