GapMinder to invest over EUR 1 M in 14 start-ups within the Techcelerator program

14 technology start-ups entered the process of finalizing the investment of up to EUR 100,000 per company from GapMinder venture capital fund for accelerated development within the Techcelerator program.

Start-ups were selected from an initial number of over 140 applicants. Following a rigorous evaluation process, there were 20 start-ups in the semifinal which, within a bootcamp, benefited from pitching and pitch deck designs sessions, as well as from one-to-one meetings with the mentors’ group, respectively with the investors.

The most promising 14 start-ups of this round, which entered the process of finalizing the investment, are:

• Apiary Book, an app for beekeepers around the world and for the efficient hive management which currently has the biggest number of users worldwide;
• AppSeed creates automatically websites for those without web design nor programming skills;
• ChatX.ai is a widget for e-commerce product search, using Machine Learning for voice and photo processing;
• Connected Medical Devices, an IoT solution which includes a hardware device for the improvement of the lives of Alzheimer patients and their families;
• EngageApp is a platform that aims to increase work performance of employees in corporations;
• FINQware is a marketplace for banking services providers, an API Open Banking;
• ialoc created an efficient restaurant booking and table management solution;
• Medicai, a solution using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, meant to offer remote, to any patient, an efficient imagery interpretation from a specialist;
• MiioSmile is a SaaS for dental healthcare industry;
• More Money is an AI-based Fintech platform, focused on financial services advisory;
• Orbiting Cubes designed modular self-reconfigurable robots;
• Ride Safe, an IoT embedded device with a mobile app for moto riders’ safety;
• TalentBrowse is a recruiting platform for rapid placement of recently interviewed candidates;
• WireFame is a visualization tool for prototyping the architecture’s design to better communicate with developers.

The 14 start-ups in the prototype or Minimum Viable Product stages will benefit from a first round of investment from the exclusive GapMinder partner, in return for a 6 percent stake in the company. At the end of the program, start-ups that have made good progress have the chance to be invited to a second round of investment up to EUR 75,000, convertible into shares.

“The selection of the finalists in this round was quite difficult because we saw many valuable projects with potential for growth. I am confident that these start-ups will quickly take over the market, especially as they have the full arsenal of resources for growth: access to an excellent acceleration program, basically a very applied MBA, I could say, with Techcelerator’s team and mentors, as well as consistent funds from Gapminder, in this case over EUR 1 million,” said Dan Mihaescu, founding partner GapMinder.

The acceleration program, backed by Techcelerator partner, runs during a 10-week period, both in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, with the support of over 60 Romanian and foreign mentors. Techcelerator includes intensive business coaching sessions, mentoring, industry-specific start-up expertise, and marketing services.

Start-ups will also have access to international communities for scaling and exposure in the global marketplace. At the end of the acceleration program, these start-ups will publicly present their projects at a DemoDay event.