10 start-ups travel to Silicon Valley in search of partners and investors at one of world’s most important tech events

• This Monday saw the start of a business mission to Silicon Valley organized by ACCIÓ coinciding with the celebration of Disrupt San Francisco, a trip that also aims to present Catalonia as one of the most dynamic start-up ecosystems in Europe.
• Within the framework of the mission, start-ups present their projects to Silicon Valley’s business community, visit venture capital funds and get to know the region’s main company accelerators.
• The Catalan companies participating in the mission are Adan Medical, DefyU, Epinium, Oval Sound, Playmoss, PocketPiano, Roomonitor, Submer, Telanto and Unlimited Engineering.

10 Catalan start-ups are participating this week in a business mission to Silicon Valley organized by ACCIÓ - the Catalan Government agency for business competitiveness - to find investors, partners and to get to know first-hand the region’s business ecosystem. The Catalan companies participating in the mission are Adan Medical, DefyU, Epinium, Oval Sound, Playmoss, PocketPiano, Roomonitor, Submer, Telanto and Unlimited Engineering.

Besides the agendas of the start-ups, the trip also is aimed at allowing the delegation – made up of ACCIÓ representatives, venture capital funds and other players within the Catalan business community, such as the CEO of Barcelona Tech City, Miquel Martí – to present Catalonia as one of Europe’s most dynamic start-up hubs. Through meetings with technology companies, American venture capital funds and meetings with local entrepreneurs, the goal is to identify new opportunities to connect the Silicon Valley and Catalonia ecosystems and facilitate incoming business investments.

The mission is also coinciding with the celebration of Disrupt SF in San Francisco, considered the world’s most important event for disruptive start-ups. It is organized by the American company Tech Crunch with the intention of being the leading international showcase for companies with differential and innovative technologies, and brings together in one space the entire business ecosystem of Silicon Valley with the main venture capital funds and technology corporations.

So the Catalan start-ups can present their projects, perform networking and meet partners and investors, ACCIÓ has a stand at the congress. Thanks to this presence in the event, Catalan start-ups that took part last year opened offices in the United States (Mediktor) or were selected to access 500Startups, one of the most recognized company accelerators in the United States (Kompyte and Gestoos).

During the event, Catalan start-ups can participate in the Startup Battlefield, a world-renowned and award-winning competition with a $50,000 prize, where entrepreneurs present their projects and receive advice from investors and experts. This year's Disrupt SF has speakers such as Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel, Ben Silbermann, co-founder and CEO of Pinterest, or Lisa Jackson, vice president of Apple, among others.

As well as participating in this event, ACCIÓ has prepared – through the Foreign Trade and Investment Office of the Catalan Government in Silicon Valley – a series of contact and visits to the region so that start-ups can present their projects to the main venture capital funds there and get to know some of the country’s most recognized accelerators.