Description :
Ten Startups. Three Months. Unlimited Innovation.
If you are a developer or existing team/startup focused on building a business that takes advantage of the Kinect and Natural User Interface technologies, then the Kinect Accelerator is where you need to be. Through this program, Microsoft is supporting entrepreneurs, engineers and innovators like you to bring to life a wide range of business ideas that leverage the limitless possibilities Kinect enables.
Following a competitive screening process, ten finalists will be chosen for this unique three month incubation program running from April 2 - June 28, 2012 in Seattle, WA. The Kinect Accelerator is “powered by TechStars” using the same mentor-driven methodology pioneered and proven in New York, Boulder, Seattle and Boston. Mentors for the Kinect Accelerator include a broad base of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists in the industry as well as executives from Microsoft Studios, Xbox, Kinect for Windows, Microsoft Research and other Microsoft organizations.
What the Program Offers
Every company participating in the Kinect Accelerator will receive an investment of $20,000, an Xbox development kit, the Windows Kinect SDK, office space, all the resources of BizSpark, technical training and support, and mentorship from entrepreneurs, investors and Microsoft executives intensely focused on making their business a success.
At the end of the program, each company will have an opportunity to present at an Investor Demo Day to Angel investors, venture capitalists, Microsoft executives, media and industry influentials.
What Qualifies for the Kinect Accelerator?
• Any Kinect-enabled application on Windows or Xbox SDK that can be a commercial business
• Manufacturing to retail, education to healthcare, art installations to gaming, social to interactive play…hmmm, the possibilities
• Can be cloud-hosted, on any platform, but needs to be an application
• Could be one view of an application that may also have a web UI, mobile UI, etc.
• Kinect-controlled applications, like what you have on your phone, but on a big screen or a computer screen
• Content you might expect to consume in your living room or in an operating room
Go ahead, surprise them! Your company does not necessarily need experience developing with Kinect, but the business concept does need to leverage Kinect capabilities as part of the final offering.
Your team must also be willing to develop the technical skills required to bring your solution to a functioning prototype.
Meet Them
They are visiting San Francisco, New York, Boston and Seattle in early February.
Register for one of their tour dates to learn more about the program, meet Managing Director Dave Malcolm and possibly win Kinect for Windows hardware.
How to Apply
Applications to the Kinect Accelerator are now open! Applicants must be prepared to relocate to Seattle, Washington for the duration of the program. The early application deadline is January 25th, 2012.
The final application deadline is February 8th, 2012. Applicants who apply by the early application deadline will receive additional consideration.
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