British Tech Accelerator Directory

The useful question about an accelerator is not how prestigious it is. It is what it puts in, what it takes out, and how long it holds you. Those three numbers are published by most programmes and are almost never listed side by side.

Below are nine UK programmes with their current terms, taken from each programme’s own site and checked in August 2026. Terms change between cohorts, so verify before you sign anything.

The terms, side by side

Programme	Puts in	Takes	Length	Base
Techstars London	$220,000	5% common, plus the SAFE conversion	3 months	London
Entrepreneur First	$125,000, up to $250,000	8% post-money	12 weeks, then 12 in SF	London
Antler UK	£210,000 at inception	8.5% plus a note	8-week residency	London
Carbon13	Venture builder investment	Equity, terms per cohort	8 months	Cambridge
Conception X	Investment for top teams	Equity for funded teams	9 months, alongside a PhD	UK-wide
SETsquared	No standard investment	No equity for incubation	Open-ended	6 universities
Bethnal Green Ventures	Pre-seed investment	Equity	Cohort-based	London
Founders Factory	Varies by partner programme	Equity	Varies	London
Cyber Runway	No cash investment	Nothing	Cohort-based	UK-wide

Two of the nine take no equity. That is worth knowing before you give away 8% of a company.

The detail that matters

Techstars London. The standard Techstars deal is now $220,000: $200,000 through an uncapped MFN SAFE and $20,000 through a post-money convertible equity agreement, which converts to 5% of the company in common stock. The SAFE converts at a priced round of at least $1m. The programme runs three months and is mentorship-driven. Asia-Pacific programmes offer a smaller $120,000 package, so check which entity you are dealing with.

Entrepreneur First. Structurally different from the rest. You apply alone, not as a team, and form a co-founding pair during the programme. EF invests $125,000 for 8% on a post-money SAFE, with a further $125,000 available from EF and Transpose Platform if you relocate to San Francisco. On signing you get a £6,000 talent investment towards living costs. FORM is 12 weeks in London, LAUNCH is 12 weeks in San Francisco for funded teams. If no company forms, EF takes no equity and you owe nothing.

Antler UK. The most expensive headline and the most transparent about it. £210,000 at inception breaks down as £125,000 for 8.5% equity, an £85,000 convertible note, and a £40,000 programme fee. The residency is eight weeks in London at four to six days a week in person. Solo founders are not eligible. Follow-on is up to £330,000 in the next round and up to £25m through Antler Elevate. It backs fewer than 1% of applicants, and the next cohort starts 23 September 2026.

Carbon13. A climate venture builder rather than an accelerator, in Cambridge and Berlin. The Cambridge programme runs eight months for around 80 participants who do not yet have a startup and want to find co-founders. There is also a separate Venture Accelerator for pre-seed companies raising a first round. It has backed over 100 ventures since 2021, and screens on one hard test: can this reduce or remove 10 million tonnes of CO2e a year at scale.

Conception X. For technical PhD researchers, and designed to run alongside the doctorate rather than replace it. Venture Scientist 100 takes about 100 researchers a year over nine months. It reports 205 startups created, more than 700 founders through the programme, and researchers from 92 universities.

SETsquared. A university partnership, not an equity investor. Six research-intensive institutions run it: Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey. Support runs through six specialist centres across southern England and Wales, with investment-readiness programmes on top. It reports over 5,000 companies incubated and £5bn raised with its help.

Bethnal Green Ventures. Tech for good, at the earliest stage. It targets climate, inequality and health, and is often a company’s first investor. Cohorts are periodic, so check the current application window before planning around it.

Founders Factory. Runs both a venture studio, where it co-founds companies, and corporate-backed accelerators. Current programmes include the Aviva Fintech Accelerator alongside partner programmes in Australia. Sectors are fintech, industrials, health and deep tech, and it reports backing over 500 startups. Because terms sit with the corporate partner, they vary by programme.

Cyber Runway. Funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and delivered by Plexal. The key term is the absence of one: members keep 100% of their IP and equity. It has run 48 startups across five streams including Grow, Scale X, Ignite and critical national infrastructure. Applications for the next cohort were closed when this page was checked.

Accelerator or incubator

The words get used interchangeably and the difference is real:

an accelerator is time-limited, usually three to six months, cohort-based, and normally invests cash for equity with a demo day at the end
an incubator has a flexible timeline, provides space and mentoring, and often takes no equity at all

SETsquared is an incubator. Techstars is an accelerator. Carbon13 and Antler are venture builders, which sit between the two: they help form the company itself rather than scaling one that already exists.

Level39 is not an accelerator

Worth stating plainly, because it is listed as one almost everywhere. Level39 is a paid membership workspace and community at One Canada Square, Canary Wharf. It is home to more than 180 startup and scaleup companies across fintech, cyber, AI and life sciences. Membership runs on monthly fees rather than equity, and there is no cohort, no fixed programme and no investment as standard.

That does not make it less useful. It makes it a different product, and confusing the two wastes an application.

Applying

Match before you apply. Every programme above screens on stage and sector. A pre-team applicant belongs at Entrepreneur First or Antler, not at Techstars. A climate hardware idea belongs at Carbon13.
Check the equity-free routes first. Cyber Runway and SETsquared cost you nothing in ownership. If one fits, exhaust it before selling 8%.
Read the fee line. Antler’s £40,000 programme fee is part of the £210,000 figure, not additional support. Programmes that charge fees are not automatically worse, but the net cash is what matters.
Apply to several. Selection rates are brutal. Antler backs under 1% of applicants and says so.
Expect full-time commitment. Antler asks for four to six days a week in person. Conception X is the exception, built to run alongside a PhD.

Frequently asked questions

Which UK accelerator invests the most?

Antler UK, at £210,000 at inception, though £40,000 of that is a programme fee rather than cash into the business. Techstars London is next at $220,000. Entrepreneur First puts in $125,000 up front, rising to $250,000 if you relocate to San Francisco for the second half.

Are there UK accelerators that do not take equity?

Yes. Cyber Runway, funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and delivered by Plexal, takes no equity and no IP. SETsquared’s university incubation does not take equity either. Both are worth exhausting before you sell a stake.

What is the difference between an accelerator and an incubator?

An accelerator is time-limited, usually three to six months, runs in cohorts and normally invests cash for equity. An incubator has an open timeline, provides space and mentoring, and often takes nothing. Venture builders such as Antler and Carbon13 sit between the two, because they help form the company rather than scale an existing one.

Is Level39 an accelerator?

No, despite being listed as one nearly everywhere. It is a paid membership workspace and community at One Canada Square in Canary Wharf, home to more than 180 startup and scaleup companies. There is no cohort, no fixed programme and no standard investment.

Can I apply to an accelerator without a co-founder?

Yes, to some. Entrepreneur First takes solo applicants by design and you form a team during the programme. Antler explicitly does not accept solo founders. Conception X is built for individual PhD researchers and runs alongside the doctorate.

What this page dropped

The previous version claimed 180 or more active UK programmes and £2.4bn of total investment, plus regional counts for London, Manchester, Cambridge and Edinburgh. None of it was sourced, and published counts vary widely depending on how an accelerator is defined. If you need a count, Beauhurst’s accelerator research publishes its method along with its numbers, which is the part that matters.

Three specific claims were wrong rather than just unsourced:

Techstars London was listed as investing £100,000 over 13 weeks. The current standard deal is $220,000 over three months.
Level39 was listed as an accelerator with a six-month programme. It is a membership workspace.
Monzo and Deliveroo were given as accelerator success stories with current valuations of £4.5bn and £5.1bn. Neither company’s route through an accelerator was documented, and Deliveroo is no longer independent: DoorDash completed its acquisition on 2 October 2025, valuing it at about £2.9bn.