Women Founders

India
3 months
Up to Series A

Started by you. Accelerated with Google. A 10-week accelerator program for high potential women-founded tech startups (upto Series A funded) based in India.

India
3 months
Up to Series A

Applications are now closed

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About the program

About the program

Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders is designed to bring the best of Google’s programs, products, people and technology to the early-stage women-led tech startups based in India.

The program includes content and mentorship tailored to the unique needs of women founders, and opportunities to network with our global community.

Key benefits

  • Equity-free support

    Equity-free support: For duration of program.

  • Mentoring

    Dedicated mentoring from Google teams.

  • Training

    Exclusive invitations to technical bootcamps hosted by Google where offered.

  • Access to experts

    Access to Google's network of industry experts.

  • Google product credits

    Eligible startups receive product credits.

  • Early access

    Access to new Google products and tools as relevant.

  • Strategic support

    Support on company and product strategy.

  • Technical project partnership

    Work hand in hand with experts from Google on your biggest tech challenges.

Entry Criteria

A woman speaking in mic surrounded by other men and women while attending some session
Few men and women sitting on chair while listening to someone or looking at something

Entry Criteria

  • Startups with at least one woman founder
  • Startups demonstrating traction upto Series A stage
  • Building a scalable product or service with a significant total addressable market and defensible growth model
  • Deeply technical, preferably leveraging technologies like machine learning and AI
  • Commitment from CTO and/or technical roles to participate and engage in required program sessions
  • We are committed to building accelerator classes that are diverse and inclusive, and encourage applications from qualified startups with founders of all backgrounds

Accelerator Alumni

Meet our mentors

It's been an incredible journey with GFS full of learning and sharpening our brand offering. The mentors and the SSMs are like an extended family to us now. We know we can reach out to them with a vague problem, and they will not just troubleshoot or connect us with the right people but also make sure we put in the work to achieve our goals.

Chaitsi Ahuja Founder & CEO of Brown Living

Frequently asked questions

Do you take equity or fee to be a part of this program?

No, we do not take any equity or charge fee. The Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders program is completely free of charge for all startups. All you need to contribute is your time and energy.

What is the format of the program?

The accelerator program currently runs as a hybrid program. During the beginning of the program, we work with the startups selected into the accelerator and the anchor mentors to determine each startup’s challenges and support required from the program. Then these startups will go through an intensive 1-week long in-person Bootcamp around topics such as Product, Design, Technology, People & Growth, followed by the OKR (Objective Key Results) workshop to define their objective for the next 3 months.

The next two months of the program is all about supporting startups executing these objectives by providing access to our global network, 1:1 mentorships and 1:many sessions on demand virtually. The startups will also be paired with a dedicated Startup Success Manager (SSM) from Google to help startups get the best of Google - its people, network, thought leadership, and technology.

The graduated startups will be showcased through an in-person Demo Day with Google teams, mentors, VCs, media and different stakeholders from the Indian startup ecosystem. The engagement with the graduated startups will be continued through the Alumni program & network.

Who should apply for the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders?

The Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders targets Seed to Series A funded women-led tech startups headquartered in India.

The startups should be past the "idea stage" with some level of customer validation and market traction with their product.

How will startups be chosen?

We are looking for Indian startups that are solving problems using advanced technology like AI/ML or data in healthcare, education, finance, media & entertainment, gaming, enterprise & other industries and that can scale globally.

We review the completed applications from the startups in parallel to the application phase to check their eligibility for the accelerator program. The eligible applications will be reviewed by a panel of experts/program team and shortlist 40-60 startups for the interview/pitch session to evaluate the team, problem, solution and scalability. Then the shortlisted startups from the interview/pitch phase will be reviewed by the selection board for the final list. The final list of startups will receive the program contract to sign for the official announcement.

Note: All incomplete applications after the application deadline will be ineligible.

What is the difference between Launchpad and Google for Startups Accelerator?

For over five years, Google has operated its Launchpad Accelerators which reach entrepreneurs in over 40 countries and include some of the most successful startups in the world in its global portfolio. Towards the end of 2019, all Launchpad Accelerators were renamed to Google for Startups Accelerator to simplify Google's startup offerings.

Is there a similar program for startups in other regions?

Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders is also available for startups based in North America. Please review this page for more information.

Is there a different program for startups in the region?

Google for Startups Accelerator: India is also available for Seed to Series A funded startups headquartered in India. Please review this page for more information.

How is the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders different from the Google for Startups Accelerator: India?

Both the Accelerators include deep dives and workshops in areas such as product design, customer acquisition, and founders’ leadership development along with mentoring and support on the design, tech, AI/ML, Cloud, UX, Android, Web, Product Strategy and Growth.

The Google for Startups Accelerator: India brings some custom programming and support for tech products and business challenges. If you are a growth-stage AI-first startup, we recommend you to apply for the Google for Startups Accelerator: India.

The Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders includes tailored programming, content and mentorship focused on women founder specific topics and challenges with access to growth opportunities, networking and our global community of women founders.

What are the criteria to receive product credits, and what does "eligible for product credits" mean?

Startups must meet specific criteria to be eligible for Google product credit offerings. To learn more about the Google Cloud credit eligibility requirements, please visit the Google Cloud startup page.