It’s been a newsworthy November at parallel18! Catch up on the latest updates
This November has been action-packed with updates! While our alumni have been reaching significant milestones, our program has amazing news as well, from the successful kickoff of pre18 Gen.3, to the official announcement of our P18Ventures Business Continuity Fund investees and the acquisition of another P18Alumni.
Last week was Global Entrepreneurship Week and we couldn’t be prouder to see how our program contributes to the global startup ecosystem. This milestone and the achievements of our startups make us start reflecting on this year and how, despite its challenges, it has put our thesis to the test: that diverse innovative entrepreneurship is the way forward. And to showcase the opportunities available for global entrepreneurs in Latin America, last Friday, November 20th we hosted a panel discussion called LATAM Connections: A Community for Global Startups #GEW2020 in collaboration with Start-Up Chile, Techstars LATAM and Google for Startups LATAM. You can catch up on the important insights and takeaways from the conversation here.
For us, in Puerto Rico and the United States, November also marks a month to be thankful. So, before we share our updates with you, we want to express our gratitude to our partners, alumni, ecosystem, and P18Team. Thank you for your hard work and commitment to parallel18 and innovation.
The P18 team keeps working remotely!
Friendly reminder that our coworking space remains closed until further notice. However, our team keeps working remotely from Monday to Friday, from 9:00am to 6:00pm (AST/UTC-4). We’d be happy to connect virtually, so send an email to cobi@parallel18.com and we’ll make it happen. :)
More highlights in a nutshell
- If you haven’t met them yet, this is pre18’s Gen.3: Cuela, Salón Boricua, BASED LLC, Corewell, Remora, BOON AutoParts, Evocare, Löfte Natural Care, VitaRx LLC, Caproni, Seed Law LLC, HALLÒ App, Pintá, Pal Muakiti, A MEDIAS, Zeerez, WindowME, VeoVeo Studios, Materia Madura, Paperwork, Vestigium Environmental, Cacao 360 (Semila), TerraFirma, Vive la Van, RumRatings, Arrecife Beachwear, Maranta Power, 9millones, Patria Tours, VITAL, Little Things, TALE, CRANEeH, Surgical Nutrition Solutions, Poltags, Equal Love, Bana, Pryze Piloto Mail, GearPrices, Don Rifa, and Genzier. FUN FACT: 45% of them are female-led, while industries range from e-commerce and biotechnology.
- A new milestone reached for P18Ventures! As announced in March of this year, 39 startups — that span from Gen.1 to Gen.7 and come from 13 countries — have officially been selected to receive between US $25K to the US $35K from our special Business Continuity Fund. This fund is the first of its kind brought on by a startup program in response to the pandemic. Read more here.
- Amongst the Business Continuity Fund selection are Gen.7’s Amasar, Fitco, Agtools MX, BoxPower, and The Live Green Company, which are also P18Ventures’ latest investees.
- BIG NEWS! Mobile Tech RX, the leading platform for auto reconditioning businesses, acquired Gen.3 #P18Alumnus Claimbot, the virtual chat engine built for the automotive industry. Mobile Tech RX users will soon be able to use Claimbot’s chat engine — powered by artificial intelligence and founded by Puerto Rican entrepreneur Miguel Fernández — to automate conversations with potential customers who visit their websites and Facebook pages.
- Specialist research firm FinTech Global has announced the world’s most innovative solution providers that are addressing the digital transformation challenges and opportunities within insurance. Gen.6’s ElegirSeguro is amongst them! A full list of the InsurTech100 can be found here.
- Huge congrats to #P18Alumnus Abartys Health! The female-led Puerto Rican startup is amongst the 12 companies selected to participate in Google for Startups Accelerator LATAM. The program is focused on ventures that are leading up to their Series A and expanding throughout the region. Meet the entire cohort here.
- They pitched and they wowed! Gen.7’s Agtools won US $500K as it participated in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Elevator Pitch. The tech company just launched worldwide on Microsoft and has been invited to present at this year’s Toronto Stock Exchange. Plus, the company keeps making its way through the San Francisco ecosystem as it won the Rising Start Entrepreneur of the Year Award at Women’s Venture Summit presented by Stella Labs and Ad Astra Ventures.
- Gen.7’s social learning network for Hispanic children, Silabuz, just launched a scholarship for kids between the ages of 11 and 17 to learn coding, web design, and video-game development. To access one scholarship that grants you a free annual license to Silabuz platform, students and parents can access the Peruvian startup’s website and follow the instructions on their homepage. This amazing campaign is sponsored by Fundación Mustakis and Xylem.
- Gen.6’s EduSynch has scored a new partnership with Arizona State University (ASU), one of the world’s largest online superior institutions. The startup will collaborate hand-in-hand with ASU’s Global Launch Program, the first university-led English language program to have a fully-online intensive program created specifically for e-learners. The initiative will use EduSynch’s digital assessment platform to house and deploy a number of their tests.
- EduSynch also won a big ed-tech award! The Gen.6 startup was honored with an award for Best Startup in Higher Education from a pool of 458 startups as part of enlightED Virtual Edition 2020. Organized by IE University, Fundación Telefónica, Fundación Santanilla, and South Summit, the event is one of the largest conferences about education, technology, and innovation in the world.
- #P18Alumni Licimatic, LinkedAI, DataWifi, Kiwibot, and Vozy are featured in Forbes’ list of best Colombian startups. And they keep growing! Check out the list here.
- #P18Alumni InstaFit from Gen.2 and Backstartup from Gen.4 are on this list of Latin American startups, led by women that have billed over US $ 1M. Read the article and get to know the story behind the success of their ventures.
- Gen.8’s Tasty Smart is heading to the US! VegNews — the biggest vegan-focused publication in the country — picked up their story as the Puerto Rican startup looks towards expansion by appealing to Latino communities in the States. The female-led company sells high-quality, gluten, and dairy-free products. Read the piece and learn more here
YOU’RE ALL SET! A lot has been happening, but this is about it, for now! If you’d like to keep up with us, remember to stay tuned to our social media for further updates as the month passes by or subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
Catch up with us next month. Stay safe! :)
