Thiel Fellowship

$250,000 grant over a two-year fellowship, awarded annually.

Annual cycle; check thielfellowship.org for the current application window.

AMOUNT

$250,000 grant over a two-year fellowship, awarded annually.

AMOUNT

$250,000 grant over a two-year fellowship, awarded annually.

DEADLINE

Annual cycle; check thielfellowship.org for the current application window.

DEADLINE

Annual cycle; check thielfellowship.org for the current application window.

FUNDING TYPE

Fellowship

CAN YOU GET THIS?

You must be a young person willing to stop out of college and commit two years to building something new.

The fellowship is explicitly for young people who skip or leave college. There is no stated upper age limit on the page, but the program is designed for those who would otherwise be in college.

YOUR REAL ODDS

The Thiel Fellowship is one of the most competitive early-stage programs in tech, selecting a small cohort annually from a global applicant pool.

The program has run since 2011 and is well known, meaning the applicant pool is large. The source does not disclose acceptance rates or cohort size, so exact odds are unknown.

WHAT IT TAKES

Submit application at thielfellowship.org — Several hours to days
Interview rounds with the Thiel Foundation team and network — Weeks to months
Commit to leaving or deferring college and beginning your project — Start of two-year program

WORTH KNOWING

The $250,000 grant comes with active network access — investors, partners, and prospective customers in Silicon Valley and beyond — which the foundation positions as a core part of the value, not just the cash.

Apply on the funder’s site →

Activate Fellowship

$90,000 over 2 years (stipend + R&D); total package described as more than $300K when all resources are included

Scientists and engineers with breakthrough research ready to build a hard tech startup can apply for this two-year paid fellowship.

Echoing Green Fellowship

$100,000 stipend over 18 months (for-profits receive it as a recoverable grant)

Early-stage social impact founders globally who are building equity-focused organizations and have not yet connected with traditional investment.

Camelback Ventures Fellowship

$50,000 per fellow; delivered as a SAFE note (for-profits) or unrestricted grant (nonprofits/schools). Awarded twice yearly.

Early-stage US-based founders in education or tech working to address inequity, with a personal connection to the problem.

This is 1 of 1,600+ open opportunities.

$50B+ in available capital across grants, VC funds, CDFIs, and accelerators. Filter by your industry, stage, and region, and see everything you qualify for.

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