500 Startups may soon be coming up on the one-year mark for the end of a tumultuous saga involving its founder, but its accelerator classes still continue to plug along — and its next batch is now getting ready to roll.
The firm’s 23rd batch of startups this year consists of the usual mix of business to business and consumer companies (even coffee) that end up in each class. This class is definitely a smaller one, but it still seems to spread a pretty wide number of different verticals. There’s also, of course, a blockchain track for this class, though a small percentage of the startups in it are taking part of that — and there was still a certain rigor they had to have to run through it.
“For every major tech movement, for every tech phase, there’s the infrastructure phase and the deployment phase,” 500 Startups partner Marvin Laio said. “Our view, with the blockchain, we’re in the infrastructure phase. A lot of these projects outside that we see and read about, they’re kind of bad. They’re really applications. There’s no point having a mobile app if you don’t have the app store. You need to build out the app store. For better or worse, we’re in the infrastructure phase right now.”
The firm is still clearly making some pretty big changes, including an unconventional deal with the Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) that gives it a stake in the firm’s parent company. The terms of that deal weren’t disclosed, it was another move among many by CEO Christine Tsai to begin to rework the mechanics of how the firm works — especially as it hopes to succeed as both a venture fund as as a program for entrepreneurs looking to get their companies off the ground. Dave McClure, the firm’s co-founder, resigned last year following allegations of sexual misconduct, and since then it’s been trying to get back to business as usual.
500 Startups takes a similar approach to other accelerators, where they will invest around $150,000 for a small chunk of equity and then take on a small amount of that back (a little more than $37,000) for program fees. The firm has primarily been known for its savvy when it comes to growth and marketing, so the support entrepreneurs get usually has that as a core part of the experience.
Here’s the next batch of 500 Startups companies:
- Chipper — A mobile app that helps student loan borrowers pay off debt faster through round ups from everyday transactions and contributions from family and friends.
- Copper Cow Coffee — A service that brings specialty Vietnamese coffee to offices and homes biodegradable pour over technology.
- Finedine Menu — A management platform for restauranteurs to create data driven digital menus for a smarter dining experience.
- Harmonica — A mobile application that helps users find the right life partner that focuses on quality and fits conservative cultures.
- Koreaboo — A digital media company that creates and shares viral Korean pop culture content in English to millions of people around the world.
- Lexop — A digital process server that allows law firms and property managers prove the delivery of their emails in a legal and trackable way.
- Lexyom — An online platform that provides users with smart legal answers and tailored legal services using artificial intelligence.
- Libra Credit — A global lending platform that allows anyone to borrow money against their crypto-curriences and crypto-assets
- Metadium — An identity service platform that provides the fundamentals for various services providers to develop their business on the blockchain.
- Orchard — A program for affordable smartphone insurance to enterprises, leveraging diagnostic software to make device support and claims a seamless self-serve experience.
- Purple Go — Enables retailers in the $36B vision care industry to reach today’s omni-channel consumer with seamlessly integrated online and in-store mobile software services.
- reflect — A mental health platform that reimagines in-person therapy to be more accessible and effective by using data-driven matching to increase engagement and outcomes.
- Salusive Health — A nurse-based healthcare provider that offers a technology platform with clinical services to help physician practices streamline disease management.
- Shezlong — An online mental health platform focusing in the Middle East and North Africa region that allows patients to be connected with licensed therapists via video visit on mobile or web.
- Solana — A high performance blockchain that can scale over 700,00 transactions per second on stock hardware.
- Starship — A mobile health savings account with automated investing built for humans.
- StructionSite Inc — Lets construction project teams access the jobsite remotely and compare design to reality.
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