Techstars

Techstars Central LLC, founded in 2006 and based in Boulder, Colorado, operates as a startup accelerator and venture capital firm focused on supporting early-stage technology-oriented companies. It specializes in a mentorship-driven accelerator program, selecting ten startups each summer to participate in a three-month incubation period, offering funding of $120,000 in exchange for equity. Techstars invests primarily in sectors such as fintech, artificial intelligence, blockchain, augmented reality, and IoT, while avoiding investments in medical devices, healthcare technology, and local service-oriented businesses. In addition to its primary accelerator, Techstars has various specialized programs, including those focused on music, retail, mobility, and social impact, with global reach extending to regions such as Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The firm prefers taking minority stakes, typically between six and ten percent, without seeking board representation or investor rights. Techstars has built a robust network of entrepreneurs, mentors, and corporate partners to foster innovation and growth within its portfolio, which includes over 1,000 companies with a significant collective market capitalization.

Ethan Austin

MD of the Techstars Western Union Accelerator

Max Kelly

Managing Director of Techstars London

Lesa Mitchell

Managing Director

Vijay Tirathrai

Managing Director

Mark Tortorella

Advisor

Nathanial Zola

MD

Past deals in Arizona

Clyn

Seed Round in 2023
Clyn is a mobile platform that facilitates connections between residents and offices and various home service providers, including cleaners, handymen, plumbers, and landscapers. The application enables users to easily find and hire trusted housekeepers and cleaners while also offering these service providers the tools needed to grow their businesses. By streamlining the process of locating and engaging with home service professionals, Clyn aims to enhance convenience for users and support service providers in scaling their operations.

KeepWOL

Pre Seed Round in 2022
KeepWOL helps teams better understand one another by creating a fun, authentic environment for human interaction, team building & bonding. Our unique process and easy-to-use software foster meaningful interactions between those of different ages, races, backgrounds, and interests within an organization, so you can maximize cultural intelligence and minimize turnover.

Stackhouse

Pre Seed Round in 2021
Stackhouse, LLC is a real estate development company based in Tucson, Arizona, focused on making homeownership more accessible and downtown living affordable. Established in 2017, Stackhouse designs and builds high-quality container houses that serve as eco-friendly, cost-effective, and easily transportable housing solutions. The company offers customizable homes, allowing clients to choose floor plans and appliances to suit their needs. In addition to construction services, Stackhouse assists with relocating homes across the country and provides cable, internet, and parking services. By utilizing shipping containers as a housing option, Stackhouse aims to provide an elevated alternative in response to the rising costs of urban housing.

Lunasonde

Seed Round in 2020
LunaSonde, Inc. is an earth observation company based in Tucson, Arizona, founded in 2019. It specializes in using satellites to gather data on underground resources, focusing on the top centimeters of the Earth's surface. The company's innovative platform supports applications in water management, mining, and energy planning. LunaSonde aims to advance the field of space enterprises by developing low-cost spacecraft designed for subsurface observation of Earth, as well as lunar and asteroid environments.

Beagle Learning

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Beagle Learning LLC operates an online platform designed to enhance critical thinking skills among students and teams. Founded in 2018 and based in Paradise Valley, Arizona, the company offers a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that helps instructors and teams effectively gather input and make informed decisions. The platform automatically summarizes and analyzes student questions, providing real-time reports that highlight both popular and unique inquiries. This system not only reduces the time spent on discussion boards but also fosters connections between students' learnings, promoting higher-order thinking and synthesis skills. Beagle Learning collaborates with higher education institutions, businesses, and government entities, including the US Department of Defense, to improve trainee retention, facilitate team buy-in, minimize conflicts, and expedite critical decision-making processes.

Symba

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Symba Inc. is an internship management platform that offers a comprehensive solution for companies to efficiently manage their internship programs. Founded in 2017 and based in Fountain Hills, Arizona, Symba's platform enables organizations to streamline various aspects of their internship processes, including training, project management, performance measurement, and offboarding. The user-friendly software supports employers in facilitating project workflows and building meaningful relationships with interns, thereby enhancing oversight and transparency. By providing actionable data, Symba assists companies in tracking their recruitment efforts and optimizing their internship experiences. The company is led by a diverse all-female founding team with expertise in software, marketing, and business, which contributes to its mission of creating valuable internship experiences.

Xmetryx, Inc.

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Our TrustMetryx team relationship management software helps leaders build healthy, trusting relationships on distributed and remote teams. By making it simple to identify and address issues before they kill performance, drive turnover, and create zombie team members, TrustMetryx builds trust that leads to better performance, higher engagement, and greater happiness at work. Our mission is to put the TrustMetryx Relationship Strength Score KPI on every leaders’ scorecard.

Volteo

Pre Seed Round in 2019
Volteo, founded in 2013, specializes in IT consulting services aimed at facilitating the digital transformation of non-IT companies. The company offers a range of solutions, including service management focused on business process automation and simplification, as well as Internet of Things (IoT) services related to connected technology management. Recognized for its high customer satisfaction, Volteo ranks among the top five globally for ServiceNow support. With a diverse team of consultants, engineers, and solution architects, Volteo operates across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, providing clients with the expertise needed to excel in IT sales, services, and training.

Solestial

Pre Seed Round in 2019
For the new-space projects that need 100X more energy @10X lower price than available today, they develop solar PV technology to make power in space affordable. There is a demand for 100 MW of solar for space in the next 5 years. But the existing space solar panels are extremely expensive and very slow to manufacture. With today's technology 100 MW of space solar panels will cost more than $60B and it will take more than 10 years to manufacture. Regher Solar solves this problem. Regher Solar is revolutionizing the access to power in space with space tolerant ultrathin silicon solar panels, which for the first time on the market, will have both high efficiency and low cost in a single light-weight and flexible package.

Botanisol Analytics

Pre Seed Round in 2019
Botanisol Analytics improves measurements and analytics with engineering and science and provides agricultural biotechnology services. The company makes devices that are simple to use and clear to interpret. Its portable and durable device can be used in a wide variety of applications in the agricultural supply chain. Botanisol Analytics was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, United States.

Trixta

Pre Seed Round in 2019
Trixta provides a visual low-code platform for business thinkers & skilled developers to co-create software. Working from a shared understanding, they can jointly iterate the system

Prospectify

Seed Round in 2017
Prospectify, Inc. develops and operates an automated prospecting platform. Its platform enables users to use data search, data enrichment, and verification systems to build targeted lists and outreach campaigns. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in Gilbert, Arizona. As of August 8, 2019, Prospectify, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of AngelList LLC.

Dropoff

Venture Round in 2014
Dropoff, Inc. provides courier services to businesses across various industries in the United States. It offers same-day last mile delivery services for various packages ranging from cupcakes to prescription medications; and fleet replacement services. The company offers delivery services in Austin, Dallas, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Orange County, Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego, San Jose, and Tampa. It serves businesses in retail, healthcare, food and grocery, business services, and commercial and industrial sectors. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Austin, Texas.