AcceleratorEquity-free

Accelerate Cambridge

Cambridge, United Kingdom

A structured university venture-development program at Cambridge Judge Business School running since 2012.

Location:
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Duration:
12 weeks

What you need to qualify

  • Teams of 2 or more people.
  • One founder has a "Cambridge connection" (student, alumni, faculty, staff of the University or resident of the town).
  • During term time team members must be Cambridge based.
  • Entrepreneurial drive: the eligibility list asks applicants to "have fire in your belly".
  • The programme is aimed at early-stage founders with a clearly defined problem, and at deep tech, biotech, medtech, research-based and spin-out ventures that need commercial maturity alongside technical progress.
  • Applicants must be ready to engage fully with coaching, test ideas in the real world and attend sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for the full 12 weeks.

Eligibility

Eligible stages
All stages
Countries
Global, subject to the provider’s eligibility and approval

How to apply

  1. 1

    Check the Cambridge connection and team size

    You need at least two people and one founder who is a University of Cambridge student, alumnus, member of faculty or staff, or a resident of the town. Team members must be Cambridge based during term time.

  2. 2

    Complete the online application form

    The form is at jbs.cam.ac.uk/entrepreneurship/forms/accelerate-apply/, linked from the Apply page. Submit it before the cohort closing date.

  3. 3

    Record a 60-second pitch video

    Upload it as an unlisted YouTube video or a password protected Vimeo video. Put your name in the video title.

  4. 4

    Email the video link to the programme team

    Send the link to accelerate@jbs.cam.ac.uk. This is a separate step from the form and the application is not complete without it.

Frequently asked

Teams of two or more where at least one founder has a Cambridge connection: a student, alumnus, faculty member or staff member of the University, or a resident of the town. During term time the team must be Cambridge based.

Two parts. Complete the online form at jbs.cam.ac.uk/entrepreneurship/forms/accelerate-apply/, then record a 60-second pitch video as an unlisted YouTube or password protected Vimeo upload and email the link to accelerate@jbs.cam.ac.uk with your name in the video title.

A 12-week structured commercialisation programme run by the Entrepreneurship Centre at Cambridge Judge Business School: a dedicated coach with regular KPI reviews, a mentor network spanning investors, technical experts, legal and IP advisors and corporate partners, collaboration with MBA and Executive MBA students, and coaching that continues for up to six months after the programme ends. The page states no cash investment and no equity stake.

The programme is 12 weeks, meeting every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Applications for Autumn 2026 are closed; that cohort inducts on Monday 21 September 2026 and runs to Thursday 10 December 2026. The next intake is Spring 2027, closing Friday 15 January 2027, with induction on Monday 5 April 2027 and the programme running to Thursday 24 June 2027.
SoftwareDeep techBiotechMedtech

Related programs

Applications close 15 January 2027.Open now

Do I qualify?

3 things decide this one. Check yourself against them before you spend time on the form.

Stage
Idea, Pre-seed
Where it runs
United Kingdom. In person, so you need to be able to take part there
What you give up
No equity stated
Deadline
15 Jan 2027

That is the rulebook. What we cannot show you here is whether your startup clears it, how this ranks against the other programs you qualify for, and what to fix if you do not.

Check what I qualify for

Five questions, about a minute, no account needed.

Last verified against the official page. Report an error

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