Accelerator terms benchmarks
What US startup accelerators actually publish about money and equity, computed live from our 147 listed, source-cited program records. Every figure below is a median or range of the programs that publish a number, with the sample size shown. We do not impute or estimate missing values.
The headline finding: of 147 listed programs, 81 (55 percent) publish neither an investment amount nor an equity figure. Among the 64 programs that publish a dollar figure, the median first published check size is $100K.
Money and equity by vertical
Median check is the median of the first dollar figure each program publishes. Equity range spans the lowest and highest published percentage. Sample sizes (n) show how many programs publish a figure at all.
| Vertical | Programs | Median check | Equity range | No published terms | Verified in 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AgTech & FoodTech | 5 | $220K (n=3) | 2% to 5% (n=2) | 2 of 5 (40%) | 5 of 5 |
| Biotech & Life Sciences | 8 | $400K (n=2) | none published | 6 of 8 (75%) | 8 of 8 |
| Climate & Energy | 21 | $115K (n=15) | 1.5% to 5% (n=3) | 4 of 21 (19%) | 21 of 21 |
| Cyber | 5 | none published | none published | 5 of 5 (100%) | 5 of 5 |
| Defense & Space | 13 | $100K (n=5) | 5% (n=1) | 8 of 13 (62%) | 13 of 13 |
| EdTech | 7 | $50K (n=5) | 0.5% to 6% (n=3) | 2 of 7 (29%) | 7 of 7 |
| FinTech & InsurTech | 15 | $50K (n=5) | 5% (n=1) | 10 of 15 (67%) | 15 of 15 |
| Generalist & Demographic | 17 | $5K (n=5) | none published | 12 of 17 (71%) | 17 of 17 |
| Hardware & Manufacturing | 6 | $100K (n=6) | 3% to 6.5% (n=2) | 0 of 6 (0%) | 6 of 6 |
| HealthTech & MedTech | 22 | $150K (n=9) | 3% to 8% (n=5) | 13 of 22 (59%) | 22 of 22 |
| Legal & GovTech | 7 | $100K (n=3) | none published | 4 of 7 (57%) | 7 of 7 |
| Mobility & Transport | 7 | $100K (n=1) | none published | 6 of 7 (86%) | 7 of 7 |
| PropTech & Construction | 7 | $200K (n=2) | 4.5% (n=1) | 5 of 7 (71%) | 7 of 7 |
| Sports, Media & Gaming | 7 | $500K (n=3) | 10% (n=1) | 4 of 7 (57%) | 7 of 7 |
Programs by terms model
How many programs in each vertical use each model. Unspecified means the program does not publish enough to classify.
| Vertical | Equity for cash | Non-dilutive | Equity-free | Fee-based | Mixed | Unspecified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AgTech & FoodTech | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Biotech & Life Sciences | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Climate & Energy | 5 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Cyber | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Defense & Space | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| EdTech | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| FinTech & InsurTech | 4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Generalist & Demographic | 0 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Hardware & Manufacturing | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HealthTech & MedTech | 8 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Legal & GovTech | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mobility & Transport | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| PropTech & Construction | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Sports, Media & Gaming | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
How this is computed
Every number is derived from our published program records, each of which shows its source and the date we last verified it. Check sizes read the first dollar figure a program publishes; equity ranges read the published percentages. Programs that publish no figure are counted into the no-terms share rather than estimated. Programs that have ended are left out of every figure on this page (14 right now); their records stay in the directory for reference. Read our methodology, or the guide on how much equity accelerators take. Computed 2026-10-10.