Boost.VC, the start-up accelerator is known for supporting Bitcoin ventures. The accelerator has been supporting Bitcoin based start-ups since 2013, some of the well-known Bitcoin exchanges like Coinbase and Bitbox were also funded by Boost.VC.
Earlier last year, Adam Draper, the CEO and Founder of Boost.VC had announced that Boost.VC aims to accelerate 100 Bitcoin based start-ups by 2017. One and a half years later, the accelerator has got close to half of that number in its portfolio. But from the looks of it, rest of the 50 start-ups may take a while.
Unlike the previous batch, the “Tribe 6” of Boost.VC will be a mix of Bitcoin based and Virtual Reality based start-ups. According to the announcement, the accelerator will be splitting the batch equally into start-ups based on Bitcoin technology, Virtual Reality Technology and Augmented Reality Technology. The reasoning behind it, as explained by Adam Draper in an interview with TechCrunch –
“We are good at building communities around early tech sectors. We bring together investors, entrepreneurs, and builders, and by focusing investments on a category over time, we ourselves become experts in the subject, and thus more valuable to start-ups that might want to join.”
The accelerator is more focused on investing in start-ups that are focused on building software infrastructure required for virtual reality devices and applications. They also believe that the VR and AR technology will find a lot of applications in the education sector in the coming days.
Boost.VC has recently raised a $6.6 million fund with investors like Marc Andreessen, Ben Davenport and others. The start-ups joining the upcoming cohort – Tribe 6 will be receiving mentorship and guidance from investors and entrepreneurs along with a seed fund of $15,000 to $25,000 against an equity of up to 6 percent. The teams will also be provided with free accommodation facilities during the course of the acceleration program.