Techstars London Accelerator, $220K for 5% plus a SAFE
For $220,000, Techstars takes at least 5% of a company in common stock, plus whatever a $200,000 uncapped MFN SAFE later converts into. Applications for the Techstars London Accelerator close on 18 November.
The dates on the London page: applications opened on 24 August, the program starts on 8 March 2027 and Demo Day is on 3 June 2027. Techstars describes its accelerators as three months. The page does not state the investment terms or the cohort size, and it names no sponsor.
The terms come from the Techstars investment terms update of 17 April 2025 and a Techstars support article, which says $220,000 applies to "the vast majority of our programs". The only exception named is Asia-Pacific, with a $100,000 uncapped MFN SAFE. The home page says "every company gets $220K in capital". We found nothing that says whether London is an exception.
- $200,000 through an uncapped MFN post-money SAFE. It has no valuation cap. It adopts the lowest cap or other most favourable terms, such as a discount, of any SAFE the company issues between about the start of the class and the priced round. It converts in a priced round of at least $1 million. The Techstars example: at a $20 million pre-money next round, it converts into about 1% additional ownership.
- $20,000 through a convertible equity agreement for 5% common stock on a post-money basis, also converting in a priced round of at least $1 million.
- A side letter with pro rata, digital assets and drag-along rights. The company also has to send Techstars its key operating metrics, burn and more.
- No fee. Before the $20,000 is wired, Techstars runs background, incorporation, ownership, IP and bank account checks. It invests in US corporations or foreign equivalents. A company incorporated in a non-approved country, India in the example, has to reorganise first.
A different model from the same house: on 14 October, Techstars announced its Fall 2026 Founder Catalyst Global cohort, 27 startups in a 10-week virtual program that it calls "free, and equity-free".
Who pays: Techstars itself invests the $220,000. How Techstars funds those investments is not stated in the sources we read.
The track record, by Techstars's own count and undated: its home page shows 11,171 founders, $57 billion in capital raised, 29 unicorns and a combined market cap of $325 billion. The April 2025 update said alumni companies had raised over $30 billion, were valued at more than $120 billion, and included 21 unicorns. We cannot say what explains the gap. In the same note, CEO David Cohen said applications have tripled since 2021.
Not published on the pages we read: the acceptance rate and the number of London places.