Founders continue to face a challenging funding environment, but the startups coming out of Alchemist Accelerator's latest cohort may be in a slightly stronger position.
That's because the Bay Area accelerator invests in companies that are building software for enterprise customers, many of which continue to spend on services even during downturns.
"Alchemist has always been very grounded because we build for the enterprise. And we emphasize customer discovery, which serves us very well in downturns because we're building real companies with real value," President Rachel Chalmers told me.
The accelerator holds its semiannual demo day on Tuesday, and the program is open to companies worldwide. It used to require that founders be located in the Bay Area for the duration of the program but has eliminated that requirement as it introduced virtual programming in the wake of covid-19.
It also launched a new hub in Memphis, Tennessee, earlier this year in partnership with Epicenter, a local non-profit organization that supports entrepreneurs. And now has programs based in Turkey and Norway, as well.
Alchemist has also partnered with Amazon Web Services to run the cloud giant's space technology and healthcare accelerators. In April, two Bay Area startups were selected for the space tech program.
Chalmers took over as managing director in September when founder Ravi Belani stepped down, and she will leave that role on May 31 to join a generative AI startup that's currently in stealth mode.
"I had planned to stay at Alchemist for the rest of my career. Sometimes life just drops an opportunity in your lap that you would kick yourself if you missed," Chalmers told me.
There were 22 companies in the accelerator's 33rd cohort, including the following four new graduates which are based in the Bay Area:
Performetry (Palo Alto) — Founded by Denys Grabchak and Elena Grabchak. It is building AI-powered human resources and productivity software.
PitchIt (San Francisco) — Founded by Paul Kleen and Farshid Fotouhi. The company is developing an AI-powered fundraising assistant for founders and investors.
Prompt (San Francisco) — Founded by Michael Sawka. Legally known as Dashborg, it is developing a command terminal for developers that shows a searchable and contextual history.
Robot X (San Francisco) — Founded by Nik Sakhno and Nabil Mansouri. It designs robots for food and beverage production.
