A cohort of 10 technology start-ups has graduated from the Techstars Hub71 accelerator.
The companies, which hail from the UAE, the US, Singapore, Indonesia, India, the UK and Australia, aim to raise $15 million from investors this year. To date, each company has raised $120,000 from Techstars.
“These founders represent top-notch talent,” Vijay Tirathrai, managing director of Techstars, said. “We are extremely proud to be working with them and excited by what they are capable of.”
The accelerator progamme is part of the Colorado-headquartered global investment and innovation platform Techstars. It has teamed up with the emirate's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company and global tech ecosystem Hub71 to run an annual three-month acceleration programme that brings 10 potential pre-seed stage start-ups to the capital.
After interviewing more than 600 start-ups from various sectors including artificial intelligence, FinTech, health technology, augmented reality and logistics, Techstars accepted less than 2 per cent of applicants for the accelerator programme.
“There has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur … I am looking for bold founders who want to create the companies of the future, with a long term committed perspective and willingness to fight for it,” Ibrahim Ajami, head of ventures at Mubadala, said.
From the UAE, two companies – Klaim and Strategy Connect – were accepted into the programme.
Klaim, which provides medical claim management and financing, entered the accelerator as an idea and emerged with 60 medical facility partnerships and a $4.7m pipeline across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
“In 12 weeks, Klaim went from just a concept to an incorporated company with $1m in funding, operating in the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” chief executive and co-founder Meriem Tamarzizt said.
Some of the participating start-ups have already attracted early traction, such as augmented reality platform Assemblr, which has been downloaded 2 million times and garnered 23.7 million views. Before entering the programme, Pax Credit facilitated $3.9m worth foreign exchange transactions in emerging markets to help international students save money on university fee payments.
Techstars runs 50 similar programmes in nearly 22 countries. It has supported more than 2,500 start-ups with a total market capitalisation of $33 billion since 2006 across various industries, according to the company.
It operates as a venture capital firm and invests in technology start-ups in the cloud infrastructure, healthcare, cyber security and communication sectors.
The start-up incubator started its first programme in Abu Dhabi in January last year. Earlier this month, Techstars and the Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology teamed up to launch Riyadh Techstars Accelerator.
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
MATCH INFO
Norwich 0
Watford 2 (Deulofeu 2', Gray 52')
Red card: Christian Kabasele (WatforD)
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Results
Stage 4
1. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jumbo-Visma 04:16:13
2. Gaviria (COL) UAE Team Emirates
3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe
4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal
General Classification:
1. Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 16:46:15
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:07
3. Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:35
4. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:40
5. Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe
