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§ Private Profile · New York City, NY, USA
Strategy and advisory firm providing consulting services and growth strategies for technology, internet, media, and entertainment companies.
Activate is a boutique strategy and management consulting firm based in New York City and San Francisco that advises technology, internet, media, and entertainment companies on go-to-market strategies and digital transformation. Operating under the Next Fifteen corporate umbrella, the firm employs over 70 full-time team members and is currently executing a multi-year growth plan to reach $100 million in annual revenue. The organization provides paid executive advisory services and consumer research to corporate leaders across the eCommerce, television, video game, and telecommunications sectors. The firm regularly publishes its annual Technology and Media Outlook research report, which forecasts major global industry trends and was recently presented to executives at the WSJ Tech Live conference. Activate was founded in 2010 by former MTV Networks President Michael J. Wolf, alongside Anil R. Aggarwal, Edward Grossman, and Martha Schwartz.
Activate has raised $8.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Activate has raised $8.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Activate has raised $8.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $7.0M Series A in April 2014.
Activate has raised $8.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Activate's investors include Northzone, 2150, Accel, Audrey Capital, Betaworks Ventures, Bond, Creandum, DST Global, Founders Fund, Graypes GmbH, Helium-3 Ventures, Lakestar.
Activate (activate.org) is a nonprofit organization that empowers science innovators to transform hard-tech research into real-world solutions addressing global challenges. It operates through its flagship two-year Fellowship program, providing funding, mentorship, networks, and skills to entrepreneurial scientists, alongside Innovation Labs for broader ecosystem support. With 294 fellows supported to date, they have raised over $4B in follow-on funding and created ~3,000 jobs, focusing on hard tech for good in areas like clean energy, propulsion, and water solutions.[2][3]
Activate's mission stems from a theory of change that fosters leadership, innovation, and communities to bridge lab-to-market gaps. It serves scientists and engineers via fellowships in Berkeley, New York, Boston, Houston, and a remote "Anywhere" program, partnering with entities like the U.S. Department of Energy's Cyclotron Road. This positions Activate as a key accelerator in the hard-tech startup ecosystem, enabling breakthroughs in climate, health, and sustainability.[2]
Activate launched in 2015 alongside Cyclotron Road, a U.S. Department of Energy Lab Embedded Entrepreneurship Program at Berkeley Lab, with a vision to help scientists commercialize groundbreaking research. It has evolved from a single fellowship into a national hub supporting five communities (Berkeley, New York, Boston, Houston, and remote), expanding via Innovation Labs to aid entrepreneurs at all stages.[2]
Under new CEO leadership and an experienced team, Activate marks its 10th year in 2025, celebrating successes like Cohort 2025 and stories such as Juno Propulsion's space-bound tech and clean water scaling. Key pivots include growing beyond the fellowship to build a thriving network bridging science, entrepreneurship, and impact, powered by partners funding this expansion.[2][3]
Activate rides the hard-tech wave, capitalizing on surging demand for deep-tech solutions in climate, energy, and health amid global crises. Its timing aligns with increased funding for science commercialization post-2015, amplified by DOE partnerships and remote programs adapting to distributed talent.[2]
Market forces like government innovation initiatives (e.g., LEEP programs) and philanthropist backing favor Activate, filling gaps in traditional VC for capital-intensive hard tech. It influences the ecosystem by producing scalable ventures, fostering a pipeline of leaders, and demonstrating replicable models that inspire similar accelerators.[2][3]
Activate's expansion via Innovation Labs and new cohorts positions it to support more fellows amid rising hard-tech investments, potentially surpassing $5B in follow-on funding soon. Trends like AI-driven science, space tech, and decarbonization will shape its trajectory, with remote programs enabling global reach.
Its influence may evolve into a dominant hard-tech hub, influencing policy and spawning spinouts; as the fellowship originator, Activate remains primed to lead science-into-impact at scale, turning bold ideas into enduring solutions.[2][3]