01 August 2022
After three months in which the digital acceleration phase was developed, the names of the finalist ventures of ChileMass Emprende 2022 were announced today , a program carried out by Corfo, ProChile and ChileMass to promote Chilean scientific and technological ventures.
Of the 48 startups selected in April of this year, 15 of them will land in October in the city of Boston, one of the most important ecosystems for innovation, entrepreneurship and technological development in the world.
With the selection of this group of technology companies from different industries, such as education, clean energy and food, ChileMass will begin preparing an intense agenda of meetings and workspaces for this year's finalists.
“These are startups with enormous potential to make an economic, social, and environmental impact. They have nothing to envy in their American counterparts, which is why we want to open up real opportunities for them in these markets,” said Fernanda Soza, executive director of ChileMass.
The already scheduled activities include the ChileMass Innovation Day, an annual innovation event to be held on October 6 and 7 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, where Chilean startups will present their pitches to angel investors and representatives of various venture capital firms.
“Direct networks and connections for the acceleration and internationalization processes of Chilean startups are fundamental to achieving rapid growth in ventures with high social and economic impact. That is why at Corfo we have a strong commitment to strengthening and continuing to work to generate international networking spaces and opportunities that support Chilean technology startups so they can forge new connections, allowing them to improve their products or services, as well as access a network that opens up opportunities in other markets around the world,” said Carmen Contreras, Entrepreneurship Manager at Corfo.
In its previous iteration, the finalist startups of the ChileMass Emprende Program had the opportunity to hold a series of meetings with key players in the Boston ecosystem, receiving personalized mentorship for brand building and support in developing their business models. Additionally, the 15 selected startups spent a week at the MassChallenge bootcamp, where they networked with the accelerator's specialists based on the specific needs of each project.
“Since 2018, ProChile has been strongly supporting the internationalization of innovative startups and scaleups as a way to diversify and enhance our export portfolio. Therefore, the ChileMass Emprende program, focused on one of the world’s 20 most important innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in technology, especially clean technologies, biotechnology, and robotics, is a key tool for advancing this challenge,” stated Lorena Sepúlveda, National Director of ProChile.
He added, “Through ChileMass Emprende, the 48 selected startups will be able to validate their business models with world-class experts, refine and adjust them, improve their technologies, and, of course, expand their networks with different players in the ecosystem.” This year’s startups will stay in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for at least two weeks, where they will be hosted by the ChileMass team at their offices in the Cambridge Innovation Center. This will mark the beginning of the international program, which includes personalized activity guides and networking opportunities to enhance their technology or business models.