Mobility & Transport accelerators
Accelerators for Mobility & Transport founders
Mobility is one of the smallest verticals in the Atlas, and neither of its two entries is a classic cohort accelerator. Newlab Detroit is a membership-based venture platform at Michigan Central: 270,000 square feet of labs, prototyping shops, and permitted pilot sites, a community of more than 100 mobility startups, and a 380,000 square foot manufacturing campus called The 23rd for teams scaling to production. Membership fees and investment terms are not published, and applications are rolling. The Michigan Mobility Prototype Grant is a state funding pipeline rather than a program: administered by the Centrepolis Accelerator for Michigan's Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, it awards non-dilutive prototype grants of up to $100,000 and takes no equity.
What counts as a mobility accelerator here: any US program that backs mobility, transport, and electrification startups with structured support, whether through membership and pilots, non-dilutive grants, or investment. Mobility founders should also look at the hardware and climate verticals, where programs like HAX and the DOE lab fellowships regularly back transportation and vehicle technology. Every figure is the program's own published number; where a program does not publish a figure, we say so instead of guessing.
Showing 7 of 7 programs
| Check size | Equity | Terms | Format | Next window | Signal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One Accelerator Program (Mobility, Growth Stage)mobility: automotive, transit, autonomous driving, auto finance and related services | Not publishedMobility-focused accelerator run by Capital One Auto for startups in the mobility industry, defined broadly as transporting people and goods: automotive, transit, vehicles, transportation infrastructure and related services such as auto finance. The Growth Stage program is a hybrid cohort for startups with a viable MVP, meeting every two weeks, with 12 industry-focused modules, one-on-one mentoring, pro bono business support and a live pitch at DFW Startup Week; completing it brings the potential of micro funding, with no amount published. The FAQ says there is no application fee or cost to join (travel costs may apply) and Capital One takes no equity. The 2026 cycle's applications closed January 31, 2026, with selection in February, an in-person kickoff in Dallas-Fort Worth in March and the finale in August. A 2027 interest list is open. A separate Idea Stage track is delivered with Builders + Backers. | Not publishedMobility-focused accelerator run by Capital One Auto for startups in the mobility industry, defined broadly as transporting people and goods: automotive, transit, vehicles, transportation infrastructure and related services such as auto finance. The Growth Stage program is a hybrid cohort for startups with a viable MVP, meeting every two weeks, with 12 industry-focused modules, one-on-one mentoring, pro bono business support and a live pitch at DFW Startup Week; completing it brings the potential of micro funding, with no amount published. The FAQ says there is no application fee or cost to join (travel costs may apply) and Capital One takes no equity. The 2026 cycle's applications closed January 31, 2026, with selection in February, an in-person kickoff in Dallas-Fort Worth in March and the finale in August. A 2027 interest list is open. A separate Idea Stage track is delivered with Builders + Backers. | Equity-free | TX | Hybrid | None confirmed | Oct 1, 2026 | Verified |
| CO.LAB Accelerator (Chattanooga)mobility, freight and logistics, EV charging and energy, mobility data (Mobility Innovation and Energy Innovation tracks) | Not publishedSix-week accelerator in Chattanooga, Tennessee, run by The Company Lab (CO.LAB) with Mobility Innovation and Energy Innovation tracks, for early-stage, venture-backable startups using emerging technology to change how people, goods, energy and data move, such as connected and autonomous vehicles, supply chain and freight tech, EV charging and battery tech, grid technology and mobility data platforms. CO.LAB first matches corporate partners' innovation needs, then recruits startups that fit, with a focus on post-revenue companies or those in market pilots; the program ends with a pitch to investors, customers and innovation leaders. Relocation is not required, though time in Chattanooga is encouraged. The program pages publish no investment, equity or fee terms. Recent cohorts: Spring 2026 (four companies) and Summer 2026 (five companies); applications are open now with no deadline posted. | Not publishedSix-week accelerator in Chattanooga, Tennessee, run by The Company Lab (CO.LAB) with Mobility Innovation and Energy Innovation tracks, for early-stage, venture-backable startups using emerging technology to change how people, goods, energy and data move, such as connected and autonomous vehicles, supply chain and freight tech, EV charging and battery tech, grid technology and mobility data platforms. CO.LAB first matches corporate partners' innovation needs, then recruits startups that fit, with a focus on post-revenue companies or those in market pilots; the program ends with a pitch to investors, customers and innovation leaders. Relocation is not required, though time in Chattanooga is encouraged. The program pages publish no investment, equity or fee terms. Recent cohorts: Spring 2026 (four companies) and Summer 2026 (five companies); applications are open now with no deadline posted. | Not publishedSix-week accelerator in Chattanooga, Tennessee, run by The Company Lab (CO.LAB) with Mobility Innovation and Energy Innovation tracks, for early-stage, venture-backable startups using emerging technology to change how people, goods, energy and data move, such as connected and autonomous vehicles, supply chain and freight tech, EV charging and battery tech, grid technology and mobility data platforms. CO.LAB first matches corporate partners' innovation needs, then recruits startups that fit, with a focus on post-revenue companies or those in market pilots; the program ends with a pitch to investors, customers and innovation leaders. Relocation is not required, though time in Chattanooga is encouraged. The program pages publish no investment, equity or fee terms. Recent cohorts: Spring 2026 (four companies) and Summer 2026 (five companies); applications are open now with no deadline posted. | TN | Not published | None confirmed | Oct 1, 2026 | Verified |
| FLITE (Gerald R. Ford International Airport)aviation and airport technology (grants plus live pilot testing at the airport) | Not publishedThe Ford Launchpad for Innovative Technologies and Entrepreneurship (FLITE), run since 2022 by the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Seamless Ventures, Southwest Airlines, AvFlight Grand Rapids and the West Michigan Aviation Academy. It gives grants and pilot-testing opportunities at the airport to companies developing air travel technologies, in five focus areas: automation and analytics, electrification and sustainability, safety and security, the door-to-door and terminal guest experience, and advancing aviation. Applicants request a grant amount; per-company amounts are not published, and the ninth cohort of six companies (January 2026) shared more than $170,000. The MEDC's Office of Future Mobility and Electrification helps fund the grants, but FLITE is a separate program from the Michigan Mobility Prototype Grant. Companies must have team members in Michigan to deploy at the test site; participants have come from many U.S. states and eight countries. No equity or fee is mentioned. Applications are open until October 30, 2026. | Not publishedThe Ford Launchpad for Innovative Technologies and Entrepreneurship (FLITE), run since 2022 by the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Seamless Ventures, Southwest Airlines, AvFlight Grand Rapids and the West Michigan Aviation Academy. It gives grants and pilot-testing opportunities at the airport to companies developing air travel technologies, in five focus areas: automation and analytics, electrification and sustainability, safety and security, the door-to-door and terminal guest experience, and advancing aviation. Applicants request a grant amount; per-company amounts are not published, and the ninth cohort of six companies (January 2026) shared more than $170,000. The MEDC's Office of Future Mobility and Electrification helps fund the grants, but FLITE is a separate program from the Michigan Mobility Prototype Grant. Companies must have team members in Michigan to deploy at the test site; participants have come from many U.S. states and eight countries. No equity or fee is mentioned. Applications are open until October 30, 2026. | Non-dilutive | MI | In person | Oct 30, 2026 | Oct 1, 2026 | Verified |
| Michigan Mobility Prototype Grantmobility / electrification | up to $100,000 per company | Not publishedOfficial program name: Make it in Michigan Prototyping Grant Program (the state's release calls it the Make It in Michigan Mobility Prototyping Grant Program). A statewide non-dilutive grant program from Michigan's Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, administered by the Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technological University, funding mobility and electrification prototypes at TRL 5 to 9. It is a service-based grant of up to $100,000 per company, allocated against a statement of work and deliverables for product design, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing readiness. No equity is taken. The 2026 round (round three) accepted applications May 13 to July 12, 2026, its only application period for 2026; on September 17, 2026 the state announced 26 awardees sharing a combined $2 million in funding and services, with projects running October 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. It is a funding pipeline rather than a cohort accelerator. | Non-dilutive | MI | Remote | None confirmed | Oct 1, 2026 | Verified |
| Newlab Detroit (at Michigan Central)mobility economy, EV/AV, advanced manufacturing pilots | Not publishedNot a classic cohort accelerator: membership-based startup platform combining infrastructure (labs, pilot sites incl. new 380,000 sq ft 'The 23rd' manufacturing campus), commercialization projects with industry/government partners, and a venture + non-dilutive capital network. 100+ mobility startups in Detroit. Specific fees/investment terms not published, so null. | Not publishedNot a classic cohort accelerator: membership-based startup platform combining infrastructure (labs, pilot sites incl. new 380,000 sq ft 'The 23rd' manufacturing campus), commercialization projects with industry/government partners, and a venture + non-dilutive capital network. 100+ mobility startups in Detroit. Specific fees/investment terms not published, so null. | Mixed | MI | In person | None confirmed | Oct 1, 2026 | Verified |
| Plug and Play Detroit (Mobility)mobility and physical AI | Not publishedThe mobility program of the global innovation platform Plug and Play, based in Detroit, running batch-based cohorts that connect startups with corporate partners on Mobility & Physical AI themes such as autonomous transport, connectivity, electrification, Industry 4.0, and smart city and infrastructure. Partners listed on the Detroit page are BorgWarner and Michigan's Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME); the Detroit mobility page also lists Macomb County Government and TREMEC. The newest Detroit batch shown is Batch 5 (2025 expo). The program's own pages do not publish equity terms, investment amount, program length, or the next application window, so those are left unstated. | Not publishedThe mobility program of the global innovation platform Plug and Play, based in Detroit, running batch-based cohorts that connect startups with corporate partners on Mobility & Physical AI themes such as autonomous transport, connectivity, electrification, Industry 4.0, and smart city and infrastructure. Partners listed on the Detroit page are BorgWarner and Michigan's Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME); the Detroit mobility page also lists Macomb County Government and TREMEC. The newest Detroit batch shown is Batch 5 (2025 expo). The program's own pages do not publish equity terms, investment amount, program length, or the next application window, so those are left unstated. | Not publishedThe mobility program of the global innovation platform Plug and Play, based in Detroit, running batch-based cohorts that connect startups with corporate partners on Mobility & Physical AI themes such as autonomous transport, connectivity, electrification, Industry 4.0, and smart city and infrastructure. Partners listed on the Detroit page are BorgWarner and Michigan's Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME); the Detroit mobility page also lists Macomb County Government and TREMEC. The newest Detroit batch shown is Batch 5 (2025 expo). The program's own pages do not publish equity terms, investment amount, program length, or the next application window, so those are left unstated. | MI | Not published | None confirmed | Oct 1, 2026 | Verified |
| Transit Tech Labpublic transit technology: proofs of concept and pilots with New York regional transit agencies | Not publishedAnnual challenge-based program created by the MTA and the Partnership Fund for New York City that matches growth-stage companies with the MTA, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, NYC Department of Transportation and NJ TRANSIT. Agencies post challenges each year; selected companies run an eight-week proof of concept with an agency, and promising ones may move to a pilot of up to a year. The FAQ says there are no funding opportunities and that proofs of concept and pilots are unpaid; the applicant terms leave companies owning their intellectual property and contain no equity provision. Companies need a working product with active users and at least one customer, must be independently owned, and must register to do business in New York State before the proof of concept. The 2026 cycle took applications January 8 to February 27, 2026 and selected 18 companies in May 2026. | Not publishedAnnual challenge-based program created by the MTA and the Partnership Fund for New York City that matches growth-stage companies with the MTA, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, NYC Department of Transportation and NJ TRANSIT. Agencies post challenges each year; selected companies run an eight-week proof of concept with an agency, and promising ones may move to a pilot of up to a year. The FAQ says there are no funding opportunities and that proofs of concept and pilots are unpaid; the applicant terms leave companies owning their intellectual property and contain no equity provision. Companies need a working product with active users and at least one customer, must be independently owned, and must register to do business in New York State before the proof of concept. The 2026 cycle took applications January 8 to February 27, 2026 and selected 18 companies in May 2026. | Equity-free | NY | Hybrid | None confirmed | Oct 1, 2026 | Verified |
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