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Disney Accelerator Announces 2016 Participants

Disney Character Buzz Lightyear
Disney Character | Credit: disneyaccelerator.com

The Walt Disney Company announced yesterday that it has admitted nine startups to its 2016 Disney Accelerator Program. The companies range from robot manufacturers and educational toys to virtual reality and augmented reality platforms. In contrast to the accelerator’s typical prior portfolio lineups, this year’s participants include established startups that have already secured a significant amount of venture money, such as Playbuzz, a mobile content development platform that has raised $31 million.

One of the largest and most successful corporate accelerators, the Disney Accelerator has helped nurture some of the most innovative startups in technology, entertainment and media. Building on Disney’s unparalleled resources and extensive access to industry mentors, participants in the Disney Accelerator have become major players in a range of areas. Sphero, for instance, is a class of 2014 company that subsequently created BB-8 droid, the wildly successful Star Wars toy in 2015. Statmuse, a 2015 accelerator participant, provides ESPN with interactive sports statistics using its powerful natural language search platform.

Michael Abrams, senior vice president of Innovation at The Walt Disney Company, commented in the announcement that “This year’s Disney Accelerator program is designed to advance a broader spectrum of the strategic investments we make in innovation across all of our businesses.”  

To see a complete list of Disney Accelerator’s 2016 participants, visit disneyaccelerator.com/.