Just this week, the company released the list of startups in Disney’s accelerator’s 2016 class. As Inc.com reports, those startups have an increase of multi-million-dollar budgets already: Among them are electronic building block company LittleBits, VR startup Jaunt, and “open-network publishing platform” Playbuzz. Techcrunch offers a further clarification: Disney’s accelerator will no longer be capping each startups’ potential investment at $120,000. The news comes alongside similar stats for the entire industry: As I noted earlier this month, VC investment hit an all time high in the second quarter of 2016—due entirely to massive investments in unicorns. Early-stage startups, meanwhile, are struggling to pulling in the funds they need to keep going. Companies like Uber, which closed a $5.6 billion round in that quarter, have a valuation of $61 billion. Here’s a full list of the startups backed in Disney’s accelerator this year, via the above Techcrunch article: Ader – a marketplace connecting brands with eSports and gaming influencersAtom Tickets – mobile movie ticketing appHanson Robotics – a creator of human-like robots with a full range of facial expressionsJaunt VR – a developer of cinematic virtual reality content programslittleBits – electronic building blocksNom – an online live streaming video community for chefs and food loversOTOY – A holographic content platformPlaybuzz – a content-creation and audience-engagement platformPley – a toy subscription company
