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 North Macedonia

Sia Secure

Pre Seed Round in 2020
Sia Secure provides a platform for Secure Communications as a Service for IoT, smart grid and critical infrastructure, private communication systems, e.t.c. It reduces costs and risks for device and service vendors, provides privacy-by-design to their end customers, bringing competitive advantages to clients. The platform is optimized for end-to-end secured video streaming. With simple Sia Secure SDK, it enables device and service vendors, to quickly integrate secure connectivity into their existing and new products. No security expertise required on their side, bringing down their development and maintenance costs. Target use-cases: Smart home cameras, smart doorbells, child tracking smartwatches, telematics/logistics in-vehicle monitoring.