Techstars and Audi launches a pre-accelerator program to promote innovation in mobility

Techstars, a global investment business that provides access to capital, one-on-one mentorship, and programming for early-stage entrepreneurs, and Audi Denkwerkstatt, the innovation lab for leading premium automotive and motorcycle manufacturer, Audi, are partnering to support innovative founders working in the digitalization and mobility space. This will be the first-ever Techstars pre-accelerator in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa region (EMEA) and applications are now open.

"Techstars partners with organizations like Audi to provide an opportunity to early-stage founders through a hands-on mentorship-driven environment while also offering corporate partners access to new technologies and ways of approaching industry-specific challenges," said Martin Schilling, managing director of Techstars. 

"Partnerships like this one we have with Audio help to build powerful local startup ecosystems in markets like Germany and around the world."

Individual founders with an innovative idea or early-stage company in this pre-accelerator program will receive valuable startup education, mentorship, community building, and access to the Techstars worldwide network of entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, and partners. They will also receive support from Audi's technology and mobility expertise across a variety of business units. Participants will hone their entrepreneurial skills, connect with fellow founders for possible collaborations, and better understand their target customers.

The program will take place from January to March 2023 in a hybrid (in-person and virtual) format and each founder going through the program will receive a stipend of €2000 per month for three months.

Previous Techstars global Pre-Accelerator Programs (also known as Founder Catalyst) has led to fifteen hundred mentor connections, ten product launches, over one million dollars raised, and dozens of active investor conversations. In addition, seven participants have been accepted into Techstars accelerators following their completion of the program.

"Audi Denkwerkstatt is driving innovation for digital business models at Audi. Our goal is to develop customer-focused innovations quickly, and efficiently, and then get them ready for the market. Having Techstars on our side as a strong partner, we're opening ourselves up to an outside innovator community and to even more exciting business ideas. At the same time, we're optimizing the interface between our corporation and the startup community," says Tim Miksche, head of Audi Denkwerkstatt.