TechCrunch has an exclusive look at the companies participating in 500 Startups‘ 24th startup accelerator batch, which kicked off last week.Through its four-month seed program, the Silicon Valley seed fund invests $150,000 in exchange for 6 percent equity.
The companies below include a mix of industries from cryptocurrency to digital health to e-commerce.
500 Startups says 40 percent of the companies have a female founder, 50 percent have a black, mixed-race or Latinx founder and 31 percent are headquartered outside the United States Here a closer look at the 22 companies, which will demo their tech to investors on February 28:Alba: A Santiago, Chile-based mobile marketplace for babysitters in emerging markets.Assemble: A Los Angeles-based digital platform for automating video content production.Back Office: A Palm Beach, Florida-based financial software provider focused on streamlining personal bookkeeping.BlockVigil: A San Francisco-based platform for building and scaling blockchain applications.Cambridgene: A Cambridge-based developer of clinical-genomic software for personalizing cancer therapy in hospitals.Celer Network: A platform for building and scaling decentralized applications.Crowdz: Headquartered in Sunnyvale, the blockchain-based B2B marketplace builds digitized supply chains.HAMAMA: A San Francisco-based provider of microgreen kits for growing healthy food at home.IOTW: A Hong Kong-based IoT-connected cryptocurrency mining platform.Kura Tech: A San Francisco-based developer of augmented reality glasses with micro-display and variable focus.Memoir Health: A Boston-based behavioral health startup providing physical and virtual mental wellness and substance use services.MessageCube: Headquartered in Sunnyvale, the companyis building an integration for people to discuss and purchase shared experiences over chat.Ovation: A Provo, Utah-based online portal for restaurant reviews meant to help businesses measure customer experience.PantyProp: A New York-based seller of underwear and swimwear for women to wear while menstruating.Pilleve: A Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based startup using data to help care providers lower the costs associated with opioid addiction.Savion: A Livermore-based aviation company bringing green, long-range private jets to the middleclass.SnapShyft: Headquartered in Indianapolis, the startup provides an on-demand labor marketplace focused on the food and beverage industry.Thrive Agric: An Abuja, Nigeria-based crowdfunding platform for farmsand farmers in Africa.TripAfrique: Headquartered in Paris, theonline booking platform helps travelers arrange trips to Africa.UTRUST: A Zurich-based cryptocurrency payments platform that offers buyers protection, instant transactions and more.Zeuss Tech: Headquartered in Palo Alto, the blockchain-based anti-money-laundering platform targets cash-intensive industries.No information is available on the final company, which is in stealth mode.Here a look at 500 Startups batch 23, 22 and 21.These are the most successful companies to emerge from Y Combinator