Althra Opens Third Cohort with $12.5K Seed Funding and SF Trip

Vancouver-based incubator Althra has opened applications for its third cohort. The free, four-month program runs from September to December and will select six to 10 early-stage startups.

Participating founders receive a dedicated workspace in downtown Vancouver and $12,500 in initial funding with up to $50,000 in follow-on support, along with connections to established entrepreneurs. Applications close July 31.

Althra founder Sanket Mittal, a former Graphite Ventures analyst, launched the incubator in 2025 to connect what he called Vancouver's "fragmented" tech ecosystem. In an interview with BetaKit, Mittal described the community response as "unreal."

A year ago, some partners questioned the incubator's viability. Now, Mittal said organizations including Harper Grey and Innovate BC have signed on. Althra has supported 18 Canadian startups across two cohorts and closed a $500,000 fund to back portfolio companies. Version One Ventures general partner Boris Wertz became a limited partner in the fund, alongside Loopio co-founder Matt York. "Canada needs more bottoms-up, community-focused accelerators, and Sanket is exactly the high-agency founder to build one," Wertz told BetaKit.

The third cohort includes a trip to San Francisco to expose founders to the Silicon Valley tech scene. With Canadian founders increasingly moving to the US, Mittal said his primary aim is not to convince entrepreneurs to stay in Canada but to help more get off the ground. If he can do that while drawing some back to Vancouver to recycle capital and knowledge, he said, the mission is accomplished.

Applications close July 31.