Call for Applications: Activate Fellowship Program (United States)

Activate transforms scientists and engineers into founders, empowering them to reinvent the world by bringing their research to market. The two-year Activate Fellowship provides early-stage science entrepreneurs with funding, technical resources, and unparalleled support from a network of scientists, engineers, investors, commercial partners, and fellow entrepreneurs.

What they provide?

• Essential Funding
  • Fellows receive a yearly living stipend of $100K, plus travel allowance, health insurance, and relocation. This enables them to focus on their project full-time.
  • Each project also receives $100K in R&D funds at zero cost and access to at least $75K in additional flexible capital.
• A Community of Peers
  • Bringing technology to market can be a long and lonely road. Our fellows take this journey together as part of a dynamic community of scientists, engineers, and technologists who share what they know and celebrate each other’s victories, including Managing Directors, the Activate team, and a vibrant fellow and alumni community.
• An Unrivaled Network
  • They facilitate connections between fellows and our broad network of industry executives, investors, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and other experts from academia, industry, government, and finance—any of whom can serve as advisors or partners.
• Research Facilities
  • Fellows access vital research tools, equipment, facilities, and expertise through collaboration with a host laboratory. Activate takes no rights to fellows’ intellectual property and works to ensure that fellows retain ownership of any IP developed during their two-year fellowship term.
• Entrepreneurial Education
  • Tailored for scientists and engineers and delivered weekly, our startup curriculum includes intensive sessions on core business and product development concepts, VIP speakers, skill development workshops, and shared learning from other fellows and alums. Custom-built mentorship supports your individual growth and professional development.
• Intensive Mentorship
  • The experienced team meets with fellows one-on-one regularly to help develop priorities, provide guidance, and make connections to our broader network of advisors, industry experts, and investors.

What they look for?

• Technical Excellence
  • Are you deeply knowledgeable in the field of your proposed project to independently and safely lead the technical work involved? Can you communicate complicated, technical concepts to a general audience?
• Leadership
  • Are you motivated to grow professionally through the leadership training the fellowship provides? Can you manage conflict and act with integrity through ambiguity to mobilize the resources needed to advance your proposed project?
• Participation
  • Will you support an inclusive, equitable, and diverse environment—in the fellowship community and the wider innovation ecosystem? Will you positively contribute to the fellowship community?
• Feasibility
  • Is your proposed project rooted in sound scientific principles? Does it present a credible path to scale, including viable entry markets or the potential to pivot? Is it reasonably differentiated from existing solutions and commercial efforts?
• Impact Potential 
  • Is your project aligned with Activate’s mission of science for good? Will the fellowship meaningfully alter the trajectory of your professional development and your proposed project?

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible, you:
  • Must have a bachelor’s degree and 4+ years post-baccalaureate scientific research, engineering, or technology development experience.
  • Must be leading the commercial development of a hardware-based technology innovation for the first time if awarded the fellowship i.e., not a repeat hard tech founder.
  • Must be committed full-time to the proposed project or company if awarded the fellowship.
  • Must be legally able to work in the U.S. for the duration of the fellowship.
  • Must be able to communicate proficiently in English.
• To be eligible, your proposed project or company:
  • Must be based in the physical or biological sciences or related engineering disciplines.
  • Must still be in development and not yet ready for full-scale product sales at the time of the application deadline.
  • Must not have raised more than $2M in debt or equity funding from non-governmental sources at the time of the application deadline.

For more information, visit Activate.