Silicon Valley Firm Opens Program Exclusively for Bitcoin Start-ups
Plug and Play Tech Center, which has three locations in Silicon Valley, was one of the seed investors that placed capital into Paypal back when it was just a fledgling start-up. Of course, Paypal is now a mature company which no longer needs venture capital. Now, however, after realizing the potential that Paypal had to change the financial world and the way payments are made, Plug and Play Tech Center has turned its attention to yet another start-up with an equal or greater potential the change the financial world: Bitcoin.
Entrepreneur magazine is reporting that Plug and Play Tech Center has announced the opening of an accelerator program to invest seed capital exclusively in Bitcoin-related startups.
From the article:
“Bitcoin may be more popular — and pricey — than ever before, but its entrepreneurial ecosystem is still a work in progress. Now Plug and Play Tech Center, which has three locations in Silicon Valley and which was a seed investor in PayPal, has announced the opening of an accelerator program exclusively for Bitcoin-related startups.
The program, which is set to induct its first class of 10 startups in January 2014, will last for three months, with the option of extending a startup’s stay to six months if it needs the extra time. The accelerator will be located in Sunnyvale, Calif., where Plug and Play Tech Center has its headquarters.
Each participating startup will receive a $25,000 seed investment in exchange for a 5 percent equity stake, Saeed Amidi, the founder and chief executive of Plug and Play Tech Center, tells Entrepreneur.com. “In special cases, we can go up to $100,000,” he says.
In December, Plug and Play Tech Center will hold an expo focusing on financial technology and digital currencies. This will serve as a sort of prelude to the Bitcoin accelerator, which will begin accepting applications once the expo concludes.”
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