AI Index / Startup accelerator directories / History

Startup accelerator directories — AI Recommendation History

What AI assistants recommended for startup accelerator directories, date by date. Every ranking we publish is frozen the day it publishes, so this is a record of what was said — not a re-computation of what today's data would say about the past.

Record: 26 dated snapshots · Aug 14, 2026 – Sep 8, 2026

Answer archive Methodology Data studies JSON

What changed

Computed by comparing each dated snapshot with the one before it. Share moves smaller than 1pp are treated as noise and left out — the same threshold that suppresses trend arrows on the ranking.

Sep 8, 2026vs Sep 7, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 7, 2026vs Sep 6, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 6, 2026vs Sep 5, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 5, 2026vs Sep 4, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 4-7 → 7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▲ INAccelerator Database entered the top 10 (#13 → #9)
▲ INAlchemist entered the top 10 (#27 → #10)
▼ OUTOpenVC.app left the top 10 (#8 → #15)
▼ OUT500 Global left the top 10 (#10 → #11)
▲Alchemist moved #27 → #10
▼OpenVC.app moved #8 → #15
▲Accelerator Database moved #13 → #9
▲F6S moved #4 → #2
▼Crunchbase moved #2 → #4
▲Gust moved #7 → #6
▼Plug and Play moved #6 → #7
▲SOSV moved #9 → #8
▼500 Global moved #10 → #11
▼Crunchbase -9.6pp (42.9% → 33.3%)
▼OpenVC.app -8.9pp (21.4% → 12.5%)
▼OpenVC -8.3pp (50% → 41.7%)
▲Alchemist +7.2pp (9.5% → 16.7%)
▼500 Global -6.5pp (19% → 12.5%)
▼Plug and Play -6pp (31% → 25%)
▲Accelerator Database +2.4pp (14.3% → 16.7%)
▲F6S +1.8pp (35.7% → 37.5%)
▼Techstars -1.8pp (31% → 29.2%)
▲Gust +1.2pp (23.8% → 25%)

Sep 4, 2026vs Sep 3, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 3, 2026vs Sep 2, 2026

▲SOSV moved #10 → #9
▼500 Global moved #9 → #10
▲Plug and Play +1.5pp (29.5% → 31%)
▼500 Global -1.5pp (20.5% → 19%)
▲Gust +1.1pp (22.7% → 23.8%)

Sep 2, 2026vs Sep 1, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 1, 2026vs Aug 31, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 31, 2026vs Aug 30, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 30, 2026vs Aug 29, 2026

▲ IN500 Global entered the top 10 (#13 → #9)
▼ OUTMassChallenge left the top 10 (#9 → #12)
▲500 Global moved #13 → #9
▲Techstars moved #8 → #5
▼MassChallenge moved #9 → #12
▼OpenVC.app moved #6 → #8
▲Y Combinator moved #4 → #3
▼F6S moved #3 → #4
▼Plug and Play moved #5 → #6
▲Techstars +8.1pp (23.7% → 31.8%)
▲Y Combinator +7pp (31.6% → 38.6%)
▲Crunchbase +3.7pp (39.5% → 43.2%)
▲Plug and Play +3.2pp (26.3% → 29.5%)
▼OpenVC.app -3.2pp (23.7% → 20.5%)
▼MassChallenge -2.9pp (21.1% → 18.2%)
▲500 Global +2.1pp (18.4% → 20.5%)
▼Gust -1pp (23.7% → 22.7%)

Aug 29, 2026vs Aug 28, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 4 → 4-7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▲ INGust entered the top 10 (#12 → #7)
▲ INSOSV entered the top 10 (#14 → #10)
▼ OUT500 Global left the top 10 (#9 → #13)
▼ OUTFailory left the top 10 (#10 → #11)
▲Gust moved #12 → #7
▲SOSV moved #14 → #10
▼500 Global moved #9 → #13
▼Techstars moved #6 → #8
▲F6S moved #4 → #3
▼Y Combinator moved #3 → #4
▲OpenVC.app moved #7 → #6
▼MassChallenge moved #8 → #9
▼Failory moved #10 → #11
▼Crunchbase -15.5pp (55% → 39.5%)
▼500 Global -11.6pp (30% → 18.4%)
▼Techstars -11.3pp (35% → 23.7%)
▼OpenVC -10pp (60% → 50%)
▼MassChallenge -8.9pp (30% → 21.1%)
▼Plug and Play -8.7pp (35% → 26.3%)
▼Y Combinator -8.4pp (40% → 31.6%)
▼Failory -6.6pp (25% → 18.4%)
▼OpenVC.app -6.3pp (30% → 23.7%)
▲Gust +3.7pp (20% → 23.7%)
▲F6S +1.8pp (35% → 36.8%)
▲SOSV +1.1pp (20% → 21.1%)

Aug 28, 2026vs Aug 27, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 27, 2026vs Aug 26, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 26, 2026vs Aug 25, 2026

▲ INFailory entered the top 10 (#14 → #10)
▼ OUTGust left the top 10 (#10 → #12)
▲Failory moved #14 → #10
▼Techstars moved #3 → #6
▲Y Combinator moved #5 → #3
▲F6S moved #6 → #4
▲OpenVC.app moved #9 → #7
▼Gust moved #10 → #12
▼Plug and Play moved #4 → #5
▼MassChallenge moved #7 → #8
▼500 Global moved #8 → #9
▲OpenVC.app +11.2pp (18.8% → 30%)
▲Failory +9.4pp (15.6% → 25%)
▼Techstars -8.8pp (43.8% → 35%)
▲Crunchbase +8.1pp (46.9% → 55%)
▲OpenVC +3.7pp (56.3% → 60%)
▲Y Combinator +2.5pp (37.5% → 40%)
▼Plug and Play -2.5pp (37.5% → 35%)
▲MassChallenge +1.9pp (28.1% → 30%)
▲500 Global +1.9pp (28.1% → 30%)
▲Gust +1.2pp (18.8% → 20%)

Aug 25, 2026vs Aug 24, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 24, 2026vs Aug 23, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 23, 2026vs Aug 22, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 22, 2026vs Aug 21, 2026

▲ INOpenVC.app entered the top 10 (#13 → #9)
▼ OUTDealroom left the top 10 (#10 → #12)
▲OpenVC.app moved #13 → #9
▲Plug and Play moved #6 → #4
▼Dealroom moved #10 → #12
▼Y Combinator moved #4 → #5
▼F6S moved #5 → #6
▼Gust moved #9 → #10
▲OpenVC.app +7pp (11.8% → 18.8%)
▲Plug and Play +6.1pp (31.4% → 37.5%)
▲Crunchbase +5.7pp (41.2% → 46.9%)
▲OpenVC +5.3pp (51% → 56.3%)
▲MassChallenge +4.6pp (23.5% → 28.1%)
▲500 Global +4.6pp (23.5% → 28.1%)
▲F6S +3pp (31.4% → 34.4%)
▲Techstars +2.6pp (41.2% → 43.8%)

Aug 21, 2026vs Aug 20, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 20, 2026vs Aug 19, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 19, 2026vs Aug 18, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 18, 2026vs Aug 17, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 17, 2026vs Aug 16, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 16, 2026vs Aug 15, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 15, 2026vs Aug 14, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

The ranking, date by date

Top 10 on each archived date, exactly as published. Cite a date and it stays true: snapshots are append-only, and a correction appends a new revision rather than overwriting the original.

Sep 8, 202624 sampled answers · window 2026-08-11 – 2026-09-08 · rules v7

#1OpenVC41.7%
#2F6S37.5%
#3Y Combinator37.5%
#4Crunchbase33.3%
#5Techstars29.2%
#6Gust25%
#7Plug and Play25%
#8SOSV20.8%
#9Accelerator Database16.7%
#10Alchemist16.7%

Sep 7, 202624 sampled answers · window 2026-08-10 – 2026-09-07 · rules v7

#1OpenVC41.7%
#2F6S37.5%
#3Y Combinator37.5%
#4Crunchbase33.3%
#5Techstars29.2%
#6Gust25%
#7Plug and Play25%
#8SOSV20.8%
#9Accelerator Database16.7%
#10Alchemist16.7%

Sep 6, 202624 sampled answers · window 2026-08-09 – 2026-09-06 · rules v7

#1OpenVC41.7%
#2F6S37.5%
#3Y Combinator37.5%
#4Crunchbase33.3%
#5Techstars29.2%
#6Gust25%
#7Plug and Play25%
#8SOSV20.8%
#9Accelerator Database16.7%
#10Alchemist16.7%

Sep 5, 202624 sampled answers · window 2026-08-08 – 2026-09-05 · rules v7

#1OpenVC41.7%
#2F6S37.5%
#3Y Combinator37.5%
#4Crunchbase33.3%
#5Techstars29.2%
#6Gust25%
#7Plug and Play25%
#8SOSV20.8%
#9Accelerator Database16.7%
#10Alchemist16.7%

Sep 4, 202642 sampled answers · window 2026-08-07 – 2026-09-04 · rules v4-7

#1OpenVC50%
#2Crunchbase42.9%
#3Y Combinator38.1%
#4F6S35.7%
#5Techstars31%
#6Plug and Play31%
#7Gust23.8%
#8OpenVC.app21.4%
#9SOSV21.4%
#10500 Global19%

Sep 3, 202642 sampled answers · window 2026-08-06 – 2026-09-03 · rules v4-7

#1OpenVC50%
#2Crunchbase42.9%
#3Y Combinator38.1%
#4F6S35.7%
#5Techstars31%
#6Plug and Play31%
#7Gust23.8%
#8OpenVC.app21.4%
#9SOSV21.4%
#10500 Global19%

Sep 2, 202644 sampled answers · window 2026-08-05 – 2026-09-02 · rules v4-7

#1OpenVC50%
#2Crunchbase43.2%
#3Y Combinator38.6%
#4F6S36.4%
#5Techstars31.8%
#6Plug and Play29.5%
#7Gust22.7%
#8OpenVC.app20.5%
#9500 Global20.5%
#10SOSV20.5%

Sep 1, 202644 sampled answers · window 2026-08-04 – 2026-09-01 · rules v4-7

#1OpenVC50%
#2Crunchbase43.2%
#3Y Combinator38.6%
#4F6S36.4%
#5Techstars31.8%
#6Plug and Play29.5%
#7Gust22.7%
#8OpenVC.app20.5%
#9500 Global20.5%
#10SOSV20.5%

Aug 31, 202644 sampled answers · window 2026-08-03 – 2026-08-31 · rules v4-7

#1OpenVC50%
#2Crunchbase43.2%
#3Y Combinator38.6%
#4F6S36.4%
#5Techstars31.8%
#6Plug and Play29.5%
#7Gust22.7%
#8OpenVC.app20.5%
#9500 Global20.5%
#10SOSV20.5%

Aug 30, 202644 sampled answers · window 2026-08-02 – 2026-08-30 · rules v4-7

#1OpenVC50%
#2Crunchbase43.2%
#3Y Combinator38.6%
#4F6S36.4%
#5Techstars31.8%
#6Plug and Play29.5%
#7Gust22.7%
#8OpenVC.app20.5%
#9500 Global20.5%
#10SOSV20.5%

Aug 29, 202638 sampled answers · window 2026-08-01 – 2026-08-29 · rules v4-7

#1OpenVC50%
#2Crunchbase39.5%
#3F6S36.8%
#4Y Combinator31.6%
#5Plug and Play26.3%
#6OpenVC.app23.7%
#7Gust23.7%
#8Techstars23.7%
#9MassChallenge21.1%
#10SOSV21.1%

Aug 28, 202620 sampled answers · window 2026-07-31 – 2026-08-28 · rules v4

#1OpenVC60%
#2Crunchbase55%
#3Y Combinator40%
#4F6S35%
#5Plug and Play35%
#6Techstars35%
#7OpenVC.app30%
#8MassChallenge30%
#9500 Global30%
#10Failory25%

Aug 27, 202620 sampled answers · window 2026-07-30 – 2026-08-27 · rules v4

#1OpenVC60%
#2Crunchbase55%
#3Y Combinator40%
#4F6S35%
#5Plug and Play35%
#6Techstars35%
#7OpenVC.app30%
#8MassChallenge30%
#9500 Global30%
#10Failory25%

Aug 26, 202620 sampled answers · window 2026-07-29 – 2026-08-26 · rules v4

#1OpenVC60%
#2Crunchbase55%
#3Y Combinator40%
#4F6S35%
#5Plug and Play35%
#6Techstars35%
#7OpenVC.app30%
#8MassChallenge30%
#9500 Global30%
#10Failory25%

Aug 25, 202632 sampled answers · window 2026-07-28 – 2026-08-25 · rules v4

#1OpenVC56.3%
#2Crunchbase46.9%
#3Techstars43.8%
#4Plug and Play37.5%
#5Y Combinator37.5%
#6F6S34.4%
#7MassChallenge28.1%
#8500 Global28.1%
#9OpenVC.app18.8%
#10Gust18.8%

Aug 24, 202632 sampled answers · window 2026-07-27 – 2026-08-24 · rules v4

#1OpenVC56.3%
#2Crunchbase46.9%
#3Techstars43.8%
#4Plug and Play37.5%
#5Y Combinator37.5%
#6F6S34.4%
#7MassChallenge28.1%
#8500 Global28.1%
#9OpenVC.app18.8%
#10Gust18.8%

Aug 23, 202632 sampled answers · window 2026-07-26 – 2026-08-23 · rules v4

#1OpenVC56.3%
#2Crunchbase46.9%
#3Techstars43.8%
#4Plug and Play37.5%
#5Y Combinator37.5%
#6F6S34.4%
#7MassChallenge28.1%
#8500 Global28.1%
#9OpenVC.app18.8%
#10Gust18.8%

Aug 22, 202632 sampled answers · window 2026-07-25 – 2026-08-22 · rules v4

#1OpenVC56.3%
#2Crunchbase46.9%
#3Techstars43.8%
#4Plug and Play37.5%
#5Y Combinator37.5%
#6F6S34.4%
#7MassChallenge28.1%
#8500 Global28.1%
#9OpenVC.app18.8%
#10Gust18.8%

Aug 21, 202651 sampled answers · window 2026-07-24 – 2026-08-21 · rules v4

#1OpenVC51%
#2Crunchbase41.2%
#3Techstars41.2%
#4Y Combinator37.3%
#5F6S31.4%
#6Plug and Play31.4%
#7MassChallenge23.5%
#8500 Global23.5%
#9Gust19.6%
#10Dealroom19.6%

Aug 20, 202651 sampled answers · window 2026-07-23 – 2026-08-20 · rules v4

#1OpenVC51%
#2Crunchbase41.2%
#3Techstars41.2%
#4Y Combinator37.3%
#5F6S31.4%
#6Plug and Play31.4%
#7MassChallenge23.5%
#8500 Global23.5%
#9Gust19.6%
#10Dealroom19.6%

Aug 19, 202651 sampled answers · window 2026-07-22 – 2026-08-19 · rules v4

#1OpenVC51%
#2Crunchbase41.2%
#3Techstars41.2%
#4Y Combinator37.3%
#5F6S31.4%
#6Plug and Play31.4%
#7MassChallenge23.5%
#8500 Global23.5%
#9Gust19.6%
#10Dealroom19.6%

Aug 18, 202651 sampled answers · window 2026-07-21 – 2026-08-18 · rules v4

#1OpenVC51%
#2Crunchbase41.2%
#3Techstars41.2%
#4Y Combinator37.3%
#5F6S31.4%
#6Plug and Play31.4%
#7MassChallenge23.5%
#8500 Global23.5%
#9Gust19.6%
#10Dealroom19.6%

Aug 17, 202651 sampled answers · window 2026-07-20 – 2026-08-17 · rules v4

#1OpenVC51%
#2Crunchbase41.2%
#3Techstars41.2%
#4Y Combinator37.3%
#5F6S31.4%
#6Plug and Play31.4%
#7MassChallenge23.5%
#8500 Global23.5%
#9Gust19.6%
#10Dealroom19.6%

Aug 16, 202651 sampled answers · window 2026-07-19 – 2026-08-16 · rules v4

#1OpenVC51%
#2Crunchbase41.2%
#3Techstars41.2%
#4Y Combinator37.3%
#5F6S31.4%
#6Plug and Play31.4%
#7MassChallenge23.5%
#8500 Global23.5%
#9Gust19.6%
#10Dealroom19.6%

Aug 15, 202651 sampled answers · window 2026-07-18 – 2026-08-15 · rules v4

#1OpenVC51%
#2Crunchbase41.2%
#3Techstars41.2%
#4Y Combinator37.3%
#5F6S31.4%
#6Plug and Play31.4%
#7MassChallenge23.5%
#8500 Global23.5%
#9Gust19.6%
#10Dealroom19.6%

Aug 14, 202651 sampled answers · window 2026-07-17 – 2026-08-14 · rules v4

#1OpenVC51%
#2Crunchbase41.2%
#3Techstars41.2%
#4Y Combinator37.3%
#5F6S31.4%
#6Plug and Play31.4%
#7MassChallenge23.5%
#8500 Global23.5%
#9Gust19.6%
#10Dealroom19.6%

Read any date directly

Every archived date is machine-readable at /api/index/startup-accelerator-directories/as-of/<YYYY-MM-DD>, which returns the ranking as it stood, with the extraction version and revision it was published under. Dates before the record begins return no_record rather than a recomputation — we do not reconstruct history on demand and present it as what we said. See what the engines actually said.

[ORBATOR]