Read this with
The Conveyor: How US Capital Recruits Canadian Founders sketches the ladder in five rungs. This is the full version of that ladder — every California program filling in each rung, what it offers, and the exact friction it’s engineered to remove.
Every program below is physically based or headquartered in California (Bay Area, Stanford/Berkeley, LA, Sunnyvale). The ladder runs from internal friction — permission, identity — at the top to material friction — capital, logistics — at the bottom: early programs sell belief, late programs sell infrastructure. Figures are 2025–2026; verify terms at application — see caveats at the end.
Stage 1 · High school / pre-college
Friction removed: the belief that you need a degree — or permission — before you’re allowed to build.
| Program | Friction it removes | CA location | Format & terms | Who / selectivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thiel Fellowship | The canonical “you don’t need a degree” program — pays you to skip or drop out of college to build. | San Francisco (Thiel Foundation) | Grant up to $250K over 2 yrs (class of 2026); no equity. ~20–30 fellows/yr. | Age ≤22, willing to leave school. Extremely selective (low single-digit %). |
| Z Fellows | Acts as your “first believer” and Silicon Valley network before any credential. Works with HS dropouts. | SF-anchored but remote-first; in-person finale in SF or NYC | 1-week program, ~10/cohort. Optional $10K at a $1B cap (join with no money). Rolling cohorts. | Any age; HS, dropouts, students, employed. No team needed. Reportedly very selective. |
| 1517 Fund | Backs “dropouts, students and renegade scientists” — building without institutional permission. | San Francisco HQ (+ Fort Wayne, IN) | VC fund + “Flux” micro-grants (~$1K) to teen/student builders; equity on seed checks. | Young founders, often pre-degree. No published acceptance rate. |
| Leangap | Shows teenagers they can build a real company now — in Silicon Valley, while still in high school. | San Francisco / UC Berkeley campus | Full-time residential summer program; mentorship + campus life. Tuition-based. | High schoolers. |
| Berkeley B-BAY (Haas) | Early exposure to founding — workshops + a business-plan competition for youth. | UC Berkeley (Haas), Berkeley | Summer youth entrepreneurship program; tuition-based. | High school / youth. |
Stage 2 · In college
Friction removed: having to choose between staying in school and starting.
| Program | Friction it removes | CA location | Format & terms | Who / selectivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YC Early Decision | The cleanest fit: apply while enrolled, get accepted + funded now, defer your batch until after you graduate. | San Francisco (Dogpatch) | Standard YC deal on join: $500K ($125K/7% + $375K uncapped MFN SAFE). In-person SF batch. | Graduating + earlier-stage students. YC overall ~1% (ED rate not published). |
| Neo Scholars | Silicon Valley access, mentorship and a recruiting network while you stay in school — no drop-out required. | San Francisco (Jackson Square) | Fellowship/recognition, not equity. ~150 Scholar Finalists; SF + NY meetups. | Current undergrads strong in CS. Highly selective. |
| Pear Dorm (Pear VC) | Built for students to build while enrolled — accelerates future founders without dropping out. | SF / Menlo Park; Garage at Stanford + UC Berkeley | Pear Competition winners: $100K uncapped SAFE + up to $350K credits + PearX fast-track. Garage + Fellows tracks. | Undergrad + grad students. Competitive. |
| Breakthrough Ventures | “For student founders, by student founders” — capital + network without leaving campus. | Bay Area; Demo Day at Stanford | $2M fund. Grants up to $10K, possible $50K investment, up to $350K compute credits. | College students + recent grads (nationwide). |
| Berkeley SkyDeck — Pad-13 | Lets any student-founded idea get resources + a path to capital from campus. | UC Berkeley, Berkeley | Pad-13: $500 or 1% equity; resources + possible SkyDeck Fund investment. (Flagship cohort: $200K/7.5%, 6 mo.) | Student founders, idea stage+. |
| Stanford Mayfield Fellows | A credentialed in-school operator/founder track at Stanford. | Stanford | 9-month intensive; 12 students/yr. Not funding. | Stanford students only. 12/yr — very selective. |
| UC Berkeley Free Ventures | Non-dilutive pre-seed backing so students can start without giving up equity or school. | UC Berkeley, Berkeley | Student-run pre-seed accelerator; non-dilutive funding. | Berkeley student founders. |
| USC Greif / Marshall VF / USC × Techstars | LA-based on-ramp for student & alumni founders (incl. a Techstars accelerator). | Los Angeles (USC) | Incubator + USC-affiliated venture fund; 2026 USC×Techstars accelerator (equity/terms per Techstars). | USC-affiliated founders. |
| Contrary (Venture Partner) | Get into venture/startups as a campus scout without leaving school. (A VC-scout role, not a build accelerator.) | Firm HQ in SF — student program is nationwide / remote | School-year scout role (~5–10 hrs/wk); relationship continues post-grad. No equity to student. | Enrolled US/Canada students. Highly selective. |
Stage 3 · New grad / pre-idea (−1 to 0)
Friction removed: needing a finished idea, a co-founder, or a team before you can begin.
| Program | Friction it removes | CA location | Format & terms | Who / selectivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Park Commons — Founder Fellowship | Coined the “minus-one-to-zero” framing. Built for pre-product, pre-idea founders to discover the idea and market. | San Francisco (380 Brannan St) | $400K for 7% + $600K guaranteed follow-on (≈$1M) + ~$900K credits. In-person SF bootcamp, then open-ended residency. | Technologists; can apply solo + pre-idea. Highly selective. (Also fits Stage 5.) |
| Entrepreneur First — SF | Textbook “no idea / no co-founder needed” — applicants assessed as individuals, then matched + built from scratch. | San Francisco (residency) | 3-month in-person residency; co-founder matching (≈80% match in 8 wks); invests at IC stage. | Individuals, pre-company. Globally HQ’d (London); SF residency is the CA one. |
| Antler — San Francisco | Pure “Day Zero” — no idea, co-founder or team required; structured co-founder matching. | San Francisco (since Fall 2025) | ~3-month in-person residency; pitch to IC for $500K–$1M initial commitment. | Operators/builders. One co-founder must hold US work authorization (no visa sponsorship). |
| The Residency — SF house | “College meets accelerator.” You don’t need to be a founder or have an idea — full-time runway + peers to explore. | San Francisco (multiple SF mansions; flagship hub) | Residential: housing, co-working, meals, compute, coaching. Takes equity in resident startups. 3–6 mo. | Builders/inventors going full-time. ~4% acceptance (10K+ applicants). |
| Founders, Inc. (f.inc) | Backs the earliest stage — apply solo or with a cofounder; no polished idea needed, but a direction to build now. | San Francisco (Fort Mason campus) | 4–7% equity; $100K–$250K checks. Time-boxed sprints: Off Season (6-wk summer build, ~100 builders, up to $250K) + Artifact (5-wk winter) + evergreen AI/hardware residency. | Emerging-tech (AI/hardware) builders; students welcome on Off Season. (Also fits Stage 4.) |
| YC Co-Founder Matching / Startup School | Removes the “need a co-founder” and “need to know how” barriers before you have anything. | SF / Mountain View (in-person events) + online | Free, no equity. World’s largest co-founder matching platform (100K+ matches); free Startup School. | Aspiring founders, any stage. Free / open. |
| On Deck — Founder Fellowship (ODF) | “From idea to conviction” — find your conviction (and informal collaborators) before committing. | San Francisco (in-person sprint) + online | Zero equity; pay-what-you-can (~$1K). 1-wk in-person SF + lifetime alumni network + $800K perks. | High-momentum aspiring founders. |
Stage 4 · First-time founder with a thing
Friction removed: capital scarcity — and, via a16z Speedrun, the visa itself.
| Program | Friction it removes | CA location | Format & terms | Who / selectivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y Combinator | The default capital + the most powerful alumni/investor network in tech; mandatory in-person SF batch. | San Francisco (Dogpatch) | $500K standard ($125K/7% + $375K uncapped MFN SAFE). ~12-wk batch, now 4 batches/yr; ~140–200 cos. | Any stage/geography; first-timers welcome. S25 reported ~0.6% — lowest ever. |
| a16z Speedrun | Capital + the visa: runs a Global Founders Program and helps invited founders with relocation/immigration. | San Francisco (12-wk in-person) | Up to $1M ($500K + $500K follow-on); $7M+ tool credits. Cohort ~60–70. Visa support via partner attorneys (not in-house). | Global; games/AI/consumer/infra. Reported <0.4% selected. |
| PearX (Pear VC) | Hands-on pre-seed company-building with the Pear team + capital; relocation to the Bay Area. | Menlo Park / SF (free SF office for grads) | ~$250K–$2M via SAFE (~10% equity range). 12-wk program; ~20 teams/batch. | Pre-seed, category-defining teams. Small batch — selective. |
| Berkeley SkyDeck | University-grade accelerator + capital, open beyond students. | UC Berkeley, Berkeley | ~$210K for 7.5%; 6-month cohort. | Early-stage founders. |
| 500 Global | Seed capital + Bay Area programming and a large global network. | Palo Alto (+ SF Mission St office) | Flagship ~$150K for 6%. | Early-stage founders. |
| Alchemist Accelerator | Capital + enterprise/B2B go-to-market support. | San Francisco (156 2nd St) | ~$25K–$36K for ~5% equity. Enterprise/B2B focus. | Enterprise/B2B founders. |
| Plug and Play | Capital + corporate-partner distribution (550+ corporates). | Sunnyvale (HQ) | Terms vary by vertical/program; corporate-innovation driven. | Founders across many verticals. |
| StartX (Stanford) | Removes mentorship/community friction with no equity cost (doesn’t directly solve capital). | Palo Alto | No equity, no fee. Mentorship + community. | Stanford-affiliated founders. |
| Sequoia Arc (US) | Intensive company-building + Sequoia backing — but increasingly invite-only for portfolio cos. | San Francisco | 5-wk immersion; ~$1M historically. Small cohorts (10–15); not open-access. | Mostly founders Sequoia already backs. |
Stage 5 · Repeat / proven founder
Friction removed: every life logistic, so you do nothing but build.
| Program | Friction it removes | CA location | Format & terms | Who / selectivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HF0 (Hacker Fellowship Zero) | The archetype: live-in mansion with housing, all meals, laundry, gym/wellness handled — you do nothing but build. | San Francisco (Alamo Square mansion) | Reported up to $1M uncapped SAFE for 5% (older source: $250K/2.5% — confirm at apply). 12-wk residency; ~10 teams. | Repeat / highly technical founders (AI/infra/dev-tools). Among SF’s most competitive. |
| South Park Commons — Founder Fellowship | Ideal for proven operators “between things” — capital + elite peer community to find the next thing. | San Francisco (380 Brannan St) | $400K for 7% + $600K guaranteed follow-on. In-person SF bootcamp + residency. | Proven/repeat builders (also Stage 3). Highly selective. |
Parallel track: science & deep-tech founders
This runs orthogonal to the five-stage ladder. The friction here isn’t permission, the school-vs-start choice, or even capital in the usual sense — it’s the scientist’s blocker: no salary to leave academia, no lab or equipment, and no path from a research result to a company. These programs remove it with salaries, bench access, and lab-embedded fellowships (most are equity-free). A researcher can sit at “pre-idea” and “proven” at once, which is why this is a track, not a rung.
| Program | Friction it removes | CA location | Format & terms | Who / selectivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astera Institute Residency | Pays you to leave academia — salary, compute and budget to pursue public-good science with no grant-chasing. | Emeryville | Salary $125K–$250K; 12–18 mo; ~20/cohort; equity-free. ~24K H100s; up to $1.5M project budget; visa support. | Scientists/technologists; intl OK. ~20/cohort — selective. |
| Cyclotron Road @ Berkeley Lab | A living stipend + national-lab facilities so you can take a hard-tech idea toward commercialization. | Berkeley (LBNL) | Stipend $80K–$115K + $100K–$150K research support; 2 yrs; equity-free; lab access. | Scientist-entrepreneurs (hard-tech/energy). Only CA DOE LEEP node. |
| Activate Fellowship | Two years of funding + the Berkeley Lab ecosystem to turn science into a company. | Berkeley | 2-yr fellowship; funding + stipend; equity-free. | Early science/hardware founders. Berkeley cohort (“Anywhere” = remote). |
| IndieBio / SOSV SF | A real check + a full wet lab so biotech/deep-tech teams can build, not just theorize. | San Francisco (Dogpatch) | $525K; ~4 mo; wet lab + prototyping; equity for funding. | Biotech/deep-tech teams. SF arm of SOSV. |
| Bakar Labs + QB3 | Lab access as the unlock — lease a single bench or “half a freezer shelf” to start capital-light. | Berkeley + Mission Bay SF | Subsidized lab/bench rent; equity-free; ~50 teams; QB3 mentoring + investor brokering. | Early-stage life-science startups. SF site added 2024. |
| Calculus House | Co-living + wet-lab access + community for independent researchers with no institutional affiliation. | SF (Pacific Heights) | Residential 90-day cohort; furnished house + wet lab; residents keep full ownership. | High-agency independent bio/AI researchers. In The Residency network. |
| Biopunk House | A community biolab + home for biologists/hackers building outside institutions. | San Francisco | Residential biotech residency; shared community wet lab. | Independent biotech builders. Terms unpublished. |
| Caltech Rocket Fund | Non-dilutive cash + mentoring to get a deep-tech prototype to its first customer. | Pasadena | Equity-free grants $25K–$100K + mentoring. Cycle opens Nov. | Academic & “garage” deep-tech innovators. $2M → 61 teams → $1B follow-on. |
| Caltech Innovation Center | Space + ecosystem near campus to spin hard-tech research into a company. | Pasadena | Lab/incubator space, in-person (equity/stipend terms unpublished). | Caltech researchers — life sci, climate, quantum, deep tech. |
| Stanford StartX Med | Founder education, community + follow-on access for biomed founders — with no equity taken. | Palo Alto | Equity-free (0%); in-person community/accelerator. | Stanford-affiliated biomed/healthtech. 135+ cos, $920M+ raised. |
| Bakar Fellows | Funding + time for faculty/postdocs to push discoveries toward IP, licensing, or a spinout. | UC Berkeley | Equity-free university fellowship (grant/research support). | UC Berkeley/UCSF faculty + grad/postdoc innovation fellows. |
| LLNL Academy + Daybreak Labs | Entrepreneurial training for lab scientists + low-cost lab space in the Tri-Valley. | Livermore | Academy = training; Daybreak = lab/office + residency/incubation. | Lab scientists/engineers; Tri-Valley deep-tech/biotech. |
| NASA Ames (+ Founder Institute) | Licenses to NASA patents + training — a research-to-company on-ramp. | Mountain View | Tech-transfer / startup-studio tracks; IP licensing + training. | Entrepreneurs building on NASA-patented tech. |
| Nucleate (Bay Area Activator) | A path from academic bench to biotech founder while keeping your post. | SF Bay Area | 6-mo equity-free cohort; in-person (not housed). | Academic biotech founders. |
| DojoHouse (Nucleate) | Housing + funding + lab placement for undergrads aiming at biotech founding. | San Francisco | Residential co-living; housing + funding + internship placement. | Top US/Canada undergrads. Earlier-stage talent pipeline. |
| Phoenix Aerie | Free housing + community for very young longevity scientists. | San Francisco | Residential, free; ~8 residents; 3 mo. | Longevity scientists ages 18–25. Newly launching — verify open. |
Considered but excluded: Breakthrough Energy Fellows (no CA-anchored hub) · Schmidt Science Fellows (postdoc placement, not founders) · Deep Science Ventures (London; no confirmed CA cohort) · The Engine (Boston) · other DOE LEEP nodes (IL/TN/CO) · Encode AI-for-Science (UK) · Prime Coalition (a funder, not a program).
Residency & live-in programs (cross-cut)
The live-in / relocation model is now the dominant incubator trend in SF and cuts across every stage, so it gets its own view. “Live-in” = housing provided or co-living; “In-person” = relocation/full-time on-site but you find your own housing. Note the science & deep-tech residencies (Astera, Cyclotron Road, Activate, IndieBio): they remove a friction the ladder doesn’t name — the scientist’s, where the blocker is no salary, no lab, and no path from research to a company.
| Program | CA location | Type | Stage | Format & terms | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HF0 | SF (Alamo Square) | Live-in | 5 | Up to $1M uncapped SAFE / 5%; 12 wks; ~10 teams. All meals, laundry, gym/wellness. | The Stage-5 archetype. |
| The Residency | SF (5 mansions) | Live-in | 3 | Housing + meals + compute + coaching for equity; 3–6-mo cohorts of 10–25. | — |
| South Park Commons | SF (380 Brannan) | In-person bootcamp | 3 / 5 | $400K/7% + $600K follow-on; SF bootcamp then residency. | — |
| Founders, Inc. (f.inc) | SF (Fort Mason) | In-person campus + sprints | 3 / 4 | 4–7% equity; $100K–$250K. Off Season (summer) + Artifact (winter) + evergreen residency. | Off Season II: Jun 24 – Aug 7, 2026, ~100 builders. |
| AGI House (Hillsborough) | Hillsborough (Peninsula) | Live-in | 4 / 5 | $68M mansion, ~8–10 residents; in-house fund up to ~$1M; free merit-based events. | AI founders/researchers. Alum: Pika. Name dispute w/ AGI House SF. |
| AGI House SF | SF (Twin Peaks) | Live-in + events | 4 | AI hacker house + heavy hackathon/event calendar. | Spun off late 2023. Confirm cohort size. |
| The Bridge (Entrepreneur First) | SF (founder house) | Live-in, 8 wks | 3 / 4 | ~40 spots; live + build together; best teams get $250K at IC + 3 more months in SF. | Non-US / European stage-0 founders. A visa/landing-pad play. |
| Frontier Tower — Founders Residency | SF (mid-Market) | Live-in floors + residency | 4 / 5 | Residency “Batch 0” = 6 founders; co-living floors rent-based; lab floors. | Hybrid: labs + events + co-living tower. |
| Genesis House | SF (Hayes Valley) | Co-living | Cross-stage | 21-bedroom AI collective; membership/rent (not equity). | AI founders/devs since 2021. |
| Accelr8 | SF (Nob Hill + Market St) | Co-living | Cross-stage | Rent ~$1,500/mo private room; 80+ builders; not equity. | Pre-seed/seed. Expanding to SLC + Austin. |
| Foundry Coliving | SF (Mission, 4 houses) | Co-living | Cross-stage | Rent a room; investor dinners, demo days, co-founder matching; 100+ alumni. | Not equity. |
| Afore — Founder in Residence | SF (South Park) | In-person, 8 wks | 3 | Free; 5–8/cohort; Afore commits ≥$100K pre-seed lead after. Day -1 → formation. | Launched 2025 w/ Fund IV ($185M). |
| Edge Esmeralda / Edge City | Healdsburg (Sonoma) | Live-in pop-up (month) | 3 | ~500 builders; ticketed + fully-funded fellowships (Long Journey, etc.); not equity. | Seasonal. 2026: May 30 – Jun 27. |
| Astera Institute Residency | Emeryville | Residential / in-person | 3 (science) | Salary $125K–$250K; 12–18 mo; ~20/cohort; equity-free; ~24K H100s; up to $1.5M budget; visa support. | Funded “public-goods” science. |
| Cyclotron Road @ Berkeley Lab | Berkeley (LBNL) | Embedded / relocation | 4 (hard-tech) | Stipend $80K–$115K + $100K–$150K research support; 2 yrs; equity-free; lab access. | Scientist-entrepreneurs. Apps ~Oct. |
| Activate Fellowship | Berkeley | Residential cohort | 4 (hard-tech) | 2-yr fellowship; funding + stipend; equity-free; Berkeley Lab ecosystem. | Berkeley cohort only (“Anywhere” track is remote). |
| IndieBio / SOSV SF | SF (Dogpatch) | In-person lab | 4 (biotech) | $525K; ~4 mo; wet lab + prototyping; equity for funding. | SF arm of SOSV (rebranded from IndieBio). |
| Neo Residency | SF (Jackson Sq) + Oregon | Relocation (3 mo SF) | 2 / 4 | $750K uncapped SAFE + $450K+ credits; 12–15/cohort. | Live-in part is the 2-wk Oregon bootcamp, not CA. |
| Nucleate (Bay Area Activator) | SF Bay Area | In-person (not housed) | 3 / 4 (biotech) | 6-mo equity-free cohort; academic biotech founders. | Fellows keep academic posts. |
| Interact Technology Residency | SF (Mission) | Live-in, 8 wks | 3 | Cohort + capstone Symposium (400+ attendees). | FLAG: 2025 billed as “final pilot” — may be discontinued. |
| Lighthaven | Berkeley | Residency venue / host | Varies (research) | ~80 beds; hosts multi-week live-in programs (MATS, longevity, writing). | Infrastructure, not a single cohort. AI-safety/rationalist crowd. |
Residencies considered but excluded: Solaris (coworking, went bust 2024) · Launch House (pivoted to a fund, LA cohort discontinued) · The Neighborhood SF (coliving fund on hold) · Pioneer (remote, stopped investing 2024) · Z Fellows (virtual, in-person finale only) · Soma / On Deck (now remote) · Sundai Club (Cambridge MA) · Vibecamp (Maryland) · Rise (teen, rotating global) · Speculative Technologies (Tokyo).
Cohort timing & cadence
Many of these are time-boxed seasonal cohorts rather than always-open — a wave kicks off each summer. Listed regardless of whether applications happen to be open right now; this is a map of the landscape, not an application tracker. Dates as of May 2026; confirm on the program site.
| Program | Format | Sample 2026 cohort | Cadence |
|---|---|---|---|
| f.inc — Off Season | 6-wk summer build sprint, ~100 builders, up to $250K | Jun 24 – Aug 7, 2026 | Annual (summer); rolling apps |
| f.inc — Artifact | 5-wk winter sprint, up to $250K | Jan 12 – Feb 13, 2026 | Annual (winter) |
| Edge Esmeralda | Month-long pop-up village (Healdsburg) | May 30 – Jun 27, 2026 | Annual (late spring/summer) |
| a16z Speedrun | 12-wk IRL in SF, up to $1M | SR007: Jul 27 – Oct 11, 2026 | ~Quarterly cohorts |
| PearX | 12-wk pre-seed, $250K–$2M | S26: starts Jul 2026 | Twice yearly (W / S) |
| Neo Residency | $750K uncapped SAFE; 12–15 teams; SF + Oregon | First cohort Summer 2026 | Twice yearly |
| Afore — FIR-U | 8-wk summer pre-accelerator, ≥$100K lead | Summer 2026 (June start) | Annual (summer) |
| Entrepreneur First — The Bridge | 3-mo SF residency, non-US founders | Summer 2026 | Recurring cohorts |
| Y Combinator | 12-wk batch, $500K standard | Summer 2026 batch | 4 batches/year |
| The Residency / HF0 / SPC | Live-in / fellowship cohorts | Cohorts through 2026 | Rolling / multiple per year |
Programs that span stages
- —South Park Commons: Stages 3 + 5 — pre-idea explorers and proven operators between things use the same fellowship.
- —Y Combinator: Stages 2 → 4 — Early Decision (in college), Co-Founder Matching / Startup School (pre-idea), the core batch (first-time founder).
- —Neo: Stages 2 + 4 — Neo Scholars (undergrads, no equity) vs. the Neo Accelerator ($750K uncapped SAFE; note its core bootcamp runs in Oregon, not CA).
- —Berkeley SkyDeck: Stages 2 + 4 — Pad-13 student track and the flagship $210K/7.5% cohort.
- —Founders, Inc.: Stages 3 + 4 — earliest-stage residency that also writes first checks into building teams.
No longer running (kept for completeness)
Part of the same landscape — each illustrated a rung before winding down. Included so the collection is complete, not because you can apply.
- —Buildspace (Nights & Weekends) — Stage 1–3 — “permission + community to start.” Huge online + SF cohorts. Shut down Aug 2024 after Season 5.
- —Pioneer (pioneer.app) — Stage 3 — remote “tournament” surfacing builders, SF summit. Stopped investing / wound down ~mid-2024.
- —Launch House — Stage 3–5 — Beverly Hills live-in founder mansion (2020). Pivoted to a fund (“House Capital”); LA cohort model retired.
- —Solaris (SF) — Stage 4-ish — 20,000 sq ft AI-startup campus tied to the network-state crowd. Went bust late 2024.
- —The Neighborhood SF — Stage 3–5 — events → coliving “square mile” experiment (Schmidt Futures-backed). Coliving fund on hold.
Considered but excluded
Not California-based, or not a fit:
- —Emergent Ventures — Mercatus Center, George Mason University — Virginia.
- —Forum Ventures — Remote-first, NYC-anchored; also expects MVP/traction, not pre-idea.
- —AI Grant (Friedman/Gross) — Funding + credits only ($250K SAFE), no CA residency; founders moved to Meta — cadence uncertain.
- —Conviction Embed — SF firm, but the program is largely remote (one in-person weekend).
- —Day One “Funded Not Fired” — SF fund but remote campaign; couldn’t confirm an active 2025–26 cohort.
- —Lightspeed accelerators — AI Launch Pad is NYC; India Ascends is India — no CA-based program.
- —AWS Generative AI Accelerator — Runs in Seattle + finale in Las Vegas.
- —Mercury Raise — Now an always-on platform, not a cohort accelerator (no check/equity).
- —Microsoft for Startups — Global credits/Founders Hub program, not a CA cohort accelerator.
- —Newton Venture Program — London-based VC training, not a founder program.
Facts worth confirming at application time
Verify before you rely on any of these
- —Thiel Fellowship grant rose to $250K over two years for the class of 2026 (older sources still cite ~$100–200K).
- —HF0’s headline term is split across sources between $1M for 5% (current/dominant) and an older $250K for 2.5% — confirm directly.
- —a16z Speedrun’s visa help is facilitation via partner immigration attorneys, not in-house sponsorship.
- —Neo Accelerator’s live-in bootcamp is in Oregon, not California (SF is HQ + optional co-working).
- —Most of these don’t publish acceptance rates — only YC’s (~0.6–1%) and Speedrun’s (<0.4%) are widely cited.