Top 11 Startup Accelerators & Incubators in Phoenix [2023]

Are you looking for capital and/or mentorship for your startup in Phoenix? Beyond funding, startup accelerators and incubators also offer founders incredible valuable support for product development, sales and marketing.

Whether you are looking to find a co-founder, build your MVP and/or get the seed money you need to scale up, accelerators and incubators are the way to go!

In this article we have listed our top picks for the best startup accelerators and incubators in Phoenix. So, if you haven’t yet started to apply, here is a good place to start learning about them.

This article is part of a series where we present you the top startup incubators and accelerators across the US. For the South West, check out our rankings for Oklahoma, Denver, Salt Lake City and New Mexico.
Looking for Phoenix's top startup venture capital firms instead? Check out our ranking here.

Phoenix’s Top 11 Startup Accelerators & Incubators

Here’s a summary of our top 11 picks for the best startup accelerator and incubators in Phoenix (in no particular order):

Name	Accelerator vs incubator?	Program length	Investment size	Sector focus
Coplex	Incubator	N/A	N/A	Sector agnostic
Impact Accelerator	Accelerator	6 weeks	None	Impact businesses
The Armory	Incubator	N/A	N/A	Veteran-Led Businesses
CEI Gateway	Incubator	N/A	N/A	Clean tech, Medical device, Bioscience, Software
ScaleU	Incubator	N/A	N/A	EdTech
Venture Devils	Accelerator	N/A	Up to $1M	ASU-affiliated founders
RISN Incubator	Incubator	N/A	N/A	Renewable
BioAccel	Accelerator	12 months	$5k – $100k	Biomedical
EO Accelerator	Accelerator	N/A	N/A	Sector agnostic
Venture Madness	Prize competition *	N/A	N/A	Sector agnostic
Chandler Innovations	Incubator	12 weeks	N/A	Technology

*Venture Madness is neither an incubator or accelerator, strictly speaking. Instead, it’s a prize competition where startup founders compete, whilst receiving support for a few days, in order to receive a grant funding at the end of the competition

1. Coplex

Founded in 2020, Coplex is an incubator program that has accelerated over 20 startup to date.

The approach begins with a deep dive into the problem spaces, customers, and competitors, uncovering the business opportunities and threats. Therefore, the Design and validation stage involves rigorous testing and validation of the new business model to validate the problem-solution fit.

Then, in the Invest and Launch stages, startups raise capital and align incentives with the founding team members and the partners. Finally, the Growth stage solidifies the core operating team then provides ongoing fractional support and access to a trusted partner network.

2. Impact Accelerator

Impact Accelerator, founded and backed by Seed Spot, is a 6-week program providing startups expert training and access to quick-start tools. The participating companies have access to a network of industry leaders and opportunities to network with venture capitalists and angel investors. During the program, startups develop a strategic growth plan alongside startup experts.

Seed Spot also provides successful companies lifetime support even after completing the mentorship program. The extensive network supports alumni when it comes to fundraising, scaling their solutions, and marketing.

3. The Armory

The Armory is an incubator targeting veteran-led startups. The startups’ incubator seeks to help military veterans launch and scale their startups. 

Therefore, The Armory offers startups access to co-working spaces and strategic knowledge resources.  The armory also teaches founders the practical skills they need to run successful ventures. 

Besides, the program provides opportunities for strategic mentorship from successful business executives and veteran founders.  

4. CEI Gateway

CEI Gateway is a business incubator program targeting bioscience, medical devices, cleantech, and also software startups.

Like most incubators, their program offers participating companies access to office space, labs, and the tools they need to run successful ventures.

Yet, CEI incubation program also seeks to help entrepreneurs develop branding, marketing, and media collateral for fundraising. Therefore, a team of experts assist founders through pitch deck design and creating brand identity.  

Therefore, by the end of the program, startup founders attain a problem-solving mindset, preparing them to tackle new challenges and raise funding by pitching external investors.

5. ScaleU

Backed by the Arizona State University, ScaleU is an incubator program for early-stage startups in the Edtech industry.

Unlike the conventional startup incubators, ASU ScaleU specializes in testing pilot-ready products. Indeed, successful startups have the opportunity to develop educational technologies through the application of world-class labs.

Moreover, ScaleU pairs the startup’s products with their academic, research, or service units, preparing the business for the next phase of funding, product development, and customer acquisition.  

6. Venture Devils

Venture Devils is another of Arizona State University‘s programs for startups and ASU-affiliated founders.

Unlike ScaleU, Venture Devils is a startup accelerator and emphasises support in fundraising.

Indeed, the program seeks to connect founders to venture mentors and potential investors: companies may receive more than $1 million in startup funding.  

Also, the accelerator program provides portfolio companies networking opportunities. That way founders can also meet their peers to brainstorm or exchange different business growth ideas. 

7. RISN Incubator

RISN Incubator is the third of Arizona State University’s programs for startups and entrepreneurs. That one especially focuses on ventures in sustainability, circular economy and waste-to-product innovation.

Participating companies have access to dedicated experts for mentorship and business guidance. Besides, RISN Incubator links founders to the industry stakeholders, giving them technical expertise for success. 

Like Venture Devils, RISN incubator takes the entrepreneurs and their ventures through an evaluation and pre-qualification for possible funding opportunities. 

8. BioAccel

BioAccel is a startup accelerator targeting biomedical startups and entrepreneurs.

The accelerator program seeks to drive economic development by commercializing bioscience technology and devices through 2 different programs:

• The Technology Advancement Program provides funding and mentorship for entrepreneurs and founders to complete proof-of-concepts (POCs)
• The New Venture Development Program provides seed funding to entrepreneurs past the proof of concept phase. Indeed, the funding program covers the start-up expenses and provides the tools startups need to operate. Selected startups receive early-stage funding in the range of $5,000 to $100,000

9. EO Accelerator

Founded in 2006, the EO Accelerator program aims at providing early-stage startups from all industries with the tools they need to grow their businesses.

Therefore, participating startup founders meet top experts for one-on-one mentorship sessions, equipping them with the unique skills they need to run successful ventures.

Their mission is to provide the skills startups require to outgrow their daily challenges and penetrate the market. In addition to business strategy, companies get workshop and classes about sales and marketing, human resources and fundraising. 

10. Venture Madness

Venture Madness is a competition-based program by Invest Southwest. Therefore, it’s worth noting that Venture Madness is neither an incubator or accelerator, strictly speaking. Instead, it’s a prize competition where startup founders compete, whilst receiving support for a few days, in order to receive a grant funding at the end of the competition.

Indeed, each year, 25 to 35 startups compete to win funding from external investors. Participants also all get exposure for their company and a chance to network with the most active venture capitalists.

11. Chandler Innovations

Chandler Innovations is an incubator program targeting startups in the technology sector. The program admits startups at various business growth stages, from idea stage to scale ups.

Moreover, the 12-week program aims at teaching founders different topics, including product development and validation, sales and marketing, scaling and growth, and fundraising.

Therefore, successful startups undergo mentorship programs in addition to the opportunity to attend and participate in networking events and workshops.