Amazon Alexa Fund and Alexa Startups are excited to open the application round for Black Founders Build with Alexa, a remote four-month program for a cohort of up to 10 Black-founded startups located in North America that demonstrate readiness and ability to deliver novel Alexa integration within the program duration.
Each company selected for the program will have an opportunity to receive up to a $100,000 investment from the Alexa Fund and individualized technology support from the Alexa Startups Solution Architect and Business Development teams. Founders will receive invitations to speak at events, participate in panel discussions and demo showcases.
Duration: The program duration will be four months for startups developing Alexa skills and will extend to one year of individual Solution Architect and Business Development support for device makers working on Alexa Voice Service (AVS) integrations.
Investment: Every company selected for the program will have an opportunity to receive up to a $100,000 investment from the Alexa Fund, in the form of a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE).
Technical support: Throughout the program, selected startups’ technical teams will engage with Alexa technical experts and Solution Architects, who will help advise on technical aspects of Alexa skill and AVS integrations.
If you are interested in this program, complete your two-step application by 5:00 PM PT on April 24, 2022. As a first step, fill out and submit the form below. Once the form is submitted, check your email and fill out the survey that you will receive including a brief proposal of the Alexa skill or AVS integration you want to work on. If you are selected to the next round, you will receive an invitation for an interview with Alexa Startups Business Development and Solution Architect teams..
1. To be considered for participation in the Program, your company must meet the following criteria: (1) Your company has at least 1 C-Level Co-Founder who identifies as Black; (2) Your company is headquartered in North America; (3) Your company has previously raised at least $250K in funding; (4) You have resources and commitment to build proposed Alexa skill/AVS integration within outlined program timeline; (5) You have completed and submitted the program application before 5:00 PM PT on April 24, 2022. You are required to complete all mandatory fields of the application; incomplete entries will not be accepted as valid. By completing and submitting your application, you confirm that you have read, understand, and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions and the decisions of Amazon and the selection committee; that you satisfy all eligibility requirements; and that you are willing to engage with Amazon in undergoing a full company due diligence process if selected. Amazon reserves the right to declare ineligible any applicant who, in Amazon’s sole judgement, has not complied with these terms and conditions, has engaged in any conduct that is detrimental or unfair to Amazon or any other entrant, fails to complete the company due diligence process, or otherwise fails to meet the program participation criteria listed below.
2. You acknowledge that companies selected for this program are not guaranteed any investment and are eligible to be considered for investment, if so selected, only after completing Amazon’s due diligence process to Amazon’s satisfaction. Should your application be selected for program participation, you understand and confirm you are willing to a) engage in a full company due diligence process; b) provide and license to Amazon the use of additional materials which may be used for advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in connection with the program or for any other purpose relating to Amazon’s business.
We will evaluate each startup application on the following criteria:
- Value proposition of the novel Alexa skill/AVS integration and clarity of customer pain point it is addressing
- Progress and business traction (revenue/customer/user growth KPIs or metrics)
- Resources and commitment to build Alexa skill/AVS integration within outlined program timeline
- Competitive differentiation
- Sizeable category with underlying growth
- At least $250K in funding (venture capital, friends and family, angel investors, grants, etc.)
- Ability to provide due diligence documentation during application, short listing and final selection steps
- Commitment to participate in all elements of the program
- Company is headquartered in North America
- At least 1 C-Level Co-Founder who identifies as Black
