SEAL is the capstone accelerator at UT Austin, driving startups from across campus. This 9-week summer accelerator provides the tools, workshops, and mentorship you need to secure funding and scale your venture. Participants will spend the summer alongside veteran entrepreneurs and getting guidance from a community of handpicked industry-specific mentors. The journey culminates in the highly anticipated Decision Day on July 30th, where you’ll pitch your business and fundraising strategies to investors and ecosystem partners for go/no-go feedback. Now in its 18th year, alumni have raised over $200M in investment and generated over $500M in value. Notable alumni include Favor (acquired by HEB), M87 (acquired by XCOM), Lynx Labs (acquired by Occipital), Accordion Health (acquired by Evolent Health), Ordoro, Rabbet, Apptronik, EQO, Flo Recruit and Elite Sweets.

SEAL was started in 2009 by Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) with the goal of empowering student entrepreneurs to vet their ideas, deepen their understanding of entrepreneurship, and try their hands at gaining funding. In 2019, SEAL was adopted by the Launchpad in partnership with ATI. Since 2025, Texas Entrepreneurship has carried on the legacy of this revered program and hopes to continue forging ahead for the next generation of great Longhorn entrepreneurs.

Who is eligible?

• UT graduate students, undergraduates, faculty, staff, and alumni are all eligible for this program if they have a startup they’re looking to scale.

How can I apply?

• Applications for the summer 2026 cohort are now closed. Programming begins on June 2nd and ends July 30th each year. Please return here next spring to apply for summer 2027.