Startup Accelerator Acceptance Rates in 2026: YC, a16z speedrun, Techstars & More

Top startup accelerators are now harder to get into than any university in the world. Y Combinator accepts under 1% of applicants, and a16z speedrun says it accepts fewer than 0.4%. Here are the latest published acceptance rates for the programs founders apply to most, where each number comes from, and what the data means for your application.

Acceptance Rates at a Glance

Most accelerators don't publish acceptance rates regularly, and many of the numbers floating around the internet are guesses repeated until they look like facts. The table below only includes figures published by the programs themselves. Where a program hasn't published one, we say so.

Y Combinator: Under 1%

The most recent acceptance figure YC has published is for its Winter 2024 batch: 260 companies selected from more than 27,000 applications, which YC itself described as "an acceptance rate under 1%."^[1]YC hasn't published application counts for its 2025 or 2026 batches, so any newer rate you see quoted elsewhere is an estimate.

What has changed is how often YC runs batches. YC now invests "four times a year,"^[2] with Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall batches. Based on the public YC company directory, recent batches have ranged from roughly 145 to 230 companies each.^[13] More batches means more total spots per year, but it doesn't mean the bar has dropped. It means you get more chances to apply, and less waiting between them.

a16z speedrun: Under 0.4%

Andreessen Horowitz's speedrun accelerator is now arguably the most selective program in the world. Its FAQ states that "fewer than 0.4% of applicants are accepted," and that recent residencies have had 70 to 80 companies.^[3] For the SR006 cohort, speedrun reported that over 19,000 startups applied and just over 70 were selected.^[4][5]

speedrun's volume is driven in part by its terms: up to $1M per company. If it fits your startup, it's worth applying. Just treat it as a long shot, like YC, and apply to several programs in parallel.

Techstars: Under 1% for Most Programs

Techstars said that in 2023, "most of our accelerator programs had less than a 1% acceptance rate."^[6]It has also been making each class smaller. CEO David Cohen wrote in 2025 that Techstars is targeting around eight investments per class, down from twelve.^[7] Smaller classes with the same application volume means each seat is more competitive.

The upside with Techstars is that it runs many programs across cities and industries. You're not competing against every applicant, only those applying to the same program. A vertical-specific program that fits your startup closely can be a better bet than a general one.

Antler: 0.5% to 1%, Depending on Region

Antler is unusual because it invests at the pre-team, pre-idea stage, and it publishes selectivity by region rather than globally:

• Japan: about 0.5% of 2,100+ applicants in a year were backed.^[8]
• Nordics: investment selectivity of 0.6%.^[9]
• MENAP: 25,000+ applications to date, with under 1% accepted.^[10]

Note that Antler's figures measure who it ultimately invests in. Getting into the residency is an earlier, less selective step.

Programs That Don't Publish a Rate

Several well-known programs don't publish acceptance rates at all. Instead, here's what they do say:

• PearX accepts no more than 25 teams per cohort, with two cohorts a year.^[12]
• Plug and Play reported 2,800+ startups accelerated and 250+ new investments in 2025.^[11] It runs large corporate-partner programs, so its admissions work differently from a single-batch accelerator.
• Entrepreneurs First and 500 Global haven't published official rates. Third-party estimates vary widely, so we don't repeat them here.

What This Means for Your Application

Single-digit acceptance rates sound brutal, but a large share of applications are early ideas, solo side projects, or rushed submissions. You can't control the volume. You can control how clearly your application shows that you're worth funding. Three things move the needle:

1. Apply to several programs, not one. With rates this low, even great teams get rejected. YC's four batches a year and Techstars' many city and vertical programs mean you can apply often without long gaps.
2. Make your application easy to say yes to. Reviewers read thousands of applications. A one-sentence description anyone can understand, specific traction numbers, and a short, clear founder video stand out from the pile.
3. Show progress between applications. Many accepted founders were rejected the first time. Reapplying with real growth since your last application is one of the strongest signals you can send.

XRaze helps you do all three. It tracks deadlines across programs and uses AI to tailor your answers to what each accelerator looks for, so you can apply widely without sending a generic application everywhere.