Activate Fellowship

Activate Fellowship

Offers two-year fellowships for first-time hard-tech founders building climate, energy, and biotechnology ventures without equity.

The Activate Fellowship is a two-year, equity-free programme run by Activate Global that supports first-time scientist-entrepreneurs developing pre-commercial hardtech projects in the physical sciences, biological sciences, or related engineering disciplines. Cohort 2027 applications open on 15 September, with selection running through the following spring. Each fellow receives a package valued at more than $300,000 over two years: an annual living stipend of $80,000–$110,000 (commonly approximately $100,000), a $100,000 project R&D allowance provided at zero cost to the fellow, at least $75,000 in additional flexible capital, plus a health-insurance stipend, travel allowance, and relocation support. No equity is taken by Activate at any stage; fellows retain full ownership of their technology and any resulting company.

Fellows commit full time for two years to their hardtech project; no side roles or part-time tracks are available. US work authorisation for the full fellowship duration is required. The project must be pre-commercial — not yet ready for full-scale product sales — and grounded in physical or biological science or a related engineering domain. A bachelor's degree plus at least four years of post-graduate research, engineering, or technology-development experience is required. Fellows are placed across five cohort communities: Berkeley (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), Boston (Massachusetts Clean Energy Center), Houston (Rice University and national labs), New York (NYSERDA), or Anywhere (a fully remote track). Priority domains include climate, energy transition, advanced manufacturing, new materials, hardware, and biotechnology.

The fellowship is structured as a two-year programme with annual disbursement tranches. Selection is competitive and involves multiple review rounds after the September application opening. Organisations and institutions cannot apply — the fellowship is awarded to individuals, and the applicant must be the scientist-entrepreneur who will personally lead the project full time. Activate's track record spans both Berkeley and Boston Cohort alumni who have gone on to raise institutional venture capital after completing the programme, making it a recognised credential in the US hardtech ecosystem.