Techstars, an American seed accelerator, has announced two new accelerator programmes in Paris and Stockholm on Tuesday.
With this move, Techstars aims to double down its commitment to invest in more than 100 startups in 2022 through its various accelerator programs in seven countries.
Both programs will be fully funded by Techstars, following the recent July close of a new $150M (approx €126M) fund, intended to support more local entrepreneurs looking for global exposure.
According to Techstars, the oversubscribed fund includes commitments from a diverse group of new and returning institutional investors.
Maëlle Gavet, CEO of Techstars, says, “We believe in the power of local ecosystems, and those life-changing ideas can come from anywhere in the world – you don’t need to be in Silicon Valley to be a success. At Techstars, we meet the founders where they are and use our local networks to give them access to world-class capital and investment opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have. Paris and Stockholm are two of Europe’s most rapidly growing yet underserved tech hubs, and we know there is a huge amount of talent there ready to be harnessed.”
Applications open today
According to Techstars, The Paris Techstars Accelerator and Stockholm Techstars Accelerator will accept 12 startups per class, who will benefit from up to $120K (approx €101K) in funding.
Further, the startups will also get access to Techstars’ vast network of mentors, investors, alumni, and corporate partners.
The Paris accelerator will operate two classes per year, while Stockholm will run once in 2022 and twice per year from 2023 onwards.
Applications for these accelerators open today and will close on December 1st, 2021, with the first classes of both programs due to commence on March 21st, 2022. If you are an aspiring founder, you can apply here.
According to Techstars, the applications will be accepted from startups across all high-growth sectors, both B2B and B2C.
The successful applicants will have a strong founding team who are using technology to tackle complex problems with a clear and scalable product-market fit.
Techstars: What you need to know
Founded by Brad Feld, David Brown, David Cohen, and Jared Polis in 2006, Techstars, currently operates 47 accelerators in 33 cities and 12 countries globally. Additionally, in Europe, Techstars operates programs in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Oslo, and Turin.
Since its inception in 2006, Techstars has invested in 2,589 companies, with a combined market capital valuation of $220.1B (approx €185.8B). It counts 15 unicorns among its accelerator graduates, including DigitalOcean, Chainalysis, PillPack, and SendGrid.
Techstars invests in approximately 500 startups and deploys approximately $130M (approx €109M) per year, making it one of the largest investors in high-growth early-stage companies by volume in the world.
Chief brand and communications officer
A week back, Techstars appointed Matthew Grossman to its newly created role of chief brand and communications officer.
Following the company’s January announcement of Maëlle Gavet as CEO, Grossman joins Techstars’ executive leadership team.
Based in London, UK, Grossman brings Techstars an extensive background in marketing communications and brand building, managing teams, and optimising operations.
Most recently, he spent 12 years at The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East, and Africa as vice president of corporate communications, publicity, and social responsibility.
