From Concept to Ecosystem: The Evolution of PeaceTech Accelerators

Introduction

When the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab first began exploring the intersection of technology and peace in 2008, “peace tech” was not yet a recognized field. Our early work proposed a new definition: peace is a measurable set of pro-social behaviors, and technologies can be designed to increase those behaviors across group divides. This was a shift away from viewing peace merely as the absence of violence, toward treating peace as an active, designable system.

In the years since, the concept of peace technology has expanded globally. Accelerators—structures that concentrate resources, mentorship, and networks around innovation—have played a central role in this evolution. Governments, universities, nonprofits, and private companies now host peace tech accelerators, each bringing their own framing of what “peace tech” means. Looking across these initiatives, we see the emergence of a diverse but connected ecosystem that, as of 2025, continues to grow with new conferences, alliances, and prizes.

Early Pioneers: PeaceTech Lab and U.S.-Based Accelerators

The PeaceTech Lab was originally incubated inside the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) and then spun out as an independent nonprofit in 2014. From its inception, the Lab focused on applying technology to peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and humanitarian response.

In 2017, the Lab partnered with C5 Capital, Amazon Web Services, and SAP to launch the PeaceTech Accelerator in Washington, D.C. — the first explicitly branded peace tech startup accelerator. It offered eight-week intensive programs for global startups creating tools to manage, mitigate, predict, or prevent conflict and promote sustainable peace.

This model reflected a conflict-zone orientation, with cohorts that included missile warning systems for Syrian civilians, job platforms for at-risk youth, and human rights monitoring tools. To date, more than 75 startups have graduated from C5-backed PeaceTech programs, making this the first large-scale proof of concept for peace tech entrepreneurship.

At the same time, Stanford’s Peace Innovation Lab was advancing a complementary theory: that peace tech is fundamentally mediating technology—tools that increase positive engagement across divides. This broader framing influenced a second wave of accelerators outside the U.S.

Europe: Building PeaceTech Ecosystems

Austria

Austria has emerged as a European hub for peace tech, leveraging its diplomatic tradition and research infrastructure. In 2025, the PeaceTech Alliance was launched in Vienna, led by the Austrian Institute of Technology with support from government ministries, universities, and NGOs such as the Austrian Centre for Peace.

Rather than incubating startups, the Alliance focuses on co-creation with peacebuilders, building shared data spaces, and ensuring responsible, human-centered AI. Its definition of peace tech centers on tools that enable peace practitioners to work more effectively—an ecosystem and policy-driven approach rather than a startup pipeline. Multiple PeaceTech conferences are also being convened in Vienna in 2025, including gatherings at Impact Hub Vienna focused on “Advancing Ethical AI for a Diverse World.”

Italy

At the European University Institute in Florence, the Global PeaceTech Hub (2021–2023) explored the intersection of technology governance and peace. Funded by Kluz Ventures, it convened scholars and practitioners to define a Global PeaceTech framework, situating digital governance and AI ethics alongside traditional conflict prevention.

Together, these European efforts illustrate a widening lens: peace tech is not just tools in conflict zones, but a field shaping policy, research, and global governance.

Latin America: Peace Tech for Reconciliation and Development

Colombia

In post-accord Colombia, peace tech accelerators emerged as instruments of reconciliation and social innovation. The Innovation Lab for Peace, created by the Trust for the Americas and Universidad Nacional de Colombia, trained youth in digital skills and entrepreneurship, culminating in hackathons and startup-style accelerators for community ventures.

Other efforts, such as the Accelerating Peace program supported by the U.S. Embassy and Fundación Pasos Libres, linked youth-led peace projects to corporate partners. Meanwhile, the Magnolia Foundation, awarded the Kluz Prize for PeaceTech, has begun digitizing its trauma healing and peace education programs, demonstrating that peace tech can also mean scaling psychosocial support via digital platforms.

Costa Rica

At the UN-mandated University for Peace, the Peace Innovation Initiative (PII) defines itself as “the new accelerator for peace practice.” PII convenes global fellows and leaders to accelerate innovation in health, climate, education, and data—all as pillars of peace. This systemic view echoes Stanford’s approach: peace tech as any technology that increases the capacity for active peace.

Latin American accelerators highlight how peace tech adapts to context: where armed conflict is fresh, accelerators support grassroots entrepreneurship; where peace is institutionalized, accelerators broaden to systemic innovation.

Asia and South Asia: Innovation Under Constraint

While no programs in Asia are explicitly branded as “peace tech accelerators,” several adjacent initiatives operate with peace tech goals.

  • Phandeeyar (Myanmar) was a seed accelerator born from civic tech hackathons, supported by funders including the U.S. Institute of Peace. It provided early-stage startups with capital and mentoring, many addressing social cohesion and democratic participation.

  • CyberPeace Foundation (India) runs campaigns, hackathons, and training programs focused on cybercrime prevention and peace-positive use of digital tools.

  • The Red Elephant Foundation (India) created digital apps like Saahas and GBV Help Map to address gender-based violence through technology.

  • UNESCO MGIEP (New Delhi) developed FramerSpace, an AI-powered education platform advancing socio-emotional learning and peace education.

  • Tek4Peace Africa (Kenya) and similar NGOs in Southeast Asia run grassroots programs that use civic tech, digital literacy, and online storytelling to counter misinformation and promote dialogue.

These cases show how peace tech manifests in Asia and South Asia through education, cybersecurity, and grassroots innovation, often under resource constraints.

Accelerator-Adjacent Programs: Expanding the PeaceTech Ecosystem

Not all peace tech activity takes the form of classic startup accelerators. Around the world, universities and research institutes are creating accelerator-adjacent programs that perform a similar function: they bring resources, networks, and legitimacy to innovators working at the intersection of technology and peace, even if they do not operate as venture accelerators.

  • Oxford University hosts the Global PeaceTech Program (backed by Kluz Ventures) and ran the Global PeaceTech Hub (2021–2023), convening experts and awarding the Kluz Prize for PeaceTech. The Oxford Network of Peace Studies (OxPeace) and the Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (ELAC) explore digital conflict, cyber norms, and AI ethics. The Oxford Institute for Ethics in AI runs an Accelerator Fellowship Programme, serving as a policy accelerator for ethical AI.

  • International prizes and panels like the Kluz Prize for PeaceTech and the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) provide validation and convening power, extending peace tech into mainstream scientific and policy debates.

  • Social impact accelerators such as LSE’s 100x Impact Accelerator, the ARC Accelerator, or USD’s Sparkprogram, though not peace-labeled, regularly incubate ventures that overlap with peacebuilding, inclusion, and resilience.

These “adjacent” programs underscore that peace tech is not confined to startups or NGOs. Academic fellowships, prizes, and policy incubators are accelerating the field by providing legitimacy, funding, and diffusion channels.

AI, Diplomacy Tech, and Ethical Acceleration

As artificial intelligence reshapes global diplomacy and peacebuilding, new forms of acceleration are emerging—not as startup pipelines, but as ethical incubators, capacity-building platforms, and policy forums.

  • The Carnegie Ethics Accelerator explores “AI in Diplomacy,” cultivating responsible frameworks for the use of LLMs in international negotiations.

  • The Tech Diplomacy Academy at Purdue’s Krach Institute serves as a diplomatic tech accelerator, training government and corporate actors in AI, cybersecurity, and geopolitics.

  • UNIDIR’s Innovations Dialogue, the Harvard Belfer Center’s “AI and Conflict Resolution” forum, and NYU’s AI Across Sectors event convene experts to test the potential of AI in mediation, peacebuilding, and humanitarian response.

  • Governments are institutionalizing diplomacy tech through bureaus like the U.S. State Department’s Office of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, alongside foreign service training in AI and cyber tradecraft.

These initiatives broaden the peace tech ecosystem: they nurture ethical discourse, build diplomatic infrastructure in tech domains, and convene influential networks—laying the groundwork for peace tech that is both principled and practice-oriented.

Patterns and Divergences in Definition

Looking across these accelerators and adjacent efforts, several patterns emerge:

  • Conflict-zone accelerators (e.g., PeaceTech Lab in D.C.) define peace tech narrowly as tools to reduce violence.

  • Academic accelerators (Stanford, UPEACE, Oxford) define peace tech broadly, as systemic technologies that foster active peace and measure positive interactions.

  • Governmental alliances (Austria) emphasize human-centered, policy-aligned ecosystems.

  • Grassroots accelerators (Colombia, Kenya, India) view peace tech as social innovation: equipping citizens to solve reconciliation and livelihood challenges.

  • International development accelerators (WFP) fold peace into resilience agendas, framing agritech, climate tech, and humanitarian tech as peace tech.

  • AI and diplomacy tech incubators bring in ethics, governance, and global negotiations as emerging peace tech frontiers.

The divergence is less a contradiction than a continuum. Peace tech is being defined in practice by the problems each accelerator is designed to solve. What unites them is the conviction that technology can and should be designed for peace outcomes.

Conclusion: From Projects to a Field

What began as a set of experiments in labs and pilot programs has now matured into a distributed global ecosystem. Governments, universities, nonprofits, and investors are all building accelerators that carry forward the peace tech idea in ways suited to their context.

For the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab, this evolution validates our early claim: peace is a behavior that can be measured, designed for, and scaled—and technologies are mediating structures that can accelerate this process.

The next phase is connecting these accelerators into a true peace tech sector—one with standards, shared metrics, and a common language that spans from Vienna to Bogotá to Nairobi to New Delhi. In this emerging field, the role of Stanford and the Peace Innovation Lab is to continue providing intellectual leadership, evidence-based frameworks, and design methods that help accelerators worldwide align their innovations with the measurable behaviors of positive peace.

The story of peace tech accelerators is ultimately the story of a new market signal: that peace has value, and that innovation ecosystems around the world are rising to meet the challenge of designing for it. With over 75 startups already supported globally, new conferences convening in Europe, active hubs in Latin America and Asia, and prizes like the Kluz Prize for PeaceTech stimulating innovation in 2025, the momentum is clear: peace tech has matured from concept to ecosystem.

References

  • PeaceTech Lab. (2014). Independent NGO spun out of the U.S. Institute of Peace. peacetechlab.org

  • C5 Capital & PeaceTech Lab. (2017). PeaceTech Accelerator launched in Washington, D.C.

  • Austrian Institute of Technology. (2025). PeaceTech Alliance press release.

  • European University Institute. (2021–2023). Global PeaceTech Hub.

  • University for Peace (Costa Rica). (2021). Peace Innovation Initiative.

  • Trust for the Americas (OAS). (2018). Innovation Lab for Peace, Colombia.

  • Fundación Pasos Libres. (2022). Accelerating Peace Program.

  • Magnolia Foundation. (2022). Kluz Prize for PeaceTech Awardee.

  • UNESCO MGIEP. (2019). FramerSpace digital learning platform.

  • CyberPeace Foundation (India). (2020–2024). Digital peace initiatives.

  • Oxford University. (2021–2025). Global PeaceTech Program, OxPeace, ELAC, AI Ethics Institute.

  • UNIDIR. (2022). AI Disruption, Peace & Security Dialogue Report.

  • Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. (2024). Carnegie Ethics Accelerator.

  • Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. (2025). Tech Diplomacy Academy.