Ali Partovi’s Neo seems to raise the quality of the accelerator with a very low sound

For the most sought-after founders, the popularity of the top accelerator is enhanced by refusing to give up their ownership of their company.

Ali Partovi, former investor and CEO of Neo companythey want to mentor and team up for one of the world’s best accelerator programs—without forcing emerging technology leaders to deliver. 7% or even 10% before their company even starts.

Partovi, known for his early investments in Facebook, Cursor, and Kalshi, has just launched Neo Residencya new, competitively designed program that combines a four-year accelerator with a track for college students.

The term Neo Residency offers is so friendly that it “doesn’t look like other startups at all,” Partovi told TechCrunch.

For a group of 12 to 15 startups entering the program this summer, Neo will invest $750,000 through a non-recourse SAFE – a deal that gives the lender future cash in exchange for cash now, with no cap on the value used to calculate that cost. Unlike the fixed percentages offered by other startups, Neo won’t get its money until the company receives cash, and even then, the cut is tied to the valuation. If the startup raises its next price at the price of $ 15 million, the price of Neo will be 5%, but if the price hits $ 100 million, the ownership of the company will drop to only 0.75%.

“We take risks up front, so this is a great start,” Partovi said.

In comparison, Y Combinator it is usually based on a fixed 7% of the company for $ 125,000, and another $ 375,000 was invested in the unused MFN – or most favored nation – SAFE, a clause that ensures that early investors get the same favorable terms as those offered to future ones. Meanwhile, Andreessen Horowitz’s Speedrun program typically invests $500,000 in exchange for an initial 10% through a SAFE note, with another $500,000 if the next tranche is raised within 18 months for whatever reason the others agree.

“We are offering so much money that it is suitable even for startups that don’t think about other accelerations,” said Partovi.

Low cost is just one part of Neo Residency’s appeal.

The founders will work for three months at Neo’s offices in San Francisco’s Jackson Square district, participate in a two-week bootcamp in the mountains of Oregon, and be mentored by about 30 professionals, including Russell Kaplan, president of Cognition, and Fuzzy Khosrowshahi, CTO of Notion (and creator of Google Sheets and Partovi’s uncle).

But the main draw of the program is its popularity: Seed and Series A investors often have great respect for the founders selected by Partovi.

“The one (launcher) I like right now that has the highest benchmark, and every startup I’ve met is brilliant, is Neo,” Wesley Chan, co-founder and managing partner of FPV Ventures, he said on stage at the 2025 TechCrunch Disrupt.

Startups that have gone through the program include Moment, a growing fintech company $56 million from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, and Anterior, an AI healthcare startup backed by NEA and Sequoia.

Neo Residency will also select five to eight students – either individually or in small groups – who will receive a $40,000, non-refundable grant to take a semester to work. Although there is no reason to quit or start a company right away, Partovi said he hopes the students will catch the business bug and, when they do start a startup, will turn to Neo for funding.

Neo is keeping the project small and selective: it will combine its two annual cohorts of 20 cohorts each, with a mix of startups and student projects.

Why is Neo giving such a generous quote? “We are more confident in our ability to attract and select the top talent of the future than ever before,” said Partovi.

His history shows that his confidence is well-founded. He met Cursor co-founder Michael Truell when Truell was still a student at MIT and later wrote one of the first checks on early AI coding, which is now worth approx. $30 billion.