Techstars Announces the Fall 2026 Founder Catalyst Global Cohort

Techstars is proud to introduce the Fall 2026 Founder Catalyst Global cohort: 27 startups from Istanbul, Sarajevo, Omaha, Uzbekistan, and Belfast. Spanning AI, healthtech, cybersecurity, ecommerce, legaltech, fintech, and edtech, each brings a distinct understanding of the problems it is solving. Together, they join a global community built to help that insight become a stronger company.

A year after the inaugural Startup Community Partnership Founder Catalyst cohort connected founders from Omaha and Sarajevo, the program returns with a clearer expression of what that model makes possible: local expertise strengthened by global access. Fall 2026 builds on the relationships established through the first two cohorts, bringing founders into a network where experience travels across borders, and the value of a connection can extend far beyond a single company.

"It's such a fulfilling and rewarding experience to watch this cohort come together- to see the cross-community support, the Give First mentality, and the accountability that everyone brings to the table. Behind this cohort are five incredible startup communities and the people who dedicate so much to championing the success of founders. This cohort is a testament to the collaborative opportunities that are unlocked when local ecosystems connect globally."

— Glory Eromosele, Program Lead at Techstars Global FC Fall 2026

The 10-week program began on Sep 22, 2026, and runs through Nov 27, 2026, with a virtual Global Showcase on Dec 3, 2026. Through masterclasses, curated mentorship, individual guidance, pitch feedback, partner workshops, and conversations with experienced founders, participants will test their assumptions, strengthen their business models, and refine how they communicate their value. The experience is fully virtual, free, and equity-free, allowing founders to build their companies while remaining connected to the communities that support them. That connection is central to Founder Catalyst.

Community partners bring the local relationships and understanding that help identify promising founders and support their progress. Techstars brings an international network and a shared framework for learning, testing, and building. As founders exchange experience across sectors and markets, they also create relationships that can continue to serve their communities long after the program ends.

Five Communities, Distinct Perspectives

Istanbul

Istanbul’s cohort brings scientific research, commercial experience, and applied AI into the same conversation. Its founders are working on wearable circulation technology, synthetic consumer research, legal software, hospitality communications, and business AI adoption. The range is striking, but the common challenge is practical: turning technical capability into something customers can use and trust. Supported by Igniters Tech Law, these teams join a program that connects their knowledge of local and international markets with mentors and peers who can help them sharpen the next stage of their growth.

"What stands out in this cohort is not only the range of ideas, but the quality and ambition of the founders behind them. Istanbul has no shortage of technical talent or entrepreneurial energy. What matters now is helping more founders turn that capability into companies that can compete globally. Founder Catalyst gives them access to the network, mentorship, honest feedback, and international perspective to make that transition faster."

— Aylin Sahin, Managing Partner of Igniters Tech Law

Sarajevo

Sarajevo returns for a third consecutive cohort with companies addressing both the resilience of essential systems and the quality of everyday life. Critical infrastructure security and protection against quantum-era threats sit alongside clinical administration, civic maintenance, indoor climate control, local mobility, personal knowledge management, and support for people with ADHD. With 38x Ventures, the community continues to bring founders into the program whose technical skills are matched by a close understanding of the people and organizations they serve. Their work shows how expertise developed locally can address challenges shared across markets.

"Every new cohort is stronger and we are witnessing an ecosystem that moved forward from talking about startups to actually building them. The ideas are better, the founders are more mature, and the teams are more serious about execution. We have people who walked into a Techstars Startup Weekend as strangers and are now applying to Founder Catalyst as fully formed teams building real products. That’s progress you can measure. It tells us there are more people in Bosnia and Herzegovina choosing to build, getting better at it, and finding others who want to build with them. Keep that cycle going and the ceiling gets a lot higher. And I can’t think of a better environment for that journey than Techstars, where founders get the network, mentorship and, just as importantly, the honest feedback they need to keep getting better."

— Bojan Lazic, Director of Techstars Sarajevo

Omaha

Omaha’s founders bring an especially direct relationship to their customers’ needs. Their companies address animal welfare, young athletes’ hygiene, family road trips, website decision-making, and secure infrastructure that can operate without reliance on the cloud. Several draw on problems encountered in their own professional or family lives, translating familiarity into a clear starting point for product development. Supported by Open Range and the Greater Omaha and Lincoln startup community, these teams bring a grounded perspective to the cohort: understand the user, identify what gets in the way, and build something that makes a difference.

"Entering our 3rd cohort, we’re still so proud and impressed by the caliber of Nebraska’s startups. This cohort is led by solo founders who represent a variety of industries and backgrounds — a true reflection of what Nebraska entrepreneurship looks like."

— Jocelyn Stange, Program Manager at Open Range

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s cohort reflects an entrepreneurial community building from a close understanding of how people learn, access care, and run their businesses. Its founders are applying AI to problems that demand more than technical capability: products must fit established workflows, earn users’ trust, and deliver value in daily use. Experience across local and international markets gives the group a practical foundation for that work. With UzVC and Hackonnect, Founder Catalyst connects this commercial and technical ambition to mentors, peers, and relationships that can help founders test their ideas beyond familiar markets.

"Uzbekistan's tech ecosystem is growing fast, and programs like Founder Catalyst help our founders take the next step: from building for the market they know to competing on the world stage. Through our partnership, this cohort gains a wider network while bringing fresh insight from one of Central Asia's most dynamic markets."

— Madina Mirzakhalilova, Co-founder and CPO at Hackonnect

Belfast

Belfast’s cohort is working at moments when a better decision can have lasting consequences: assessing property risk, recognizing changes in contractual obligations, managing personal finances, allocating advertising spend, and preparing for the future of a family. The companies approach these challenges from different industries, with a shared focus on making complex information useful. Supported by Ormeau Labs and Queen’s University Belfast, the founders bring legal, financial, technical, and commercial experience to products designed to help people and businesses act with greater clarity.

"We are excited to partner with Techstars on the Founder Catalyst programme, enabling Northern Ireland startups to benefit from Techstars’ renowned training and global community of mentors and alumni. Working alongside four other cities fosters collaboration, fresh perspectives, and the exchange of innovative ideas. We look forward to supporting our startups and celebrating their successes throughout the 10-week programme."

— Peter Nawa, Innovation Programme Manager at Queen’s University Belfast

Meet the Fall 2026 Cohort

Behind every company in this cohort is a founder who knows a problem well enough to challenge how it is solved. Meet the 27 startups turning that insight into products, and the communities supporting their next chapter.

Istanbul

ARCH Technology — A wearable technology device that uses real-time machine learning analysis to support active circulation.

Chatlogger — An AI-powered guest communication platform for hospitality businesses, connecting customer conversations with day-to-day operations.

EmptoSight — An AI-native synthetic consumer platform that simulates consumer behavior to help businesses explore market insights and inform decisions.

Harmona AI — A no-prompt AI adoption platform that helps businesses build an AI workforce using their own data.

Lavren — An AI-powered legal technology platform for enterprise companies and law firms.

Sarajevo

AiMED — AI-powered clinical documentation and patient call management designed to reduce administrative work between doctors and patients.

Hej Taxi — A taxi-booking platform connecting passengers with licensed local drivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

IRONVALD — Autonomous cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, including industrial systems, healthcare networks, and financial infrastructure.

KAPYON — A cybersecurity platform that helps organizations identify cryptographic exposure and protect legacy infrastructure against quantum-era threats without disruptive backend migrations.

PinIT — A civic infrastructure platform that turns citizen reports into assigned, tracked, and verified work for city services, while generating data to inform municipal decisions.

Relic — An AI knowledge base that helps users save, connect, and rediscover information scattered across tabs, notes, documents, and links.

Rivet Innovation Technologies — A personal, proactive AI assistant designed to support people with ADHD and executive dysfunction.

Thermiora — A data-driven system for intelligent climate and indoor environment control.

Omaha

Enzo Clean — Skincare and equipment hygiene products for young athletes.

Etholytics — Continuous behavioral monitoring for animals in managed care, designed to support caregivers and animal welfare.

mNemo Automation — Self-hosted, local-first smart home and enterprise infrastructure designed to operate securely without cloud dependencies.

Moonlit — A website intelligence platform combining technical health and behavioral data to deliver prioritized, evidence-backed recommendations teams can act on.

U-GoTrip — A family road-trip planning platform that recommends when and where to stop based on who is traveling.

Uzbekistan

Englify — An English-learning platform for Uzbek speakers, combining point-of-view video lessons, AI speaking practice, and gamified challenges.

Sino AI — An AI-driven preventive health monitoring platform.

Vetomo: A platform helping veterinary clinics monitor patients’ recovery between visits through structured pet owner updates and AI support for ongoing care, within the tools their teams already use.

TheCarGo — An operating system for auto transport brokers, bringing leads, quoting, calls, messaging, dispatch, payments, and automation into one workflow.

Belfast

Breadly — A personal finance platform being built to connect users’ financial lives and proactively take action to help them save money and grow wealth.

KARB AI — An AI performance marketing platform helping agencies managing large portfolios of advertising accounts decide what to optimize, pause, and scale.

Kuper — Contract drift detection for infrastructure projects.

LastSay — A life continuity planning platform that helps people record their wishes, assets, healthcare directives, and digital accounts.

Yieldscout — Property intelligence that brings together fragmented data to provide valuations, continuous portfolio risk monitoring, and rental insights for lenders and estate agents.

About Techstars

Techstars is a global early-stage investor and startup accelerator. Since 2006, it has supported founders through investment, mentorship, and connections to an international network of entrepreneurs, operators, investors, and partners. Its accelerator and community programs help founders develop their companies and strengthen the startup communities around them. Learn more at techstars.com.

About the Techstars Founder Catalyst Global Fall 2026 Program

The Techstars Founder Catalyst Global Fall 2026 Program is a selective, part-time virtual pre-accelerator for early-stage founders from Istanbul, Sarajevo, Omaha, Uzbekistan, and Belfast. The free, equity-free program combines ten weeks of practical learning, tailored mentorship, pitch development, and access to the Techstars network. It helps founders strengthen customer understanding, test their commercial direction, and prepare for their next stage of growth. The cohort will present at the virtual Global Showcase on Dec 3, 2026.

About the Techstars Startup Community Partnership

The Techstars Startup Community Partnership connects local entrepreneurial communities with the Techstars network through a long-term approach to ecosystem development. By combining locally led engagement with programs such as Founder Catalyst, Startup Weekend, Startup Week, Community Development Lab, and Startup Digest, the partnership helps communities expand access to knowledge, relationships, and opportunities for founders.

About Igniters Tech Law — Istanbul Community Partner

With offices in the Bay Area and Istanbul, Igniters Tech Law connects Türkiye’s startup community with Silicon Valley. The organization supports Turkish founders’ international ambitions through access to relationships, market knowledge, and growth opportunities. Its partnership with Techstars extends that work by connecting founders to a global network of mentors, investors, and entrepreneurial peers.

About 38x Ventures — Sarajevo Community Partner

38x Ventures works to make Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina a launchpad for ambitious startups and regional innovation. Through connections with organizations including Slush, Techstars, and Google, it helps strengthen the local entrepreneurial community. Alongside ecosystem development, 38x Ventures supports founders directly, drawing on hands-on experience in launching, investing in, and mentoring startups.

About Open Range — Omaha Community Partner

Open Range supports the growth of the Greater Omaha and Lincoln startup ecosystem by connecting founders, creatives, funders, and institutions. Its work expands access to capital, mentorship, and other resources; activates local programs and partnerships; and raises the visibility of the region’s innovation stories. The organization helps local founders and builders access the relationships and support they need to move forward.

About UzVC and Hackonnect — Uzbekistan Community Partners

The Uzbekistan partnership combines the institutional support of UzVC with Hackonnect’s experience in organizing Startup Weekends and engaging the local entrepreneurial community. Together, they connect regional founders with Techstars’ international network, expanding access to mentorship, practical startup support, and opportunities for growth beyond their home market.

About Ormeau Labs and Queen’s University Belfast — Belfast Community Partners

Ormeau Labs and Queen’s University Belfast partner with Techstars to support early-stage founders and strengthen Northern Ireland’s innovation economy. Combining community engagement and institutional expertise, the partnership helps founders develop globally ambitious companies while connecting the local ecosystem to Techstars’ network of mentors, investors, and programs.