Biomimicry Institute Invites Startups To Apply for 2026 Cohort of the Ray of Hope Accelerator

March 3, 2026 /3BL/ - The Biomimicry Institute, a not-for-profit organization co-founded by Janine Benyus in 2005 with the mission to catalyze a nature positive, regenerative, and inclusive future, has opened applications for the 2026 Ray of Hope Accelerator. This global, founder-focused program supports early-stage startups that look to nature’s 3.8 billion years of evolution as a blueprint for solving today’s most urgent challenges. Ten selected companies will receive $15,000 in non-dilutive funding, along with an immersive nature retreat, and virtual programming including a weekly curriculum, expert mentorship, and access to a vibrant network of investors and industry leaders to help scale their impact. Applications are open through April 24, 2026.

Since its launch in 2020, the Ray of Hope Accelerator has supported nearly 60 early-stage startups ranging from pre-seed through Series A from 19 countries, 35% of which are women-led. Today over 90% of the portfolio companies remain in operation, and collectively they have raised more than $250 million in investment.

Building on this momentum, the Institute is seeking the world’s most promising and impactful nature-inspired startups for its 2026 cohort.

“Last year’s cohort was one of our strongest yet,” said Amanda Sturgeon, CEO of the Biomimicry Institute. “We witnessed founders not only refining breakthrough technologies inspired by nature, but also bringing to life solutions that address climate change and biodiversity loss. They reaffirmed that nature-inspired innovation is not a niche approach, it is a powerful pathway to regenerative systems change. We are excited to welcome the next ten visionary teams who are ready to learn from life itself how to address the challenges of our time.”

The Institute is focused on ventures that address the polycrisis of climate change and biodiversity loss, and eliminate the linear “take, make, waste” paradigm. In addition, solutions should be grounded in deep scientific research, informed by biological principles, processes or systems, or are enabling bio-inspired innovation.

The selected companies will participate in a six-month accelerator starting in August valued at more than $50,000 in in-kind services. The program includes industry mentorship, science-based storytelling expertise, and connections to corporate leaders and mission-aligned investors. Founders will also gather for a four-day immersive Nature Retreat, where they will deepen their leadership skills, build community, and cultivate a biomimicry-driven philosophy to guide their companies.

"As I see it, the biomimicry startup community has reached critical mass. As a category, it has more than enough companies that are successfully scaling to prove the merit of nature-inspired design” says John A. Lanier, Executive Director of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and founding funder of the Accelerator, “we are heartened that more companies are starting with biomimicry as a central tenet, and that more investors are actively seeking them out as a result."

To explore the full portfolio of Ray of Hope Accelerator alumni, Visit the Portfolio page on Biomimicry.org to explore the full list of Ray of Hope Accelerator alumni.

For more information on eligibility and how to apply, please visit biomimicry.org/innovation/accelerator/.

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About the Biomimicry Institute

The Biomimicry Institute is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded by Janine Benyus in 2005, on a mission to create a nature positive, inclusive, and regenerative world inspired and guided by nature’s genius. The Biomimicry Institute is embarking towards a ten-year vision to dramatically scale the impact that biomimicry is having on some of the biggest challenges facing the world today. Since its founding 20 years ago, the Institute has worked to spread the practice of looking to the solutions developed by living organisms over billions of years to provide insight and inspiration for effective, efficient, and sustainable innovations and approaches to addressing our own challenges. As the Institute embarks on their third decade, they are fully committed to work across sectors and disciplines to spread the wisdom of nature-inspired, actionable solutions across our world. For more information, visit biomimicry.org.

Media Contact:

Anna Konstantinova
Biomimicry Institute, Director of Strategic Communications
anna.konstantinova@biomimicry.org