Philadelphia, PA (September 8, 2011) – DreamIt Ventures, one of the world’s premiere accelerator programs, today announced its roster of 15 companies for its fifth program (its fourth in Philadelphia).
The companies represent the best and brightest entrepreneurial talent in the Internet space. They include students and alumni from top academic institutions, including the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, Duke, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and MIT. The founding teams also bring tremendous work experience, with Founders having past work experience at companies including Google, Yahoo!, Intel, Goldman Sachs, and J.P. Morgan.
Five of the companies were selected in partnership with Comcast Ventures, the venture capital affiliate of Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), as part of the Minority Entrepreneur Accelerator Program (MEAP), which is designed to provide minority entrepreneurs with the opportunity to engage in an intensive, company-building experience. The five selected startups to participate in MEAP include owners who are African American, Asian, Hispanic and Indian. MEAP is the first investment initiative from the $20 million fund created by Comcast as part of the NBCUniversal transaction that is committed to expanding opportunities for minority entrepreneurs.
“We are eager to see these five innovative startups prosper through their participation in the Minority Entrepreneur Accelerator Program, and look forward to providing our resources and mentorship to these entrepreneurs,” said David Horowitz, Comcast Ventures’ Managing Director.
For the fourth year, the DreamIt program will be located at the University City Science Center. All 15 companies will work out of 6,000 square feet of shared office space at 3401 Market Street.
“We are delighted to welcome DreamIt Ventures back home to Philadelphia – and the Science Center – this fall,” said Steve Tang, President and CEO of the Science Center. “We’re all about convening communities of those that share our passion for entrepreneurship, innovation and discovery. The bootstrapping, innovative attitude of DreamIt’s startup companies is a great fit. We look forward to working with DreamIt to nurture and launch these companies.”
About The Science Center
The University City Science Center accelerates technology commercialization, regional economic development, and the market availability of life-enhancing scientific breakthroughs by bringing together innovations, scientists, entrepreneurs, funding, laboratory facilities, and business services. Established in 1963 and headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, the Science Center was the first, and remains the largest, urban research park in the United States. Graduate organizations and current residents of the Science Center’s Port business incubators have created more than 15,000 jobs that remain in the Greater Philadelphia region today and contribute more than $9 billion to the regional economy annually. For more information about the Science Center, go to www.sciencecenter.org.
About Comcast Ventures
Comcast Ventures is the venture capital affiliate of Comcast Corporation. It consists of the recently combined Comcast Interactive Capital and NBCUniversal Peacock Equity Fund and has a portfolio valued at $750 million under management. Comcast Ventures invests in innovative businesses that represent the next generation of entertainment, communications and digital technology by partnering with entrepreneurs who have the vision, passion and tenacity to succeed. Its primary goal is to generate superior financial returns through the success of its portfolio companies by applying the unique resources, contacts, experience, and insight of Comcast's family of companies.
