The most active startup accelerators and where they're investing
A CB Insights research report ranking the 50 accelerators that backed the most deals from 2020 to 2022, based on its own funding database. It measures deal volume, not quality or outcomes, and highlights Plug and Play, Y Combinator and Techstars as the most active.
- Reliability
- Grade C · 7/12
- Publisher
- CB Insights
- Ranks
- Accelerators
- Editions
- 1 since 2023
- Method
- Data
- How items get in
- Compiled by the publisher
- Status
- Dormant
Editions
| Edition | Published | Top of the list | On record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | October 2023 | Plug and Play | 10 of 50 |
How the ranking works
CB Insights defines accelerators as programs offering direct guidance and resources through a fixed-schedule cohort or rolling-acceptance program. It counts disclosed early-stage and non-equity rounds (seed, pre-seed, convertible note, accelerator/incubator, grant and business plan competition) and ranks programs by average deals per year from 2020 to 2022.
Results are shown at the parent-organization level, but only subsidiaries that operate accelerators are counted, so corporations such as Alphabet appear as one entity. Joint partnerships, and incubators or early-stage arms that also run accelerators, are included.
Ranked positions: Each item has a position (1, 2, 3), with ties allowed. Built from CB Insights' deal database with no application or fee; accelerators can ask CB Insights (free) to review coverage of their investments to improve their chance of being ranked. The full top 50 data is gated behind a lead-capture form.
How far to trust it
Superscout grades every ranking on six criteria, each scored 0 to 2. The most active startup accelerators and where they're investing scores 7 of 12, grade C.
- Transparency 1/2
- Deal definitions stated; underlying counts beyond the top 10 are gated.
- Independence 2/2
- No application or fee; database-driven.
- Evidence 2/2
- Counts of recorded deals from a commercial database.
- Stability 1/2
- Only one edition; no evidence of a stable repeat.
- Coverage 1/2
- Ranks all programs in the database but publishes a top slice.
- Track record 0/2
- First and only edition found.
History
Published in October 2023 (charts uploaded October 9, page last modified October 19, 2023) as part of a CB Insights accelerator series that also included a November 2023 analysis of promising portfolio companies from the same top 50 and a separate December 2023 'top 25 most successful startup accelerators' ranking by portfolio strength. CB Insights had earlier published a 2016 look at follow-on funding rates of the 10 most active U.S. accelerators.
How it is received
The report is used mainly as a volume snapshot for investors and corporates tracking accelerator deal flow. CB Insights itself notes that providing capital is often not an accelerator's main value, and the ranking rewards scale: corporate programs and very large accelerators rise to the top regardless of outcomes. No published critique was found.
Strengths
- Based on a large, consistent deal database rather than self-reported data.
- Global scope, including corporate and government-backed programs.
- Clear definition of which round types count.
- Free to read the top 10 and the key findings.
Weaknesses
- Measures deal volume only, not startup outcomes or founder experience.
- Only the top 10 is public; the full top 50 is gated behind a form.
- Depends on CB Insights' coverage, which programs are invited to correct.
- Groups corporate subsidiaries under parents such as Alphabet.
- One edition only.
Open questions
Facts not verified yet. They stay visible so they are not mistaken for settled facts.
- Exact publication day not shown on the page (images dated October 9, 2023; modified October 19, 2023).
- Ranks 11 to 50 not public.
- Whether CB Insights has published a later edition could not be checked because the web search budget ran out.
- The separate 'top 25 most successful startup accelerators' (Dec 2023) may merit its own series file.
Superscout describes The most active startup accelerators and where they're investing independently from the publisher’s own pages and outside coverage, linked below. The rankings belong to CB Insights.
Sources and known limits
Last reviewed .