Top 20 biotech accelerators and incubators

Whether you are an entrepreneur just starting your own biotech startup or an established company looking to expand your business, finding the right biotech incubators and accelerators can be very important. As with any kind of startup, there are many different options and choosing the right one can be difficult. Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of the 20 best biotech incubators and accelerators to help you get started.

Y Combinator

Y Combinator is a life science accelerator in Silicon Valley that has fostered a number of notable companies. For example, Ginkgo Bioworks, OMGPOP, Wufo and Reddit are all alumni of the accelerator. In fact, the company has funded a total of 2,285 startups since it was launched in 2005.

Y Combinator is the most prominent seed-stage biotech investor worldwide, and it is also one of the top 20 biotech accelerators and incubators in the United States. It is also one of the most prestigious.

Alchemist Accelerator

Founded by venture capital investors, the Alchemist Accelerator is a venture-backed initiative focused on early-stage startup ventures. This organization provides mentorship, access to investors and a community to startups from around the world. Typically, the program offers an investment of $25,000 for 5% of the shares.

The Alchemist Accelerator has incubated more than 500 startups and raised more than $1.2 billion. This program is also known for its international reach, including its extensive network of strategic partners.

Blue Startups

Located in Hawaii, Blue Startups is one of the most recognized accelerators in the United States. This company focuses on developing scalable technology companies. It provides training, capital and expertise to startups. As of August 2018, it has provided seed funding to 76 of its companies.

Its stated goal is to help entrepreneurs start, grow and succeed in Hawaii. It also has a network of over 120 mentors. It participates in a number of different events.

Generator

gBETA is a free program offered by nationally ranked startup accelerator Gener8tor. In addition to mentoring and guidance, all participants can benefit from access to the global Gener8tor network. This program is designed for startups looking to scale and grow in the medical industry. It is a seven-week program that accepts up to five teams.

RevUp Accelerator

Founded in 2015, RevUp Accelerator is one of the top 20 biotech incubators and accelerators in the world. It provides startups with $75,000 in cash and a dedicated team of growth specialists. In return, startups receive a royalty on revenue earned by their companies over the next 36 months.

The program is free for applicants. It offers mentoring, funding and workspace. Apart from that, it has invested in 20 companies in the past three years.

UMB BioPark

Located on the west side of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) campus, the UMB BioPark is designed to serve as the center for high-growth life science companies. BioPark will be a 12-building complex with nearly 2 million square feet of laboratory and office space when fully completed.

BioPark’s tenants include research, diagnostics, therapeutics and other innovative life science companies. These companies will have access to laboratory and office space, professional services and expert networks. These resources will help startups get started.

Founder Institute

The Founder Institute is an organization that focuses on training and mentoring startup founders. With an estimated portfolio value of $35 billion, the Founder Institute has a portfolio of 4,500 startups. It is also the largest pre-seed startup accelerator. Founded by Jonathan Greechan, Founder Institute has expanded to 225 cities in over 20 countries.

Founder Institute also operates a branch in Zagreb. The center’s incubation program supports ICT, high-tech, green technology and other innovative startup teams. The program’s curriculum includes industry talks, mentorship and market entry strategies.

Launchpad LA

Launchpad LA was founded by Mark Suster of GRP Partners and was launched with a mission to develop the Los Angeles innovation ecosystem. The company is a mentorship-driven accelerator that aims to help passionate startups increase profitability and understand market trends.

The program offers mentoring, funding and networking opportunities and a structured access to investors. It is open to companies with at least $250k in seed funding.

XRC Labs

XRC Labs is an accelerator and venture capital firm located in New York City. This innovative program helps early-stage startups in retail technology, consumer goods and healthcare. It works with the Parsons School of Design at the New School and focuses on encouraging the next generation of disruptors.

The program provides mentorship and support to startups in the early stages. They also provide capital of $60,000. In return, the company receives an ownership stake of 7%.

WKU Small Business Accelerator

Located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, the WKU Small Business Accelerator is a business incubator that provides business support services and expertise to help entrepreneurs achieve their goals. This program has helped nearly 20 startups find success. The program offers free office space, mentorship and networking opportunities.

The program has helped 50 women-founded businesses raise $10 million in funding. The program is designed around a peer-to-peer learning model and includes fundraising strategy curriculum.

Sponsored content brought to you by

Before launching Wild Earth, a synthetic biology startup focused on developing “clean, sustainable and cruelty-free” dog food, Ryan Bethencourt disrupted the broader business of nurturing biotech startups. For example, he co-founded IndieBio, a life sciences accelerator whose 213 funded companies have created a combined $8.3 billion in enterprise value.

In a recent article in Entrepreneur, Bethencourt acknowledged that entrepreneurs have options beyond accelerators. These opportunities include early angel and pre-seed investors. Nevertheless, for many if not most biotech founders, the keys to startup success can be found in incubators and accelerators.

The article by Bethencourt outlined several key characteristics that distinguish the better biotech accelerators and incubators from the lesser ones:

This article lists the top 20 incubators and accelerators for which “number of investments” and “number of exits” were available. Most of these numbers were compiled and published earlier this year by Failory, a website for startup founders and entrepreneurs; the rest came from other public sources as indicated.

In addition to investment and business exit counts, the list presents location information and website addresses. The list also shows contact information of interest to startups.

Two companies that almost made this list also did not appear on Failory’s original list. They are LabCentral (which operates three facilities in Cambridge, MA) and Y Combinator (which is based in Mountain View, CA). At deadline, biotech-specific investment and exit figures for these firms were not available. However, aggregate numbers for all industries served were available to Y Combinator, which nurtures startups of various kinds, not just biotech startups. The firm facilitated 5,618 investments and 1,216 exits, according to PitchBook.

1. Alchemist Accelerator

Founder and CEO: Ravi Belani

Locations: San Francisco, California and Munich, Germany

Number of investments: 563

Number of exits: 41

Website: www.alchemistaccelerator.com

Contact: Annika Lauer, Program Director, [email protected]

2. QB3

CEO: David Schaffer, PhD1

Locations: University of California (UC) Berkeley; UC San Francisco; and UC Santa Cruz

Number of investments: 411

Number of outputs: 126

Website: qb3.org

Contact: Kaspar Mossman, CEO of QB3; [email protected]

3. Johnson & Johnson Innovation—JLABS

Global Head of JLABS, Johnson & Johnson Innovation: Melinda Richter2

Locations: [email protected] Diego, [email protected] (South San Francisco, CA); [email protected] (Texas Medical Center, Houston); [email protected]; [email protected] (Beerse, Belgium); [email protected] (New York City); [email protected]; and [email protected], DC3

Number of investments: 3404

Number of outputs: 534

Website: jlabs.jnjinnovation.com

Contact: jlabsresidency.smapply.io

4. StartX (Stanford-StartX Fund)

CEO: Joseph Huang

Locations: Palo Alto, CA

Number of investments: 333

Number of outputs: 63