It's Speedrun time once again and applications for A16Z Games third iteration of their popular tech investment accelerator are now open.
SR003 will be the third time that the developer has funded a 12 week program of education and investment, this time taking place in Los Angeles for the first time with a final Demo Day taking place during the San Francisco event of Tech Week 2024, on October 7 to 13.
The company aims to invest up to $75 million into the enterprises that it feels are the most promising pre-seed startups and this year the upper limit to individual investment has been increased with $750,000 heading to each selected Speedrun company.
Only candidates that show the most promise are carefully selected and those participants are supported not just with capital from A16Z GAMES, but also by a highly curated set of industry coaches, mentors and a community of ambitious founders.
“Speedrun brings together tech and games, two worlds that sit on the frontline of massive transformations and attract some of the world's most innovative entrepreneurs,” said Josh Lu, Investing Partner for A16Z Games. “What many founders don't realize is that venture capital is a viable path to fund their games startup, and our Speedrun program not only provides capital support, but also a team of operators and partners who have worked across the games industry and can equip them with the knowledge that helps them go from zero to launch.
"It has been inspiring and impressive to see what the Speedrun founders have been able to accomplish in such a short period of time, and we’re eager to see what ideas and products come out of SR003.”
The fast route to success
A16Z's second Speedrun concluded at GDC 2024 with a Demo Day that saw more than 370 investors in attendance, worth more than $500 billion.
Speedrun has proven highly popular with only the very best projects making the cut and gaining the program's help and financial support. A16Z estimate that only 1% of total applicants were selected at the program’s last cohort. Meanwhile figures from SR001 suggest that 80% of those that made the cut went to to secure funding from investors after graduation at that event's Demo Day.
SR003 will run for 12 weeks beginning on July 29, 2024, and conclude with a Demo Day during SF Tech Week in October 2024.
Applications are open from today until May 19, 2024 at sr.a16z.com.
