Business Chain tracks 186 funding and accelerator programmes. 99 of them are open to SaaS and software companies right now. That number is bigger than it looks and smaller than it sounds, because 'open to' and 'built for' are not the same thing, and most founders burn a month applying to programmes in the first category thinking they're in the second. The full, current list is here: businesschain.us/funds/category/saas-software.
Funding you, or just not excluding you
The tell isn't in the marketing copy, it's in whether the organiser has published a number. If a programme's own page states a check size and what it costs you, equity, a SAFE, or a percentage, that's a programme that has actually priced software companies into its model. Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator publishes $150K on a 6% post-money SAFE. gener8tor publishes $100,000 for 7.5% equity. SOSV / Orbit Startups publishes $150,000 as a SAFE. Those are commitments, not categories.
Compare that with GSF Accelerator, listed as 'seed investment + mentorship' with no figure, or Kickstart Fund, listed as pre-seed and seed checks at an undisclosed amount, or Betaworks Camp, where no investment amount is published at all. These aren't bad programmes. But until the organiser puts a number on the page, treat them as network and mentorship plays, not as funding you can put in a runway model. You can still apply, just don't plan your quarter around money that hasn't been quoted.
The three shapes the money actually takes
For a subscription software company, the capital in this catalogue comes in three forms, and each one costs you something different.
- A priced equity or SAFE check for a fixed percentage. ERA takes 6% for $150K on a post-money SAFE. gener8tor takes 7.5% for $100,000. Startup Wise Guys takes 3-6% for roughly EUR 50,000. Conector takes 4-7% in exchange for the program plus services. You know exactly what you're giving up before you sign, which makes these the easiest to model against your cap table.
- A smaller stipend for negotiable equity. Alchemist Accelerator offers a $25,000 stipend for roughly 5% equity, negotiable. This costs less in dilution math but more in time, since the number isn't fixed until you're in the room negotiating it.
- A larger, later-stage check with wider terms. PearX runs $500K to $2M, which is a different conversation than a $100K-$150K seed check, usually with more diligence and a narrower bar for traction before anyone talks numbers.
None of these are free money in the grant sense. Every one of them is dilution or a SAFE that converts later. If your pitch deck still says 'non-dilutive capital' as a category for any of these, fix the deck before you fix the application.
What disqualifies most SaaS applicants here
It's not revenue, and it's not traction. It's the cohort calendar. Several of the best-funded programmes on this list run in-person, fixed-length batches: the 500 Fellowship's Batch 37 runs 30 November 2026 to 9 April 2027, and Betaworks Camp runs twice a year with a Spring session from March through May. A one or two person SaaS team that can't relocate for four months is disqualified by the structure of the programme, not by anything in the eligibility checklist. Read the batch dates before you read the eligibility paragraph. If you can't be physically present for that window, the equity terms don't matter.
If you can only write one application this month
Apply to Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator first. It's the only programme on this list with both a published check, $150K on a 6% post-money SAFE, and a window that's open right now, with W'27 and S'27 both accepting applications. Every other clear-terms option here either has a deadline months out, like the 500 Fellowship's 16 October 2026 cutoff for a batch that doesn't start until the end of November 2026, or no published date at all. One application, one open window, one priced term sheet: that's where the month goes.
The six to start with
- Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator: $150K/6% Post-Money SAFE, W'27 and S'27 both open now.
- gener8tor Investment Accelerator: $100,000 for 7.5% equity, rolling applications.
- PearX: $500K-$2M, applications accepted year round across two cohorts a year.
- Startup Wise Guys: roughly EUR 50,000 for 3-6% equity, no fixed deadline.
- SOSV / Orbit Startups: $150,000 as a SAFE, no fixed deadline.
- The 500 Fellowship: $150,000, Batch 37 deadline 16 October 2026, batch runs 30 November 2026 to 9 April 2027.
The other 93 SaaS-eligible programmes in the catalogue are worth a look once you've got one of these in motion, not before. Start with the one that has a number on the page and a window that's open today, which right now is ERA.