Merck KGaA has doubled the amount of cash it gives to participants in its digital-focused accelerator and offered the companies a chance to work out of Silicon Valley. Both changes are intended to help companies participating in the program access the resources they need to advance.
From the September intake onward, companies that are accepted into Merck KGaA’s startup-support initiative in its home city of Darmstadt, Germany, and sister program in Nairobi, Kenya, will have the chance to add a stay in Silicon Valley to their time on the program. Merck KGaA will pick one startup from each intake in Darmstadt and Nairobi to spend a month in Silicon Valley, an offer the company sees as an opportunity for the fledgling businesses to connect with investors.
“Silicon Valley is the region with the world’s highest venture capital ratio,” Michael Gamber, head of the Merck Innovation Center, said in a statement. “We want to provide our start-ups with the best support to establish themselves internationally and to network. A bridge to the Silicon Valley is the logical step.” Merck KGaA also foresees the Silicon Valley residencies giving companies a chance to assess the viability of their business model in the U.S. and meet experts who can help make it work.
Merck KGaA unveiled the Silicon Valley bridge alongside a boost in seed funding for participants in its Darmstadt program. The drugmaker is now offering each participant up to €50,000 ($57,000), twice as much as was available to startups previously. Merck KGaA cited two motivations for the move. The extra €25,000 is expected to both help young companies advance further on the back of their time in the program, and open up participation to businesses that are already more established.
The amount available for participants in the Nairobi program, $15,000, is unchanged, as is the focus of the overall initiative. Merck KGaA established the accelerator to help startups with digital business models that are active in three of its key sectors, namely healthcare, life sciences and performance material.
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