New “Virtual” Global Scaleup Program Launches; Residential Startup Program Expands to North America with Austin, Texas Location
Oracle announced the expansion of its global startup ecosystem in an effort to increase the impact and support for the wider startup community, reach more entrepreneurs worldwide, and drive cloud adoption and innovation. The expansion includes the launch of a new virtual-style, non-residential global program, named Oracle Scaleup Ecosystem, as well as the addition of Austin to the residential Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator program. The addition of Austin brings the residential program to North America and expands the accelerator’s reach to nine total global locations.
“In 2017, we launched eight residential programs ahead of schedule and attracted almost 4,000 global startups for only 40 program slots—a clear indication of the tremendous demand,” said Reggie Bradford, Oracle senior vice president, Startup Ecosystem and Accelerator. “Oracle Scaleup Ecosystem is a new global program that allows us to reach more innovators and entrepreneurs, regardless of location, including later-stage scaleup companies who need access to Oracle Cloud solutions and resources without the hands-on offerings our residential program provides. We’re building an ecosystem that enables tangible business value, customer growth and revenue—for the startups, our customers and Oracle.”
Oracle’s global startup mission is to provide enriching, collaborative partnerships to enable next-generation growth and drive cloud-based innovation for startups throughout all stages of their journey. To that end, Oracle offers residential and non-residential startup programs that power cloud-based technology innovation and enable co-creation and co-innovation across the startups, customers, partners and Oracle.
Oracle Scaleup Ecosystem is the new non-residential, virtual-style program designed for startups and venture capital and private equity portfolio companies to enable hypergrowth and scale. Oracle’s Scaleup program is collaborating with leading PE and VC firms and will target high-growth entities across EMEA, JAPAC, and the Americas, as well as a select number of investment groups and strategic partners. The program offers mentoring, R&D support, marketing/sales enablement, migration assistance, cloud credits and discounts, and access to Oracle’s customer and product ecosystems.
“We are always exploring new opportunities and resources that can accelerate innovation and growth for our portfolio companies,” said Steve Herrod, managing director at General Catalyst. “Oracle has a formidable cloud-based technology stack, product expertise and a thriving customer and partner base. Collaborating with the Oracle Scaleup program has the potential to benefit both our companies and the broader global technology ecosystem.”
Industry veteran and Amazon Web Services (AWS) alum Jason Williamson has been tapped by Bradford to lead the Oracle Scaleup Ecosystem program. Williamson helped launch private equity ecosystem initiatives at AWS. Also an author, professor, entrepreneur and former Oracle employee, Williamson brings a wealth of knowledge and unique skillset to lead Oracle’s Scaleup program.
“Lightspeed works closely with global enterprise technology companies to provide resources and access to Lightspeed’s portfolio companies,” said Sunil Rao, Partner, Business Services, Lightspeed India Partners. “Oracle’s Scaleup program is aptly timed for the emerging ecosystem of enterprise software and SaaS vendors, and access to Oracle’s cloud solutions, global customers, partner footprint and industry experts who work closely with startups is super useful.”
“Working with Oracle has helped us fast-track growth with business development and technology enhancements,” said Rich Joffe, CEO, Stella.ai, an AI-based recruiting marketplace platform. “Relationships with Oracle Taleo and now Oracle Scaleup will enhance our performance and capabilities as our business rapidly grows globally.”
Austin is the newest addition to Oracle’s residential startup program, Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator, bringing the program to North America for a total of nine locations worldwide: Austin, Bangalore, Bristol, Mumbai, Delhi, Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore and Tel Aviv. The program will select five to six startups per cohort, supporting two cohorts a year. Selected companies will be entitled to hands-on technical and business mentoring by Oracle and industry experts, state-of-the-art technology with free Oracle Cloud credits, full access to a dedicated co-working space, as well as access to Oracle’s vast global ecosystem of startup peers, customers, investors and partners.
