Activate Fellowship
Activate (Activate Global, Inc.)
$100K R&D + stipend ($300K+ total)
Researched for this program: 5 rejection traps · 3 required documentsWhat decides this award ↓
Scientists to founders, zero equity
The Activate Fellowship is a two-year, equity-free program that turns scientists and engineers into hard-tech founders. Each fellow receives $100,000 in research funding plus a living stipend (more than $300,000 total over two years across stipend, R&D, and living expenses), access to world-class national-lab and partner facilities, intensive mentorship, and entrepreneurial curriculum. Activate takes no equity and charges no fees. Fellows are embedded in one of five US innovation communities — Berkeley (with Cyclotron Road at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), Boston, Houston, New York, or Activate Anywhere (an NSF-sponsored model that lets fellows stay in their local ecosystem). It is designed for first-time founders commercializing a hardware-based deep-tech innovation.
- Funding type
- Award
- Level
- Private
- Amount range
- $100,000 – $300,000
- Realistic amount
- Selected fellows receive the full package: $100,000 research funding plus a living stipend, totaling more than $300,000 over two years. There is no partial award — it is a binary fellowship selection.
- Deadline
- US Fellowship Cohort 2027 applications are open and close October 30, 2026 at 12 p.m. PT
- Status
- active
- States
- Nationwide
- Payment model
- milestone
Who qualifies
- Leading the commercial development of a hardware-based technology innovation for the first time
- Bachelor's degree plus 4+ years post-baccalaureate scientific research, engineering, or technology development experience (FAQ also references PhD completion by September of the cohort start year for some tracks)
- Technology still in development — not yet ready for full-scale sales
- Project has raised less than $2M from non-governmental sources
- Committed full-time to the proposed project or company if awarded
- Legally authorized to work in the United States; English proficiency
- Project fits one of Activate's ~16 hard-tech verticals (robotics, sustainable materials, carbon capture, semiconductors, energy, batteries, agriculture, aerospace, transportation, water, etc.)
Is the Activate Fellowship legit?
Yes. Activate, a nonprofit, has backed hard-tech founders since its first cohort in 2015. It charges no fees and takes no equity.
- Who runs it: Activate, a nonprofit
- Since: First cohort in 2015
- Cost: No fees and no equity taken
- What fellows get: A $100,000 living stipend a year plus $100,000 a year of research and development support
Sources: activate.org · page 2 · page 3. Last checked at the funder on October 18, 2026.
Past Activate Fellowship winners
Some of the 2026 fellows:
- Laura White, Andon Bio, Activate Anywhere community · Cohort 2026 (announced July 14, 2026)
- Anthony Berardi, Citrimer, Activate Anywhere community · Cohort 2026 (announced July 14, 2026)
- Solene Moulin, Haven Biofoundry, Activate Anywhere community · Cohort 2026 (announced July 14, 2026)
- Spencer Dansereau, Mach Electric, Activate Anywhere community · Cohort 2026 (announced July 14, 2026)
- Matthew Szarzanowicz, BasidioBio, Activate Berkeley · Cohort 2026 (announced July 14, 2026)
- Bo Xu, Gilly, Activate Berkeley · Cohort 2026 (announced July 14, 2026)
Names as published by Activate (source). GrantCompass is not affiliated with Activate.
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What it covers
Eligible expenses
- Research and development costs
- Living stipend (salary support for the fellow)
- Laboratory space and facility access
- Prototyping and materials
- Common living expenses during the fellowship
How to apply
-
1
Complete the interest form
Submit an interest form on activate.org/apply to receive the application link when the cohort window opens.
~0.5 hrs
-
2
Prepare the written application
Required materials include a blinded one-page resume and a three-page technical vision statement describing the innovation, its current status, and its impact potential.
~20 hrs
-
3
Deliver the technical presentation
Selected semifinalists give a short technical presentation outlining the project's status, innovation, and impact for the review panel.
~12 hrs
-
4
Final selection and community placement
Finalists are selected in early spring and matched to an Activate innovation community (Berkeley, Boston, Houston, New York, or Activate Anywhere). Appointments begin June 1–September 1.
~4 hrs
Activate is explicitly for first-time founders — it screens FOR people who have never commercialized before, which is unusual. The technical vision statement is judged on the science being genuinely hard and defensible, not on a polished business model. The Berkeley track runs through Cyclotron Road at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab; if you need national-lab instrumentation, name the specific facilities you'd use. 'Activate Anywhere' (NSF-sponsored) lets you keep your existing lab/ecosystem instead of relocating — a major draw if you're tied to a university.
Deadline & timing
Runs on an annual cohort cycle. The Cohort 2026 application closed October 28, 2025. The next round (Cohort 2027) is stated to open on September 15 (year inferred 2026), with selections in early spring and two-year appointments beginning between June 1 and September 1. Currently between intakes.
Deadline: October 30, 2026 — put it in your calendar before you close this tab.
Includes reminders one week and one day before. Verify on the official program page — funders move dates.
Applications are open — don’t lose the window
GrantCompass tracks Activate Fellowship’s application windows in the live catalog. Leave an email and we’ll warn you before this window closes — and tell you when the next round opens.
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Programs that stack well
- NSF National Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Teams Program
- DOE SBIR/STTR
- Cyclotron Road
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Last updated October 18, 2026. GrantCompass is an independent funding-discovery tool and is not affiliated with any government agency. Always confirm details on the official program page.