San Francisco-based venture capital firm 500 Startups has opened applications for batch 3 of its cross-border accelerator programs, Global Launch Singapore and Global Launch San Francisco, aimed at young companies from both locations that are interested in penetrating the other market.
“There has been a surge in demand for startups wanting to expand into Southeast Asia through Singapore,” 500 Startups regional director Ee Ling Lim told KrASIA. “As many multinational corporations have set up their innovation labs in Singapore, more doors have been unlocked for these companies to adopt technologies from startups.”
Since the last edition, the sixteen-week coaching and networking sessions have been conducted virtually. The participants receive an eight-week mentorships about business development, fundamentals of expansion, best practices, and local product-market fit. The second half consists of a boot camp focused on refining business fundamentals and a roadmap to explore an entry into the other market.
The programs provide access to a global pool of mentors with extensive business experience in Southeast Asia and the United States, as well as networking opportunities with the startup community, corporate partners and industry stakeholders. It produced successful alumni such as a Singapore-based “LinkedIn for business cards” BizConnect and the analytics platform Zectr, as well as the US-based gas-powered motorcycle producer MO Batteries and HR-platform X0PA AI.
Global Launch Singapore and Global Launch San Francisco were first held in 2019 as part of a two-way partnership with Enterprise Singapore. Batch 3 will run concurrently and is structured in two phases, running from March 29 to May 21 for phase one and in the second half of the year for phase two.
This year’s list of mentors include the general partner of R3i Ventures Leesa Soulodre, the head of program and partnerships at Alibaba Katrina Too, and GridCure’s Emily Basileo, among others.