Following the success of the 2017 Alexa Accelerator, today we are excited to announce that the Alexa Fund has opened applications for startups worldwide including India, to apply to the next Alexa Accelerator powered by Techstars. We believe voice will fundamentally improve the way people interact with technology and this program aims to empower the next wave of entrepreneurs who are innovating with voice.
We are seeking out promising startups that are fueling voice technology advances and unique voice applications. Selected companies will work with Techstars, Amazon, and the Alexa Fund to build out their technologies and develop their business models. We are excited to uncover Alexa innovation in categories such as smart home, entertainment, finance, enterprise, communications, automobile and transportation, health and wellness, connected learning, connected devices, hardware components, and other enabling technologies.
“Experiences designed around the human voice will fundamentally improve the way people use technology. We invite innovators, with ideas on how voice technology can improve everyday life, to participate in 2018 Alexa Accelerator”, says Dilip RS, Country Manager for Alexa Skills Kit, Amazon. “More than 15,000 developers from India have already started to build skills for Alexa. We expect participants from the accelerator program to not only think of expanding Alexa’s skills set but also coming up with new devices that can integrate Alexa.”
Things to look forward to in the 2018 Alexa Accelerator
Following a rigorous review process, we will select up to 13 companies to participate in the program. The program is hosted in Seattle and new this year we are including the option for up to three companies to work from the Techstars London location. This international expansion is part of the Alexa Fund’s new global initiative to support entrepreneurs around the world. We received applications from more than 50 countries for our 2017 program and we hope our London cohort option will help engage even more founders in more places who are building new companies around voice. These companies will be full participants in the Alexa Accelerator, receiving mentorship and guidance from local Amazon teams as they build their company towards the program’s Demo Day.
Program leaders from the Alexa Fund and Techstars will be travelling to 10 cities to host information sessions in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Berlin, Tel Aviv, New York City, Boston, and Toronto over the coming weeks. Visit the Alexa Accelerator, powered by Techstars web page to see the city tour schedule and RSVP for an information session to learn more. To help companies that are unable to attend sessions in these cities, Amazon will soon share an update on two online sessions for any start-up that wishes to attend these sessions online. Companies can apply here: https://www.techstars.com/programs/alexa-program/
Applications are due April 8, 2018, and the 13-week program runs July through September, concluding with Demo Day in October 2018.
