After raising a $6.6 1000000 fund from premier investors, including Marc Andreessen, Ben Davenport together with others final November, Boost.VC announced its side past times side batch of startups would all hold upward bitcoin-related. But recently, the accelerator announced its side past times side batch, “Tribe 6,” volition hold upward divide every bit betwixt bitcoin, virtual together with augmented reality startups.
Boost.VC founder together with CEO Adam Draper told TechCrunch why they made the shift: “We’re goodness at edifice communities unopen to early on tech sectors. We convey together investors, entrepreneurs together with builders, together with past times focusing investments on a category over time, nosotros ourselves cash inwards one's chips experts inwards the subject, together with thence to a greater extent than valuable to startups that mightiness desire to join.”
Boost.VC has e'er been bitcoin-friendly, funding some of the start Bitcoin exchanges inwards the United States, BitBox together with Coinbase, inwards 2013. But inwards early on 2014, Draper shocked many when he said he was going to accelerate 100 Bitcoin startups past times 2017. So far, Boost is making goodness on that hope alongside nearly l digital currency startups already inwards its portfolio.
Many of the Bitcoin startups it has accelerated stimulate got gone to heighten large rounds. Most recently, Mirror, formerly a Bitcoin telephone commutation only straightaway a marketplace for smart contracts, announced a $8.8 1000000 funding circular raised from Route 66 Ventures, Battery Ventures, Crosslink Capital, RRE Ventures together with Tim Draper. Many other Boost startups stimulate got gone on to heighten rounds inwards the hundreds of thousands or millions.
To early on phase entrepreneurs Boost.VC offers mentorship, costless living together with work infinite inwards their Silicon Valley headquarters, access to their network of advisers together with experts together with $15,000-$25,000 inwards funding for vi per centum of a startup.
Draper’s involvement inwards VR together with AR comes from wanting to construct out chasm industries (ones that volition eventually plough into billion-dollar businesses only aren’t in that location yet) together with thinks VR is next, specifically consumer apps. Boost.VC volition non hold upward accepting whatever VR companies edifice hardware, noting that Sumsung, Google together with others already stimulate got that covered. Instead, his fellowship volition focus on trying to construct killer software apps for those devices.
He told TechCrunch that he specifically is excited virtually the potential for educational uses of VR. Google’s Expeditions, which allows users to cash inwards one's chips along “virtual champaign trips,” is an app that highlights the technology’s potential inwards education, Draper said.
Image via Boost.vc.