Chloe Capital & NYCEDC Announces Applications for 2026 Founder Fellowship Program, Addressing Inequities in Tech Ecosystem and Launch of Founder Alumni Program
Program Will Serve 60 Startups Across Four Cohorts, Catalyzing Nearly $1M in Private Funding
Since Launching in 2022, The Program Has Supported Nearly 400 Founders Across 243 Companies, of Which Nearly 80 Percent Include a BIPOC Founder
New Alumni Program Will Support Graduates of NYCEDC Startup Programs as they Embark on Next Stage Growth in New York City
November 18, 2025
NEW YORK, NY—New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today announced the launch of 2026 applications for its flagship tech startup accelerator program, the Founder Fellowship, and the launch of the new Founder Alumni program to support graduates of NYCEDC-funded entrepreneurship programs. Each year, the Founder Fellowship program supports a diverse community of New York City-based tech startup founders with access to industry networks, fundraising, mentorship, business development, and other opportunities necessary to build and scale their enterprises. The program aims to eliminate barriers to entry into the venture-backed startup community and build a tech economy that reflects and leverages New York City’s unique ecosystem.
The Founder Fellowship program has accelerated 393 New York City-based founders and co-founders across 243 tech startups, selected from more than 2,300 applications. Founder Fellows have gone on to raise more than $170M, are valued at over $1B, and have hired more than 160 new employees. Approximately two-thirds of Fellow teams to date have least one female founder, 77 percent have a Black, Latinx, and/or Asian founder, and 15 percent have at least one LGBT+ founder.
For the first time, NYCEDC is introducing the Founder Alumni Program, operated by Founder Fellowship operator Visible Hands, with Main Street Assembly. This new program will provide ongoing resources and support designed to help graduates of NYCEDC-funded alumni programs navigate the next stage of growth. The program will support current and future alumni of NYCEDC entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives, including, but not limited to: City Fellowship, Fashion Manufacturing Initiative, Founder Fellowship, NYC Mass Timber Studio, Game Design Future Lab, Scale Ready Studio by Women.NYC, Offshore Wind Innovation Hub, Pilots at Brooklyn Army Terminal, Resilient Energy Studio, LifeSci NYC Expansion Fund and more.
“Now entering its fifth year, the Founder Fellowship is one of NYCEDC’s core entrepreneurship programs that has helped hundreds of diverse founders scale, grow, and contribute to the immense economic impact of New York City’s tech sector,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball. “As we kick off this year’s Founder Fellowship programming, NYCEDC is so proud to also launch the first-ever Founder Alumni program, ensuring that graduates of our wide-ranging entrepreneurship initiatives remain supported as they take their ventures to the next level across the five boroughs and beyond.”
“It has been a privilege to partner with NYCEDC over the past several years to support dozens of founders through our Founder Fellowship. Through this work, we’ve seen firsthand the incredible depth of talent that exists across New York City, spanning industries, skill sets, and backgrounds. We’re now thrilled to expand that partnership by helping to strengthen the alumni network, ensuring that the hundreds of companies NYCEDC supports each year have access to ongoing community and resources of this great city,” said Visible Hands Co-Founder & General Partner Justin Kang.
“Chloe Capital is honored to continue our multi-year partnership with NYCEDC through the Founder Fellowship,” said Myneco Ramirez, Partner, Chloe Capital. “Over the past several years, we’ve seen firsthand how access to capital, mentorship, and networks can transform the trajectory of diverse founders and their companies. The 2026 Fellowship continues this momentum, fueling the next generation of entrepreneurs who are redefining what’s possible for New York’s innovation economy.”
“Company Ventures is privileged to partner with NYCEDC for another year of the Founder Fellowship, supporting exceptional founders who are building high-growth, high-impact companies. The Fellowship is tailor-made for first-time founders by providing targeted support in core areas of company building including capital readiness, customer feedback, and access to talent,” said Matt Harrigan, CEO and Managing Partner of Company Ventures.
“The Founder Fellowship channels the energy and ambition that define New York,” said Michelle Brechtelsbauer, VP of Strategy at Newlab. “Through access to community, capital, and mentorship we’re helping founders turn ambitious ideas into critical technologies that fuel economic growth in the city and across the globe.”
“We’re proud to support programs like the Founder Fellowship that ensure the next generation of entrepreneurs—innovative and deeply connected to this city—have the resources and community they need to grow their companies right here in New York,” said Julie Samuels, President & CEO of Tech:NYC. “By expanding access to opportunity, this program is fueling a stronger, more inclusive innovation ecosystem, and that benefits every New Yorker.”
The Founder Fellowship is a signature program of NYCEDC’s Venture Access NYC, a suite of programs designed to build the world’s best and most inclusive tech ecosystem in New York City while addressing inequities faced by founders and funders traditionally underrepresented in the tech sector. The program will continue for its fifth installation in 2026, following four successful annual editions in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. NYCEDC’s investment in the Founder Fellowship program is resulting in nearly $1 million in dilutive and non-dilutive capital commitments catalyzed by its private sector partners to be invested across tech startups selected to the 2026 program.
New York City is ranked as the second largest tech and venture capital ecosystem in the world and is home to over 25,000 tech-enabled startups and 1,200 active venture capital firms. The city’s tech sector employs more than 360,000 people, having grown by over 30 percent in the last decade. However, in 2023, U.S. startups led solely by women founders received about two percent of venture funding in 2023, while startups led by Black and Latinx founders generally receive less than three percent of total funding raised. NYCEDC designed the Founder Fellowship to ensure entrepreneurs traditionally underrepresented among venture-backed startups can successfully build and grow their enterprises in NYC.
Founder Fellowship participants bolster New York City’s leading industries, including tech and AI, healthcare and life sciences, and the climate and green economy. More than a quarter of all Fellow teams to date are in the climate sector; twenty percent are in the healthcare and life sciences sector, and nearly half are using artificial intelligence technology to advance their innovations.
For the 2026 Founder Fellowship edition, NYCEDC selected four program partners to operate four concurrent cohorts of the program. Each operator will provide unique value and offerings to fifteen startups participating in their respective cohorts:
- Chloe Capital, a movement-driven venture capital firm investing with a gender and diversity lens in climate, health, workforce, and education innovation.
- Company Ventures, a NYC-based seed-stage venture firm investing in founders building B2B SaaS, digital health, and fintech companies, grounded in the belief that the best companies are built in good company.
- Newlab, a global venture platform for critical technology startups that will reshape our global economy, lowering the barriers for startups to commercialize faster.
- Visible Hands, a venture capital firm that holistically supports early-stage, underrepresented founders in building high-growth startups.
Applications for the 2026 Founder Fellowship are now open through December 31, 2025. Selected startup teams will be announced in February 2026, and the Fellowship will commence in March 2026. On December 2, 2025, NYCEDC will host an info session on this year’s programming. Learn more and apply.
About NYCEDC
New York City Economic Development Corporation is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that works for a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive economy for all New Yorkers. We take a comprehensive approach, through four main strategies: strengthen confidence in NYC as a great place to do business; grow innovative sectors with a focus on equity; build neighborhoods as places to live, learn, work, and play; and deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city’s future economy. To learn more about what we do, visit us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram.