Deadline: October 28, 2025
Applications are open for the Activate Fellowship 2026. Activate’s two-year fellowship program transforms scientists and engineers into founders, empowering them to reinvent the world by bringing their research to market. They provide early-stage science entrepreneurs with funding, technical resources, and unparalleled support from a network of scientists, engineers, investors, commercial partners, and fellow entrepreneurs.
Activate does not charge any fees or take any equity (financial stake) in fellow’s companies for individuals to join and participate in the fellowship. The fellowship program supports people, first and foremost. They have a nonprofit mission to help you find the optimal path for your project to go to market, regardless of the specific business model.
Benefits
- They provide $100,000 in research funding to each project / company in the fellowship that may be used to access laboratory space as needed.
Eligibility
Fellows’ Eligibility
- Must have a bachelor’s degree and 4+ years post-baccalaureate scientific research, engineering, or technology development experience.
- Must be leading the commercial development of a hardware-based technology innovation for the first time if awarded the fellowship i.e., not a repeat hard tech founder.
- Must be committed full-time to the proposed project or company if awarded the fellowship.
- Must be legally able to work in the U.S. for the duration of the fellowship.
- Must be able to communicate proficiently in English.
Project Eligibility
- Must be based in the physical or biological sciences or related engineering disciplines.
- Must still be in development and not yet ready for full-scale product sales at the time of the application deadline.
- Must not have raised more than $2M in debt or equity funding from non-governmental sources at the time of the application deadline.
Application
For more information, see FAQ and visit Activate Fellowship.
