Startup accelerators in New York: the programs that bring you to NYC, and for how long

The startup accelerators based in New York City, on our list, are Entrepreneurs Roundtable (ERA), Techstars NYC, Betaworks Camp and the MetaProp Accelerator at Columbia University. Of those, ERA keeps you in the city for the whole program: four months, in person, at its space. Techstars NYC is hybrid, with in-person weeks at the start and in the middle and a demo day. Betaworks Camp runs 12 weeks in the Meatpacking District and requires the first and final two weeks in person. MetaProp runs a 22-week program for real estate technology.

Other programs put part of their program in New York. SOSV and the South Park Commons Founder Fellowship count the city as one of their sites, Antler has an office there, Alliance opens and closes its program in the city, Forum Ventures keeps office space there, and Endless Frontier Labs holds two of its Meeting Days at NYU Stern. Below is what each program's own page says about where you work and for how long, as we read it on 2 October 2026.

The table shows each program's terms in the short form our posters use. What each deal is worth, with the arithmetic, is in how much equity accelerators take.

01The short answer: how long you'd be in New York

• ERA: four months, working from its space.
• Techstars NYC: about three months, hybrid: the first two weeks, one week in the middle and demo day in person.
• Betaworks Camp: 12 weeks; the first and final two weeks in person are required, the rest is encouraged.
• MetaProp Accelerator: 22 weeks at Columbia University; its page doesn't say how much of it is in person.
• SOSV: four to six months, if you join its New York site rather than Newark or San Francisco.
• South Park Commons Founder Fellowship: an eight-week bootcamp, in New York if you pick that office.
• Antler: in person at one of its US offices, New York among them.
• Alliance: the first two weeks and the final week; the weeks between are remote.
• Forum Ventures: no set time; it has office space in the city and works with founders remotely.
• Endless Frontier Labs: two working days at NYU Stern over nine months.

Deadlines change every batch. The live dates are in the Next deadlines strip in room 03, each with the day we read it.

02Programs based in New York

ERA (Entrepreneurs Roundtable) describes itself in one line:

A026Entrepreneurs Roundtable·In their words

“Early stage fund and technology accelerator located in New York City that runs two, four month programs per year.”

Its FAQ (opens in a new tab), read on 2 October 2026, gives the calendar: "ERA runs two four-month programs per year, starting in January and June." The same FAQ expects companies to work out of the ERA space (remote accelerators quotes the answer). It also says what it looks for in a company: "We look for companies best able to take full advantage of the New York City opportunity as a starting point to successfully enter the market for their product, service or application."

ERA takes applications from outside the city, but the trip to the final round is on you: "No, we do not reimburse any interview-related travel expenses." If you're coming from outside the US, read its answers on visas and on where the company has to be incorporated in accelerators for international founders first. ERA on the list.

Techstars NYC. Techstars runs many programs; this is its New York one. Its program page (opens in a new tab), read on 2 October 2026: "Founders can be based anywhere, but will leverage New York's diversity of industry and capital throughout the program. The format is hybrid, with in-person sessions at the start, midpoint, and demo day." The FAQ further down the page is more exact: "The program format is hybrid, with in-person sessions for the first two weeks, one in-person week in the middle, and a demo day at the end."

So plan for about three weeks in the city plus demo day. The same page dates the next program: it starts on 8 March 2027, with demo day on 3 June 2027. The deal is the same as at every Techstars program and is compared in YC vs Techstars vs a16z speedrun; programs with a similar check are in Techstars alternatives. Techstars on the list.

Betaworks Camp. Each camp is built around one theme, lately always AI (the themes are in AI startup accelerators), and the whole cohort works from Betaworks' office. Its camp page (opens in a new tab), read on 2 October 2026: "Camp takes place in-person at the Betaworks offices in NYC's Meatpacking District, where teams will have access to shared workspace, desks, and conference rooms. We require teams to participate IRL for the first and final two weeks and encourage them to stay in NYC for the entire session, but hybrid options are available."

The rest of its FAQ answers the practical questions:

• How long: "Camp runs for 12 weeks, culminating in a Demo Day."
• When: "The first Camp session runs March through May (applications open Dec - Jan). The second session runs August through November (applications open June - July)."
• What it costs you: "We don't charge anything to participate in Camp. Your only expense would be travel costs to/from NYC, and housing while here."
• Who can apply: "No, we accept applications from companies based anywhere in the world." That is its answer to "Do I need to be US-based to apply?"

The header of the camp page still names a 2025 camp; its application page, read the same day, says applications for the current camp have closed and that it begins this fall. Its check is quoted in Y Combinator alternatives. Betaworks Camp on the list.

MetaProp Accelerator at Columbia University. MetaProp is a venture firm for real estate technology:

A031MetaProp·In their words

“We are the investors, innovators and leaders of PropTech shaping the future of real estate technology”

Its accelerator page (opens in a new tab), read on 2 October 2026: "The MetaProp Accelerator at Columbia University is the world’s premier PropTech accelerator program in the heart of New York city." The same page calls it "Our intensive 22-week program". It lists its cohorts up to 2025 and gives no date for the next one, and it doesn't say how many of the 22 weeks you spend in the city. Ask both before you plan around it. MetaProp on the list.

03New York as one of several sites

SOSV. Its home page (opens in a new tab), read on 2 October 2026: "SOSV is the world’s most active deep tech venture capital firm investing at pre-seed, with deeply resourced locations for founders in New York, Newark, and San Francisco." The same page says what each city offers: "Silicon Valley’s investor networks, New York’s corporate and healthcare ecosystem, and Newark’s embedded design engineering and prototyping." Founders join one site, for months, and SOSV backs only teams with more than one founder; both rules are quoted in accelerators in San Francisco. What it backs is in deep tech accelerators. SOSV on the list.

South Park Commons Founder Fellowship. Its Fall 2026 fellowship page (opens in a new tab), read on 2 October 2026: "All Fellows work from one of our offices in San Francisco, New York City, or Bangalore for the duration of the bootcamp. Afterward, teams can relocate to wherever they plan to build, though we encourage staying in a city with an SPC location." The bootcamp is "Eight weeks, in person, in a small cohort." The table shows when the next intake opens; its terms are in how much equity accelerators take. South Park Commons Founder Fellowship on the list.

Antler works in person at its US offices in New York, San Francisco and Austin. Its terms and format, next to Entrepreneur First's, are in Antler vs Entrepreneur First. Antler on the list.

04A few weeks or days in the city

Alliance, for crypto and fintech startups. Its home page (opens in a new tab), read on 2 October 2026, sets out the schedule: "2-week in-person onboarding followed by an 8-week fully remote program for global participants." The page puts weeks 1 and 2 in New York City, weeks 3 to 9 remote, and week 10, demo day, back in New York. In between, the city is your choice: "Alliance founders get access to our NYC office in SoHo – most teams work from it daily during the program". Alliance on the list.

Forum Ventures, for B2B software. Its accelerator page (opens in a new tab), read on 2 October 2026: "While we have office space available in our three locations – Toronto, New York City, and San Francisco – we are happy to work with founders remotely, wherever they may reside." The same answer encourages office visits and mentions regular founder events in each city. Who it funds is quoted in SaaS accelerators, and its Toronto office puts it in accelerators outside the US too. Forum Ventures on the list.

Endless Frontier Labs, the nonprofit program at NYU Stern, meets in New York on two of its five Meeting Days; remote accelerators quotes the schedule. Being an NYU program doesn't mean you need NYU. Its FAQ (opens in a new tab), read on 2 October 2026, answers "Do I need an NYU or NYC affiliation to apply?" with, among other things: "No prior connection to NYU is required, and most of our admitted founders have none." It takes no equity (accelerators that take no equity). Endless Frontier Labs on the list.

Activate, the fellowship for scientists, counts New York among its cities. Its communities page (opens in a new tab), read on 2 October 2026: "Quarterly in-person trips to Activate locations (New York, Boston, Berkeley, and Houston) provide opportunities to connect with local fellows, tour labs, and engage in peer learning." Who can apply is quoted in deep tech accelerators. Activate on the list.

Z Fellows ends its mostly virtual week with a day in SF or New York (accelerators for young founders). Z Fellows on the list.

05AngelPad: application closed

AngelPad describes itself as "a seed-stage accelerator program based in NYC and San Francisco". Its home page, read on 2 October 2026, says: "The application is currently closed." It names no next batch, so we have taken it off the public list while we check whether it runs another one. If another list sends you there, check its home page before you plan around it.

06Before you plan a stay in New York

The pages above answer some of the questions a stay in the city raises. Side by side:

1. How long, and which weeks. From two working days (Endless Frontier Labs) to four months (ERA). Techstars NYC and Betaworks Camp fix certain weeks and leave the rest to you; Alliance fixes the first two weeks and the last.
2. When. ERA starts in January and June, Betaworks Camp in March and August, and Techstars NYC's next program on 8 March 2027.
3. Who pays for the trip. ERA doesn't pay for interview travel, and Betaworks says your only cost is travel and housing. Ask the others, and budget for New York rent before you accept.
4. What the program backs. MetaProp is for real estate technology, Alliance for crypto and fintech, Forum Ventures for B2B software and SOSV for deep tech. ERA and Techstars NYC take a wider range.
5. Whether you can work in the US. ERA says work visas are your job; others say they help. Their words are in accelerators for international founders.

If New York is too far, the programs that run mostly online are in remote accelerators, and the ones that put you in the Bay Area are in accelerators in San Francisco. Put the programs you'll apply to in My launch with the + on each poster:

07How we checked

Every quote comes from the program's own page. We read the pages of ERA, Techstars NYC, Betaworks Camp, MetaProp, SOSV, South Park Commons, Alliance, Forum Ventures, Endless Frontier Labs and AngelPad on 2 October 2026; the Activate quote is from our check of its page the same day. A program is in this guide only when its own page puts some part of the program in New York City. We don't take part in these programs and don't know their acceptance rates, so we don't rank them. Dates and formats change between batches: read the program's current page before you sign a lease. Each table row and poster shows the date of our last link check.

Nobody pays to be listed or to appear in a guide. Read how we check for the details.

08Questions

01

Which startup accelerators are based in New York?

On our list: Entrepreneurs Roundtable (ERA), Techstars NYC, Betaworks Camp and the MetaProp Accelerator at Columbia University. SOSV, the South Park Commons Founder Fellowship and Antler count New York as one of several sites, and Alliance, Forum Ventures and Endless Frontier Labs bring founders to the city for part of the program. We don't rank them.

02

Do I have to live in New York for an NYC accelerator?

Not for most. Techstars NYC says founders can be based anywhere, with in-person weeks at the start and in the middle and a demo day. Betaworks Camp requires its first and final two weeks in person. Forum Ventures works with founders remotely. ERA is the exception: it expects companies to work out of its space for its four-month program.

03

Is Techstars NYC in person?

It is hybrid. Its page says the program has in-person sessions for the first two weeks, one in-person week in the middle and a demo day at the end, and that founders can be based anywhere.

04

How long do New York accelerators last?

ERA runs four months, Techstars NYC about three, Betaworks Camp twelve weeks and the MetaProp Accelerator twenty-two weeks. The South Park Commons bootcamp is eight weeks. Endless Frontier Labs runs nine months but asks for only two days in New York.

05

Can founders from outside the US join an NYC accelerator?

ERA, Betaworks Camp, Techstars NYC and Endless Frontier Labs all say they take applications from anywhere. ERA also says founders are responsible for any work visas they need. What each program says about visas is in accelerators for international founders.