Image credit: Techstars
Techstars, a global startup accelerator that helps entrepreneurs succeed, announced on Monday that it has partnered with the automaker Audi to support innovative founders working in the digitalisation and mobility spaces.
This marks Techstars’ first-ever pre-accelerator in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The announcement comes after launching two new accelerator programmes in Paris and Stockholm last September.
What to expect?
In this pre-accelerator programme, any individual founders with an innovative idea or early-stage founders will receive valuable startup education, mentorship, community building, and access to the Techstars global network of entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, and partners.
Additionally, they will receive support from Audi’s technology and mobility expertise across various business units. The pre-accelerator programme will also enable participants to hone their entrepreneurial skills, connect with fellow founders for possible collaborations, and understand their target customers.
How to apply?
The Techstars & Audi Mobility Pre-Accelerator is scheduled from January to March 2023 in a hybrid (in-person and virtual) format. Each participant will receive a stipend of €2000 per month for three months.
Applications for the pre-accelerator close on November 1, 2022. If you are an aspiring founder, apply here.
Techstars: What you need to know
Founded by Brad Feld, David Brown, David Cohen, and Jared Polis in 2006, Techstars is a global investment business that provides access to capital, one-on-one mentorship, and programming for early-stage entrepreneurs.
The company’s previous global pre-accelerator programme, Founder Catalyst in partnership with J.P.Morgan, led to 1,500 mentor connections, 10 product launches, over $1M raised, and dozens of active investor conversations.
According to the company, seven participants have been accepted into Techstars accelerators upon their programme completion.
The firm has invested in more than 3,100 companies with a combined market cap of more than $140B.
“Techstars partners with organisations like Audi to provide an opportunity to early-stage founders through a hands-on mentorship-driven environment while also offering corporate partners access to new technologies and ways of approaching industry-specific challenges,” says Martin Schilling, managing director of Techstars.
“Partnerships like this one we have with Audio help to build powerful local startup ecosystems in markets like Germany and around the world,” he adds.
Audi Group manufacturers automobiles and motorcycles in the premium and luxury segments.
“Audi Denkwerkstatt is driving innovation for digital business models at Audi. Our goal is to develop customer-focused innovations quickly and efficiently and then get them ready for the market. Having Techstars on our side as a strong partner, we’re opening ourselves up to an outside innovator community and to even more exciting business ideas. At the same time, we’re optimising the interface between our corporation and the startup community,” says Tim Miksche, head of Audi Denkwerkstatt.
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