Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed has raised $42M investment led by SVB Financial Group with participation from existing investors including Foundry Group to accelerate its global expansion.
The firm will use the funds to help more entrepreneurs succeed through seed-stage accelerators, global startup ecosystem activations, corporate innovation, and entrepreneur-focused events.
In addition to the financing, John China, President of SVB Capital, has joined Techstars’ Board of Directors.
“The Techstars team is well-positioned to keep developing its platform and enable and support founders, investors and startup ecosystems around the globe,” said China. “SVB has a long history working with Techstars and its portfolio companies and we’re enthusiastic about the opportunity to further our relationship and make a bigger positive impact on the innovation economy.”
Techstars, as a fund has $500 million under its management while its operating business are $100 million in annual revenue.
Techstars’ investment arm now includes 49 accelerator programs in 35 cities across 16 countries, deploying $80 million into nearly 500 startups on an annual basis.
The Techstars portfolio of 1,900 companies currently attracts an annual $2 billion in downstream investment from the venture capital industry. Techstars also invests in global emerging startup communities by operating approximately 1,000 annual Techstars Startup Weekend events in 600 cities across 120 countries to help surface and support future high growth companies.
Through its operating activities, Techstars’ partners with nearly 100 corporations to provide corporate innovation solutions. Techstars is also an active partner with cities such as Buffalo (NY), Louisville (KY), and Turin (Italy) to further develop their startup communities.
“Being the largest and most active global seed investor requires a mindset and approach that is completely distinct from traditional venture capital,” said Techstars Co-CEO David Cohen. “Techstars has created and is scaling an entirely new type of early-stage private equity asset.”
Techstars has also launched the Techstars Talent Network to connect to job opportunities and high-quality, vetted candidates worldwide.
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