We believe it is vital that those building the future of financial services reflect the rich diversity of the consumers who can benefit from that innovation. Plaid Accelerate aims to directly support a diverse and inclusive fintech community.

Plaid Accelerate brings you together with other founders at similar stages for a concentrated 5-month long program. We tailor each program to your needs and offer hands-on assistance and a supportive community to accelerate your startup’s momentum.

Access to Plaid expertise and technology

Work alongside Plaid's team of industry-leading experts who will provide mentorship and training, including a 4-day virtual bootcamp covering sales, marketing, product and more. You will have ongoing access to feedback and guidance from the Plaid team via dedicated office hours and an internal demo day. You will also enjoy 5 months of free access to Plaid’s technology.

Guidance in your fundraising journey

Our fundraising workshop series brings in investors from leading fintech venture capital firms who will offer a peek behind the VC diligence process; discuss term sheets and valuations; help you identify critical business milestones, and more. The workshop series culminates with a practice pitch day where you can get direct feedback from the investors in our network.

Support from our fintech partner network

Building a fintech startup is no small feat. Plaid Accelerate has assembled a network of fintech service providers to help you identify the best partners to build and grow your businesses with.

Programming tailored to your needs

In addition to dedicated mentorship from Plaid leaders, you will have access to ongoing support to navigate the policy and regulatory environment and apply technology and engineering best practices, all with the support of our partner network, which includes a leading fintech law firm, and policy, compliance and technology experts.

Frequently asked questions

Still have questions? We’re here to help

Our recently rebranded Plaid Accelerate program reflects and expands our commitment to accelerate equity within the financial system. If you are interested in participating, please apply no later than May 31.

Who should apply?

Plaid Accelerate is intended for BIPOC-founded startups building products or services in the finance and technology space. Applicants must be 18+, applying on behalf of a U.S.-based, BIPOC majority-owned business incorporated in the United States. 

We are now taking applications for our third program! Our program runs from July - December 2022 and is best suited for:

  • Startups with seed funding or sufficient capital to operate their startups full-time

  • Full-time founder teams, who have at least 1 full-time employee

  • Startups that have product(s) released to general availability (GA) with meaningful customer traction


All applicants must be technology startups headquartered in the US. At least one founder must be available to join all program elements; additional teammates will have the opportunity to participate. In order to ensure that Plaid can provide meaningful advice and mentorship, participating companies should leverage financial data in their products, service or operations.


Key Program dates:

Our third program runs from July - December 2022:

  • Application open from May 5th - May 31st

  • Cohort announced mid-July

  • Program kicks with virtual bootcamp July 19th - 22nd 

  • Program concludes on December 16th


How do we select participants?

Applicants that meet the criteria outlined above will be considered by a panel of Plaid leaders across the company. In order to ensure that Plaid can provide meaningful advice and mentorship, companies that leverage financial data in their product, service or operations, or show an interest in leveraging this technology in the future will be given preference.

Still have questions? We’re here to help.

If you have more questions, please email us at accelerate@plaid.com