Disney Launches Its Second Annual Startup Accelerator Class

0

Walt Disney Co. of Burbank has selected 10 companies for its second annual tech accelerator program.

The three-month summer program provides young companies with mentorship, a $120,000 investment and the opportunity to leverage Disney resources. The accelerator is run in partnership with Boulder, Colo., accelerator Techstars.

Members of this year’s class include companies in categories as varied as media, 3-D printing and artificial intelligence. The only Los Angeles company participating this year is FEM Inc., a Santa Monica video-engagement platform.

“Last year’s Disney Accelerator exceeded our expectations on many fronts,” Kevin Mayer, Disney’s chief strategy officer, said in a statement. “We are excited to roll up our sleeves again this year and help these cutting-edge startups achieve their goals.”

The inaugural graduating class at the Disney accelerator included Boulder’s Sphero, a toy robotics company that is producing a smart phone-controlled droid toy for the upcoming Star Wars film “The Force Awakens;” Smart Toy, a customizable smart toy developer in Los Angeles that was later acquired by Cartwheel Kids of Culver City; and Naritiv, a Santa Monica marketing and analytics platform.

This year’s Disney Accelerator class includes:

Decisive: A New York cloud-based advertising platform that helps improve digital advertising performance based on user engagement.

Emotiv: A San Francisco company that uses headsets to collect brainwave data on mental performance and emotions.

Fem Inc.: A Santa Monica video recommendation and engagement platform.

Imperson: An Israeli company that uses artificial intelligence to conduct conversations with television and film characters.

Littlstar: A New York company that aggregates of virtual-reality content.

MakieLab: A London company with technology to create customizable, 3-D printed toys.

Open Bionics: A Bristol, England company that 3-D prints inexpensive bionic hands for amputees, researchers and hobbyists

Pundit: A New York creator of a technology that facilitates “Ask Me Anything” audio interviews on Twitter.

HYP3R: A developer of a technology for businesses to locate the physical locations of influential customers and engage them.

StatMuse: A platform for fans to access sports statistics.

Technology reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @garrettreim for the latest in L.A. tech news.

No posts to display