For the fifth time, the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO) will send a number of pre-selected Austrian startups across the big pond to earn their spurs in Silicon Valley. Initially, the WKO planned to take on a maximum of 16 companies in this current batch but “the high quality of applicants made us reconsider,” Rafael Rasinger of Austrian Business International told inventures.eu. “Ultimately, the US jury asked us to select 18 startups instead of 16.”
The 18 companies going toCalifornia are 2wunder (here on inventures), BlueTechnix, beecc, clickforknowledge, Cloud Faces, EOX IT, Face your Face, intelliRoad, Miavia (more here), Mopius (here), nativy, Sphares, Radiant Minds, ReqPOOL, SYNVO, Validad, Visalyze and wollzelle.
The first of these will be leaving for either the Plug and Play Tech Center or NestGSV accelerator already in April. The opportunities seem plentiful – next to sharing a working space, receiving mentoring and advice, and networking with potential angel investors, the teams are expected to benefit from the Valley’s “culture of failing”. Also, “they might find entry into the US market, a strategic partner or raise funding there,” said Rasinger.
While Go Silicon Valley is generally focused on startups from the IT sector, this year’s group has a broad spectrum of business focusses, Rasinger added. While there are “classic” IT startup projects like NFC-programming (Mopius), there are also some more exotic business types like dental implants (Face your Face).
At the end of the day, the selection process wasn’t easy. “While we saw a slight decrease in the number of applications, the quality really was excellent. The applicants obviously knew what was in store for them and had prepared well,” said Rasinger. The 18 startups were selected from the more than 20 finalists by an Austrian and US jury.
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