Y Combinator vs South Park Commons Founder Fellowship
How Y Combinator and South Park Commons Founder Fellowship compare on investment, equity, format, stage and timing. Every figure comes from the programs' own sites, verified November 4, 2026.
| Y Combinator | South Park Commons Founder Fellowship | |
|---|---|---|
| Investment | $500K | $1M |
| Equity | 7% | 7% |
| Deal terms | $500K: $125K post-money SAFE for 7% + $375K uncapped MFN SAFE; pro rata rights; no fees | $1M total: $400K upfront for 7% on a standard SAFE, plus $600K guaranteed in the next external round. Also includes up to $1M in credits and perks (Anthropic, OpenAI, AWS, GCP, Microsoft, and others). |
| Format | In-person | Hybrid |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, United States | San Francisco, United States |
| Stage | pre-seed, seed | idea, pre-seed |
| Sectors | general, ai, b2b saas | general |
| Duration | 3 months | 8-week bootcamp, followed by an open-ended residency lasting until the seed raise |
| Application cycle | 4 batches a year (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) | Cohorts named by season and year (for example, F26 for Fall 2026) |
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
Y Combinator
The largest and best-known startup accelerator, founded in 2005, which now runs four batches a year (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) in person at its San Francisco campus. It funds very early founders in any sector, increasingly AI companies, with the same standard deal for every company and no fees, and ends each batch with a Demo Day for investors.
Notable alumni: Airbnb, Stripe, DoorDash, Coinbase, Dropbox
About
South Park Commons Founder Fellowship
South Park Commons' Founder Fellowship invests in founders at the earliest stage, including before they have an idea. It starts with an 8-week bootcamp in San Francisco, New York City or Bangalore, followed by an open-ended Fellow Residency that runs until the seed raise. Fellows also get up to $1M in partner credits.
Notable alumni: Baseten, Luma AI, Gamma, Render, Goodfire
Key differences
Y Combinator or South Park Commons Founder Fellowship?
- Does Y Combinator or South Park Commons Founder Fellowship invest more?
- South Park Commons Founder Fellowship invests more: $1M against $500K from Y Combinator.
- Do I need to relocate for Y Combinator or South Park Commons Founder Fellowship?
- Y Combinator runs in person (headquartered in San Francisco, United States); South Park Commons Founder Fellowship runs hybrid (headquartered in San Francisco, United States).
More comparisons: Y Combinator vs Techstars · Y Combinator vs a16z speedrun · Y Combinator vs PearX · Y Combinator vs Neo Residency · Y Combinator vs Entrepreneur First · Y Combinator vs Antler · Y Combinator vs 500 Global · Y Combinator vs HF0 · Y Combinator vs Iterative · South Park Commons Founder Fellowship vs Entrepreneur First · All comparisons
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