27 May 2014 Dig Eat All, the first Food & Tech Accelerator

Basque Culinary Center, Mapamundi and Mugaritz announce this Acceleration Program for start up. Applications for the 5 weeks program to be held in September open on May 29th.

Last Monday, the launch of the DIG EAT ALL Fast Track Acceleration Program was announced in San Sebastian, Spain. DIG EAT ALL Fast Track is an original idea of Altazor Ventures, produced by the Basque Culinary Center, Mapamundi and Mugaritz. DIG EAT ALL Fast Track is the first vertical acceleration program in the Food & Tech space and emerges from the belief that meaningful synergies and opportunities can arise from this experience.

In the first edition of the program, up to ten Food & Tech start up will be based in the Basque Culinary Center enjoying a mentor-driven, comprehensive program that will take them to new levels of development.

Starting on May 29th and until June 20th, applications will be open for Food & Tech start up from all around the world and from any part of the chain of the Agro, Food or Food Related Health industries. Successful applicants will be announced on June 26th, about two months before the five weeks program begins on September 1st.

Key ideas

Selected teams to this acceleration program will enjoy a unique opportunity and obtain competitive advantage with access to:

• Equity-free access policy.

• Up to 250,000 euros of funding for the best performing teams.

• Ongoing mentorship support from world-class top chefs, gastronomy experts, agro industry innovators, food and beverages corporate executives, venture capitalist and the entrepreneurial community.

• Dedicated support from Mapamundi. Opportunity to benefit from the expertise of executives in +30 countries.

• Unique innovation expertise from Mugaritz.

• Access to testing labs, research facilities and Food&Tech experts at the Basque Culinary Center.

• Workspace: Dedicated DIG EAT ALL Fast Track space located at Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastian, Spain. Everything you need to foster your startup or test your innovation project in a superb place just for you and your team.

• Technical guidance.

• Networking events.

• Investors Demo Day.

• The best performing teams will be nominated to the DIG EAT ALL Global Awards.

Food & Tech sector

Food & Tech start up are getting attention worldwide. Consumers are ready for technologies to transform their daily lives, including their relation with food. Innovation, through Food & Tech start up, is being funded across different continents aiming to boost it and adapt it to new technologies. From next generation foods, passing through groceries delivery to smart applications to reduce waste, the Food & Tech revolution is here.

Over the last five years, global funding in the food tech space has been growing at a stunning 51% year after year rate. Only in the US, over $2.8 billion were invested between 2012 and 2013. M&A deals are also growing, not only in numbers (55% annual growth rate) but also in volume, with deals as large as the $930 million acquisition of big data company The Climate Corp. by Monsanto Co. getting momentum.

Leading Corporate Ventures and Venture Capital investors such as Google Ventures, Intel Capital, Greylock Partners, Accel Partners or Khosla Ventures are becoming active investors in Food & Tech start up.

¿San Sebastian or Silicon Valley?

San Sebastian deserves a spot in this global revolution. With 2 restaurants (Mugaritz & Arzak) in the top 10 of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List since 2006 and with the highest concentration of Michelin Stars per capita worldwide, San Sebastian is becoming the Silicon Valley for the food and gastronomy industries. In the center of this transformation, The Basque Culinary Center, the world’s leading educational, innovation and research institution in the food and gastronomy industries is playing a key role.

For additional information:

Web: Dig Eat All Fast Track

Email: info@digeatall.com

Spanish version of this article to read here