Breakthrough Energy Fellows vs Activate Fellowship
How Breakthrough Energy Fellows and Activate Fellowship compare on investment, equity, format, stage and timing. Every figure comes from the programs' own sites, verified November 4, 2026.
| Breakthrough Energy Fellows | Activate Fellowship | |
|---|---|---|
| Investment | $500K | $200K |
| Equity | Not published | No equity |
| Deal terms | Up to $500K in R&D support per project (third-party figure, cited by TechCrunch in 2024; not stated on the current application page), plus in-kind resources. The official pages do not state equity terms. Applicants have typically raised less than $2M in dilutive funding and must be incorporated before the program starts. | No fee or equity. Fellows get a $100K-per-year living stipend, $100K in R&D support, $12K per year for travel and professional development, a health insurance stipend and a relocation allowance. The investment_usd figure is the first-year stipend plus R&D support. Optional extra funding opportunities offered through Activate may take equity. Activate claims no rights to fellows' IP. |
| Format | Hybrid | Hybrid |
| Headquarters | Kirkland, United States | Berkeley, United States |
| Stage | idea, pre-seed, seed | idea, pre-seed |
| Sectors | climate, energy, deep tech, industrials, agrifood | deep tech, climate, energy, hardware, industrials |
| Duration | 1 year (Innovator Fellowship) | 2 years |
| Application cycle | Annual cohort; Explorer and Business Fellow applications are reviewed on a rolling basis | Annual |
Investment is the full standard package; where part of it is an uncapped SAFE, the equity stake covers only the fixed part (see deal terms). Terms change; confirm on each official site before applying.
About
Breakthrough Energy Fellows
Breakthrough Energy Fellows is the climate tech fellowship of Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy. It backs early-stage innovators whose technology could cut at least 500 million tons of emissions a year, or meaningfully help with climate adaptation. The Innovator Fellowship is a full-time, one-year program with grant funding and in-kind support. Explorer grants support university-lab projects. Fellows can be anywhere in the world and do not have to relocate.
Notable alumni: Mars Materials, Borealis Fusion, K1 Semiconductor, PAGE Technologies
About
Activate Fellowship
Activate is a nonprofit that runs a two-year fellowship for first-time hard-tech founders who are commercializing science-based hardware. Fellows get a living stipend, R&D funding, mentorship and access to research institutions. It started as Cyclotron Road at Berkeley Lab. Fellows are based at communities in Berkeley, Boston, Houston and New York, or anywhere in the U.S. through Activate Anywhere.
Notable alumni: Antora Energy, Mosaic Materials, Sepion Technologies, Twelve, Foray Bioscience
Key differences
Breakthrough Energy Fellows or Activate Fellowship?
- Does Breakthrough Energy Fellows or Activate Fellowship invest more?
- Breakthrough Energy Fellows invests more: $500K against $200K from Activate Fellowship.
Find the programs that fit you
XRaze scores your fit against each program, drafts answers from your company profile and tracks every deadline. Start free with 50 credits, no card needed.