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A Stanford-affiliated founder is someone who is or was one of the following and holds a meaningful equity stake in the company:​

• Degree-seeking student (undergraduate, master’s, MBA, PhD).​
• Stanford alumnus/alumna who completed at least three academic quarters.​
• Stanford faculty member (including assistant and clinical assistant professors).​
• Postdoctoral scholar.​
• Academic staff or research scientist with a qualifying Stanford appointment.​
• Fellow in a recognized Stanford fellowship or scholars program (for example, Knight-Hennessy, Biodesign, DCI, Sloan, or similar programs that confer campus privileges).​

StartX may consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis when applicants receive strong recommendations from multiple members of the StartX community.​

Non-degree certificates, short-term executive education, online-only, and similar programs generally do not qualify as a Stanford affiliation for the purposes of StartX eligibility. Examples include, but are not limited to:​

• Stanford and Stanford Online certificate programs (e.g., Entrepreneurial Leadership, Bioinformatics Certificate, Data Mining and Applications, Strategic Decision & Risk Management, Stanford Online Engineering, Stanford Continuing Studies).​
• Short-term or non-degree executive programs (e.g., Ignite, Executive Program for Growing Companies, LEAD, Big Data and Strategy, Senior Executive Program, Interpersonal Dynamics for High Performance Executives, certificate-only management or leadership programs).​
• Visiting or temporary research roles without a qualifying Stanford academic appointment (e.g., Visiting Scholar, Visiting Student Researcher, Visiting Postdoc, research affiliates, SLAC-only positions).​

If you are unsure whether your program or role qualifies, you can share your specific affiliation in your application; the admissions team will verify whether it meets StartX eligibility criteria.

Yes. Founders admitted to the Full-Time Accelerator are expected to be fully committed to building the company they apply with for the duration of the program. In practice, this means founders are not simultaneously employed elsewhere, leading other companies, or significantly involved in side ventures or initiatives.​

Teams in which one or more founders are part-time, employed outside the company, or actively working on other ventures are unlikely to be admitted, unless they can demonstrate that their company is already executing in roughly the top 10% of their space. In these cases, the application should clearly show exceptional progress and traction (for example, revenue growth, user adoption, technology milestones, or market leadership relative to peers).​

The Student Immersive (Student-in-Residence) program is designed for current Stanford students who are building a company while completing their degree. Students are expected to prioritize their academic commitments and work on their startup part-time during the academic year.​

Outside of required academic work, students are expected to focus their additional time on activities that advance their company, such as summer work, internships, research, or projects that are closely aligned with the startup. The program is structured to fit around class schedules while still requiring meaningful, sustained progress on the venture over the program period.

StartX is the premier startup accelerator and community for Stanford students, professors, and alumni. We provide resources, mentorship, and support to early-stage startups founded by Stanford-affiliated entrepreneurs.

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StartX is open to startups from a wide range of industries, including technology, healthcare, biotech, and more. The program is looking for innovative and scalable ideas. We are vertical agnostic and tend to have companies in AI, Med, Sustainability, Consumer, Hardware, Enterprise, Web3, Education.

Yes, there is a selection process, and it can be competitive. StartX evaluates applications based on various criteria, including the team, the market opportunity, and the startup’s potential for growth.

StartX does not take equity in the startups that go through our accelerator program.

Founding teams building innovative, scalable companies across any sector may apply, as long as at least one founder has a qualifying Stanford affiliation and holds a significant equity stake in the company.​

Admission is highly selective and evaluated on the strength of the team, the quality of the idea, and the founders’ commitment to building their company and engaging with the StartX community.​

Applications are open from mid-January to mid-February for the Summer cohort, from mid-May to mid-June for the Fall cohort, and from early September to early October for the Spring cohort.

Pre-register on startx.com/apply to receive all the information in due time.