BIG 10: 66 technological ventures begin their acceleration process at Start-Up Chile
Founders from Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Poland, Germany, and Kuwait are part of the BIG 10 generation of the Corfo public accelerator.
A total of 66 startups from Chile and various countries gathered at the cowork of Start-Up Chile, the public accelerator of Corfo, to start their acceleration program, in which they will receive co-financing of up to $75 million, among other tools for their development.
It corresponds to the tenth generation of BIG (so named for the Build, Ignite, and Growth programs), which is made up of 35% of entrepreneurs from abroad, specifically from Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Poland, Mexico, Germany and Kuwait.
Almost 60% of startups declare the use of Artificial Intelligence as their main technology for industries such as Finance, IT Tools, Health and Biotechnology, Retail, Education, Construction, and Agriculture, primarily.
The Executive Vice President of Corfo, José Miguel Benavente, commented that "we welcome this generation which coincides with the 15th anniversary of Start-Up Chile, and we hope that they progress successfully in their challenges and leave a mark on our economy through a sociocultural and diverse exchange with the local ecosystem".
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"We congratulate the new generation of startups that begins the acceleration program, and we trust that they will manage to consolidate and scale their businesses from Chile. In turn, we highlight the contribution of the selected projects that will be part of the DPS Program, which directly contribute to decarbonization, resilience and/or sustainable diversification and sophistication. The work of Start-Up Chile is very relevant because it boosts the ecosystem and contributes to positioning our country as a global reference in terms of sustainable technological entrepreneurship," said the Undersecretary of Economy and Small Businesses, Javiera Petersen.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MORE WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION
Almost 60% of startups report using Artificial Intelligence as the main technology for industries such as Finance, IT Tools, Health and Biotechnology, Retail, Education, Construction and Agriculture, primarily.
The Executive Vice President of Corfo, José Miguel Benavente, commented that "we welcome this generation which coincides with the 15 years of Start-Up Chile, and we hope that they progress successfully in their challenges and leave a mark on our economy through a socio-cultural and diverse exchange with the local ecosystem".
Regarding female participation, 32% of the generation corresponds to startups led by at least one woman, which receive special support through the Female Founder Factor initiative to reduce the gender gap in the innovation ecosystem.
"There have been ten generations of our BIG acceleration program, through which we have supported over 700 startups of various nationalities and industries, not only by providing them with a fund, but also by betting on close accompaniment from our team and our networks. Now begins an intense, but very entertaining, period for each of these entrepreneurs, in which they will carry out their ideas, question some things, and seek the best way to create impact for the country and people," comments the manager of Start-Up Chile, Javiera Araneda.
SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (DPS)
Nine of the projects that entered the accelerator have the support of the Sustainable Product Development Program (DPS), led by the Ministry of Economy, Promotion and Tourism and Corfo, which aim to drive a country's productive development that is sustainable in social and environmental terms, by incorporating more knowledge and technology into productive activities.
Among them is Lactify, which aims to revolutionize access to and preservation of breast milk through the lyophilization process, and Agrojusto, which is transforming food marketing in Latin America by connecting small producers with fair markets.
The startups were selected from a total of 964 applications - a record number in the history of the program - and will begin an intensive acceleration period that lasts four months. The entrepreneurs will receive equity-free co-financing, which varies according to the program: $15 million in the Build program, $30 million in Ignite and $75 million in Growth. In addition, they will have free co-working space, mentoring sessions, and connections with investors and corporations.