500 Global Flagship (500 Fellowship) (2026): Deal, Who Gets In & How to Apply

Investment	$1.1M
Who qualifies	Early-stage founders who are in the US or plan to be within six months. Accepted companies can receive up to $50K right away with potential for up to $1M more as they progress; a $35,000 Phase 1 programme fee applies. Equity terms are not stated on the page.
Open in	Worldwide, United States, Latin America, Middle East & North Africa, East Asia
Partner code needed	No: apply directly
Deadline	Unclear/still inconsistent as of 2026-10-13 re-check: 500 Global's own flagship page (updated Sep 2026) labels one section 'Batch 37 Deadline: October 16, 2026' but two other sections on the same page say 'Apply by October 2 to be considered for Batch 37', and a banner separately marks October 11 as Flagship Accelerator Batch 36's close. The application portal (flagship.aplica.500.co) just says Batch 37 is open now, with no deadline shown, and shows no countdown/days-left indicator -- applications appear to still be open past Oct 2, which weakly favors Oct 16 as the real cutoff, but the page itself never resolves the conflict. Confirm directly with 500 Global before relying on this date.
Terms last checked	2026-10-13

About 500 Global Flagship (500 Fellowship)

What you get

500 Global (formerly 500 Startups) runs its flagship San Francisco programme as the 500 Fellowship. Its page says accepted companies "can receive up to $50K right away with the potential for up to $1M more as you progress." The next programme runs 30 November 2026 to 9 April 2027 in San Francisco, with speakers, mentors and a founder community.

500 Global also runs regional programmes listed on its accelerators page, such as the 500 LatAm Program (stated investment offer of US$300,000), Sanabil Accelerator (MENA), programmes in Eurasia, Egypt, Japan and Korea, and Global Launch.

Who qualifies

The page aims at "the top 0.1% of founders" who build with a global outlook and are in the US or plan to be within six months. It encourages you to apply even if you do not meet every point.

Good to know

Fee: the page states "The program Fee for Phase 1 is $35,000 per startup, excluding travel expenses." It does not explain how this fee relates to the investment, so ask before you commit.
Equity: the page does not state the equity or instrument. Get the term sheet in writing.
Deadline: the page gives conflicting dates for Batch 37 (apply by 2 October, and a "Batch 37 Deadline" of 16 October 2026). Check with the team.

Verdict

A well-known brand with a large global portfolio, but the current flagship terms are not fully public and there is a stated programme fee. Compare the net cash and dilution with fee-free programmes before you apply.

accelerator san-francisco global fellowship

How to apply

Read the programme page at 500.co/founders/flagship (updated September 2026).
Apply through the "Apply Now" link (flagship.aplica.500.co).
Selected applicants go through a series of interviews with the team.
Ask for the full investment terms and how the $35,000 Phase 1 fee is handled before signing.