Apply to Neo Accelerator 2025!
The 2025 deadline has passed. You may still apply, and we’ll reach out if we’d like more info.
Join a cohort of 20 awesome technical teams building tomorrow's epic companies.
All-expenses paid bootcamp in Oregon & SF office space
Maximize your productivity and build lasting relationships. Live and work with founders and mentors for the first month of our intensive 3-month program. After the bootcamp, you'll have the option to continue building alongside the cohort in our beautiful SF office space for the rest of the program.
Access to world-class mentors & tech leaders
Learn from fabled founders and seasoned operators like Fuzzy Khosrowshahi (Google Sheets Founder, Notion CTO), Melissa Tan (Webflow & Dropbox Head of Growth), Kyle Parrish (Figma VP Sales), and more. Meet industry leaders at intimate events and 1:1 sessions.
OpenAI & Microsoft benefits, community, & more
Get dedicated mentors, GPUs, and $350K+ in credits from Microsoft and OpenAI. Join a supportive community of tech veterans and founders. Hire star engineers using our recruiting platform alongside Ramp, Notion, and others. Redeem discounts on our curated deals page and save on essential tools.
Follow in the foosteps of great Neo-backed startups, such as:
Bluesky
Cursor
Kalshi
Vanta
Moment
Sapien
Caldera
Cassidy
… and more. The above startups did Neo Accelerator or raised seed funding from us.
Join a cohort of 20 awesome tech startups.
Join a tight-knit group of today's most promising startup founders and build lasting connections. We'll accept teams and solo technical founders based in North America.
Diversity is a core pillar of Neo, from our team to the startups we support. Since inception, 45% of our capital has backed female or underrepresented minority CEOs.
Live and work alongside mentors and founders.
To kick off the 3-month program, live and work alongside mentors and other founders at a month-long all-inclusive mountain retreat in Sunriver, Oregon (Jul 13 - Aug 6). Bond over late nights in our private co-working space replete with monitors, snacks, caffeine, and meeting booths. Build lifelong relationships over meals, hikes, and other activities.
Meet mentors and VIPs at workshops and talks, and connect serendipitously over meals and activities.
Continue building with the cohort in San Francisco (optional).
Throughout the program, you'll have the option to co-work out of our shared office space in the heart of SF. Reinforce your relationships from the bootcamp and integrate into the broader Neo community through exclusive in-person events and programming.
Finish the program with another all-inclusive trip to Arizona (Oct 1 - 5), culminating in a Demo Day where you pitch world-class investors, tech veterans, engineers, and the extended Neo community.
Work with world-class mentors.
Mentorship is at the heart of Neo – we believe in giving more than we receive, and our mentors exemplify this mindset. Meet weekly with your primary mentor – an experienced founder and/or life-long early-stage operator. Attend workshops and 1:1 office hours with diverse domain experts for deep dives into your industry or to hone in on a specific skill.
Ali Partovi
Neo CEO / LinkExchange Co-founder
Anand Subramani
Rula SVP / Pilot VP Product
Ari Steinberg
Vamo Founder / Airbnb & Facebook Seattle Director
Ben Newhouse
OpenAI Technical Staff / Dropbox Head of Sync / Bubbli Founder
Ben Smith
Veteran Googler
Camille Ricketts
XYZ Ventures Partner / Notion Head of Brand
Claire Shorall
Medley Head of Biz Ops / Topknot CEO
Fuzzy Khosrowshahi
Notion CTO / Slack VP / Google Sheets Founder
Gabriela de Queiroz
Microsoft Director of AI
Govind Kamtamneni
Microsoft Principal AI Engineer
Henrik Berggren
Big Health VP Product / Steady Health Founder & CEO
Jason Dorfman
Orum CEO / Rubrik Head of Sales
Kyle Parrish
Figma VP Sales / AtSpoke Head of Sales (acq. Okta)
Lewis Liu
Chief AI Officer at Sirion / Eigen Founder & CEO
Lin-Hua Wu
G.M. SVP & CCO / Google VP / Dropbox CCO
Marcus Gomez
Luminous Co-founder & CEO
Megan Schmit
InvestCloud Head of Sales
Melissa Tan
Webflow & Dropbox Head of Growth
Pavla Bobosikova
WFHomie Founder (acq. by GoCo.io)
Pierre Martin
Gavel CTO / Beacon CTO
Rafael Garcia
Clever Co-founder & CTO
Russell Kaplan
Cognition President / Scale AI Dir of Eng / Helia Co-founder
Shyamal Anadkat
OpenAI Applied AI
Suzanne Xie
Neo Partner / 3x founder / Stripe / Twitter
Learn from tech icons and VIPs.
Connect with inspiring tech leaders at intimate fireside chats, 1:1 office hours, and unforgettable events. Below are examples of past Neo speakers and VIP attendees.
Pitch top VCs with hands-on fundraising help at Demo Day.
End the program by pitching an audience of top-tier investors and raise your next round with play-by-play coaching and personalized support. Neo Accelerator companies have gone on to raise from great VC funds including A16z, Khosla, Sequoia, and Thrive.
Hire star engineers from an incredible talent pool.
Hiring engineers is the challenge that makes or breaks startups, and we have a track record of crushing it. Hire exceptional talent using our unrivaled recruiting platform alongside iconic companies like OpenAI, Notion, and Ramp. Your Demo Day pitch will also reach brilliant engineers in our community looking for their next opportunity.
Since 2017, our Neo Scholars program has attracted America's top CS students, and we help them find great startups that match their passions.
Get AI support from Microsoft & OpenAI plus curated deals.
Redeem credits and discounts on our curated deals page and save on essential tools such as Dropbox, Hubspot, Stripe, and more. Get exclusive support and access to build with the best of generative AI.
Access to leading AI researchers at OpenAI and Microsoft, including in-person office hours at our bootcamp.
Priority access to high-end GPU virtual machine clusters for training and running LLMs and other deep-learning models.
$350K in OpenAI & Azure Credits to cover computing costs and use the latest GPT & Dall-E models.
Additional benefits included with the highest tier of Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub, such as Github Enterprise, Microsoft 365, LinkedIn Premium, and more.
Receive funding on flexible, founder-friendly terms.
We'll fund you with a two-part deal:
- $600K uncapped safe with a $10M Floor Valuation
- 1.5% in common stock
The Neo Uncapped Safe with Floor Valuation will convert to equity at a valuation that's based on your next financing and no less than the Floor Valuation. The $10M Floor essentially sets a "dilution cap" of 6% for our $600K investment. Our ownership will be proportionally lower if you raise at a valuation above $10M in a qualifying subsequent round by year end. The safe grants us pro rata rights to invest more in your next equity round to bring our ownership back up to a max of 6%.
Together with the 1.5% in common stock, this deal gives us a path to own up to 7.5% of your company if we exercise all our pro rata rights. It gives you $600K upfront, while postponing setting a valuation for this investment until your next fundraise.
We also give all founders an incentive to help each other. Get economic participation in our fund’s carry, equivalent to the profit from $10,000 of “money at work.” This vests after 1 year, as long as you’re still full-time at your startup or join another Neo portfolio company.
Transparent standard documents
Here are the documents we'll expect you to sign if we accept your application. These documents have been vetted by dozens of other startups with advice from law firms experienced in startup financing.
- $600K Neo Uncapped Safe with $10M Floor Valuation - see explanation and public comments.
- 1.5% Common Stock Purchase Agreement - at founder/employee purchase price.
- Letter Agreement - this governs our long-term relationship with you, including typical investment terms such as information and pro rata rights.
Potential upfront investment by industry leaders
When you apply to Neo, opt-in to have your pitch shared with a select group of investors who might back you alongside us. Get world-class names on your team before the program even starts.
Join a lifelong veteran community of 300+ tech leaders.
Join a passionate network that spans from Neo Scholars to industry veterans and tech icons. Use our community Slack to help others and get instant advice from some of tech’s brightest minds. Connect in-person at Neo events and informal meetups. In time, meet some of the renowned leaders that have funded Neo, and hopefully one day you’ll be one of them.
FAQ
How do I know if my application is complete?
Can I make changes to my application after it’s submitted?
What does the application process look like and when can I expect to hear back?
What criteria do you use to choose accelerator participants?
Do you accept solo or non-technical founders?
Do you invest in international teams?
Are there any restrictions regarding the stage, industry, founder age, etc.?
Is there a way to expedite the review process if I’m fundraising, applying to other accelerators, or receive a term sheet after applying?
What type of mentorship will teams receive?