🇺🇸 Startup ecosystem in the United States
The Open Ecosystem Atlas lists 4,024 organisations and people supporting startup founders in the United States: 2,926 investors, 349 programs, 59 media, 20 corporates, 3 startups & venues, 490 business support and 177 lps & allocators. Most are based in New York, San Francisco and Palo Alto. 594 of them are free to reach.
Open in the Atlas mapInvestors in the United States · 2,926
Bling Capital
VC · United States
Early-stage fund with 230+ investments and a portfolio including Lyft, Palantir and Udemy, focused on SaaS, data products, marketplaces and automation.
Offers: investment
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
VC · Menlo Park, CA
The largest venture firm by AUM at $90B+, closed a record $15B raise in January 2026 alone, accounting for over 18% of all US VC dollars that year.
Offers: investment
Sequoia Capital
VC · Menlo Park, CA
One of the oldest and most selective top-tier funds, evergreen structure, $56B-$90B AUM depending on source, recently transitioned leadership to Alfred Lin and Pat Grady.
Offers: investment
Founders Fund
VC · San Francisco, CA
Peter Thiel’s firm, early investor in SpaceX, Facebook, Palantir, Stripe and OpenAI, known for deliberately long-hold, contrarian bets.
Offers: investment
Benchmark
VC · San Francisco, CA
Famous for staying small and concentrated, just 20-25 companies per fund, among the most selective early-stage specialists in the industry.
Offers: investment
General Catalyst
VC · San Francisco, CA
A top-5 US firm by 2026 deployment velocity, active across seed through growth stage in AI, enterprise software and defense technology.
Offers: investment
Lightspeed Venture Partners
VC · Menlo Park, CA
A top-5 US firm actively investing at seed and growth stage across AI, enterprise and defense technology.
Offers: investment
SV Angel
Angel · San Francisco, CA
Ron Conway’s angel firm, following his run leading Angel Investors LP, an early-stage investor in Google, Facebook and PayPal.
Offers: investment
Golden Seeds
Angel · New York, NY
One of the largest angel networks in the US funding women-led companies, founded 2004, 9 chapters across 28 states, $200M+ invested in 274+ companies.
Offers: investment
Keiretsu Forum
Angel · San Francisco, CA
One of the largest global angel networks, founded 2000, 53 chapters across three continents including several US cities.
Offers: investment
Band of Angels
Angel · Palo Alto, CA
One of the oldest seed-stage angel groups in Silicon Valley, members are experienced operators and former executives.
Offers: investment
New York Angels
Angel · New York, NY
One of the most active angel groups on the East Coast, structured application process with office hours before full diligence.
Offers: investment
Programs in the United States · 349
OpenVC
Community · Online · Free access
Free platform founders use to find and pitch investors, listing 16,000+ investors.
Offers: info, investment
VC Conf (Virtual 1:1 VC Pitch Conf)
Event · Online
Recurring virtual conference by Max Pog where founders get 20 automatched 1:1 pitches with VCs, angels and family offices in 2.5 hours; 23 events run so far.
Offers: investment, community
SBIR / STTR (America’s Seed Fund)
Program · Nationwide
Federal non-dilutive R&D funding across 11 agencies including NIH, NSF, DoD, DOE and NASA. Phase I up to $323K, Phase II up to $2.15M, new Strategic Breakthrough Awards up to $30M. Over $4B distributed annually, reauthorized through 2031.
Offers: funding
O-1A Visa for Founders
Program · Nationwide · Free access
The most realistic founder visa route: no annual cap, no lottery, roughly 94% approval rate, filed whenever a founder qualifies rather than waiting on a visa number.
Offers: info
International Entrepreneur Rule (IER)
Program · Nationwide · Free access
Federal parole program letting founders remain in the US to grow a startup formed within the last 5 years, requiring at least $264,147 in qualifying investment or $105,659 in government grants.
Offers: info
EB-1A / EB-2 NIW Green Card
Program · Nationwide · Free access
Self-petition permanent residency routes for founders with extraordinary ability or work in the national interest, no employer sponsorship required, often building on evidence gathered for an O-1A.
Offers: info
Y Combinator
Accelerator · San Francisco, CA
The most recognized accelerator globally, four batches a year, $500K per company via a $125K post-money SAFE for 7% plus a $375K uncapped MFN SAFE. 4,500+ alumni startups including Airbnb, Stripe, DoorDash and Coinbase.
Offers: funding, mentoring
Techstars
Accelerator · Boulder, CO
Founded 2006, backed 6,300+ companies for a combined portfolio valuation over $120B including 21+ unicorns. $220K standard deal, 3-month programs across 30+ cities. 74% of graduates raise capital within three years.
Offers: funding, mentoring
500 Global
Accelerator · San Francisco, CA
2,500+ portfolio companies across 80+ countries, $150K for 6% standard deal, especially strong access in Southeast Asia, Latin America, MENA and Africa markets.
Offers: funding, mentoring
South Park Commons
Accelerator · San Francisco, CA
One of the highest-capital accelerator alternatives, $1M per founder ($400K for 7% plus $600K guaranteed), built for the pre-idea and solo-founder stage.
Offers: funding, community
Alchemist Accelerator
Accelerator · San Francisco, CA
Enterprise-tech focused accelerator, roughly 5% equity, average net proceeds around $30K after program fees, strong access to enterprise pilot customers.
Offers: funding, mentoring
Openfor.co
Incubator · Palo Alto, CA
Openfor.co is a virtual incubator for individuals: accelerator-grade support for the 99% who are locked out of the venture-backed path. Membership-priced, no company required, joinable from anywhere. Members become AI-defensible personal assets first, with products as extensions. Backed by 250+ mentors across 30 countries, 50+ institutional partners.
Offers: mentoring, community, funding
Media in the United States · 59
Gené Teare
Media · United States · Free access
Senior data editor at Crunchbase News, covering global venture funding trends, fintech and gender equity in venture.
Offers: info, community
Sahil Bloom
Media · United States · Free access
Writer of the Curiosity Chronicle newsletter and author of The 5 Types of Wealth.
Offers: info, community
Codie Sanchez
Media · Austin, TX · Free access
Founder of Contrarian Thinking, teaching people to buy and run small businesses.
Offers: info, community
Justin Welsh
Media · United States · Free access
Solopreneur and creator teaching people to build one-person online businesses.
Offers: info, community
Sam Parr
Media · United States · Free access
Founder of The Hustle newsletter and co-host of My First Million.
Offers: info, community
Shaan Puri
Media · United States · Free access
Co-host of My First Million and a founder and investor.
Offers: info, community
Noah Kagan
Media · Austin, TX · Free access
Founder of AppSumo and a YouTuber teaching people to start small businesses.
Offers: info, community
Pat Flynn
Media · San Diego, CA · Free access
Founder of Smart Passive Income, teaching creators to build online businesses.
Offers: info, community
Gary Vaynerchuk
Media · New York, NY · Free access
Founder of VaynerMedia and one of the most-followed entrepreneurship voices online.
Offers: info, community
Nathan Barry
Media · Boise, ID · Free access
Founder of Kit (formerly ConvertKit), writing and speaking about creator businesses.
Offers: info, community
Sahil Lavingia
Media · United States · Free access
Founder of Gumroad and author of The Minimalist Entrepreneur.
Offers: info, community
Rob Walling
Media · United States · Free access
Founder of MicroConf, host of Startups for the Rest of Us and co-founder of TinySeed.
Offers: info, community
Corporates in the United States · 20
NVIDIA Inception
Corporate · Santa Clara, CA · Free access
Already listed above as a program, and also functions as NVIDIA’s own open innovation channel, connecting members to its VC network Capital Connect.
Offers: investment, mentoring
Google for Startups Accelerator
Corporate · Mountain View, CA · Free access
Google’s own three-month cohort accelerator, equity-free, layered on top of its cloud credit program, open globally including US-based cohorts.
Offers: mentoring
Microsoft for Startups
Corporate · Redmond, WA · Free access
Beyond credits, Microsoft runs direct startup engagement including go-to-market support and enterprise customer introductions for qualifying startups.
Offers: mentoring, community
Anthropic Startup Program
Corporate · San Francisco, CA · Free access
Anthropic’s own startup program, open to applications without investor backing, offering API credits and technical support for teams building with Claude.
Offers: perks, mentoring
NVentures
Corporate · Santa Clara, CA
NVIDIA's venture arm since 2021.
Offers: investment
Microsoft M12
Corporate · Redmond, WA
Microsoft's venture fund.
Offers: investment
CapitalG
Corporate · San Francisco, CA
Alphabet's growth fund.
Offers: investment
Dell Technologies Capital
Corporate · Palo Alto, CA
Dell's venture arm.
Offers: investment
Amazon Alexa Fund
Corporate · Seattle, WA
Amazon's voice and AI venture fund.
Offers: investment
Comcast Ventures
Corporate · San Francisco, CA
Comcast's venture arm.
Offers: investment
Chevron Technology Ventures
Corporate · Houston
Chevron's venture arm.
Offers: investment
Honeywell Ventures
Corporate · Charlotte
Honeywell's venture arm.
Offers: investment
Startups & venues in the United States · 3
Stripe
Startup · San Francisco, CA
Payments infrastructure that grew out of Y Combinator itself, now offering Stripe Atlas to help any founder anywhere incorporate a US company in days.
Offers: perks, info
Brex
Startup · San Francisco, CA
Corporate card and spend platform built for startups, offering credits and banking-adjacent tools specifically for early-stage teams.
Offers: perks
Mercury
Startup · San Francisco, CA
Banking built for startups, YC-backed, offering credits and financial tooling tailored to early-stage spend patterns.
Offers: perks
Business support in the United States · 490
NVIDIA Inception
Support · Santa Clara, CA · Free access
Free virtual accelerator for AI startups, 40,000+ members globally, no equity, no fees, no cohort deadlines. Members get up to $100K in AWS credits and up to $100K in DGX Cloud credits.
Offers: perks, mentoring
AWS Activate
Support · Seattle, WA · Free access
Amazon’s startup credit program, up to $100K for accelerator/VC-backed startups and up to $300K for Generative AI specifically, plus business support and training.
Offers: perks
Google Cloud for Startups
Support · Mountain View, CA · Free access
Google’s startup credit and support program, up to $350K depending on accelerator partnership and AI focus.
Offers: perks
Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub
Support · Redmond, WA · Free access
Microsoft’s self-serve startup program, no investor referral required, $200 entry credit scaling to $150K through usage milestones.
Offers: perks
VC Lab (Decile Group)
Support · Palo Alto, CA · Free access
Free accelerator for new venture fund managers; has helped launch 950+ funds in ~80 countries. Runs Decile Access, a marketplace of its funds for LPs.
Offers: mentoring, community
UTSA Small Business Development Center
Support · San Antonio · Free access
Free business advising and training from the university.
Offers: mentoring, info
EO Accelerator Seattle
Support · Seattle, WA
Peer programme for founders past an early revenue threshold.
Offers: mentoring, community
AZNavigator
Support · Arizona · Free access
Free state resource for business planning, marketing and finance basics.
Offers: info
Capital Gravity
Support · Arizona
Programme that trains and activates new investors in Arizona.
Offers: info
BizStarts Milwaukee
Support · Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee coaching programme connecting founders to funding networks.
Offers: mentoring, info
PGH Lab
Support · Pittsburgh
City programme letting startups pilot products with Pittsburgh agencies.
Offers: mentoring, info
Cultivate Maine
Support · Portland, ME · Free access
State support organisation connecting Maine founders to funding.
Offers: community, info
LPs & allocators in the United States · 177
Rothschild Investment
Non-Venture Finance · Chicago, IL
Registered investment adviser that reports a venture capital fund allocation: a potential limited partner rather than a direct startup investor.
Offers: investment
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company
Non-Venture Finance · St Louis, MO
Registered investment adviser that reports a venture capital fund allocation: a potential limited partner rather than a direct startup investor.
Offers: investment
ARS Investment Partners
Non-Venture Finance · New York, NY
Registered investment adviser that reports a venture capital fund allocation: a potential limited partner rather than a direct startup investor.
Offers: investment
Hollencrest Capital Management
Non-Venture Finance · Newport Beach, CA
Registered investment adviser that reports a venture capital fund allocation: a potential limited partner rather than a direct startup investor.
Offers: investment
WCM Investment Management
Non-Venture Finance · Laguna Beach, CA
Registered investment adviser that reports a venture capital fund allocation: a potential limited partner rather than a direct startup investor.
Offers: investment
Baldwin Wealth Partners
Non-Venture Finance · Marion, MA
Registered investment adviser that reports a venture capital fund allocation: a potential limited partner rather than a direct startup investor.
Offers: investment
T. Rowe Price Associates
Non-Venture Finance · Baltimore, MD
Registered investment adviser that reports a venture capital fund allocation: a potential limited partner rather than a direct startup investor.
Offers: investment
American Century Investment Management
Non-Venture Finance · Kansas City, MO
Registered investment adviser that reports a venture capital fund allocation: a potential limited partner rather than a direct startup investor.
Offers: investment
Klingenstein Fields Advisors
Non-Venture Finance · New York, NY
Registered investment adviser that reports a venture capital fund allocation: a potential limited partner rather than a direct startup investor.
Offers: investment
Winslow Capital Management
Non-Venture Finance · Minneapolis, MN
Registered investment adviser that reports a venture capital fund allocation: a potential limited partner rather than a direct startup investor.
Offers: investment
Connors Investor Services
Non-Venture Finance · Wyomissing, PA
Registered investment adviser that reports a venture capital fund allocation: a potential limited partner rather than a direct startup investor.
Offers: investment
Entrust Global Partners
Non-Venture Finance · New York, NY
Registered investment adviser that reports a venture capital fund allocation: a potential limited partner rather than a direct startup investor.
Offers: investment