2018 Pipeline by the Numbers

We recently closed applications for our 2019 cohort of companies. As we kick off the selection process over the coming months, we are taking a moment to share three characteristics of this year’s pool that stood out to our team. The applicants for the next Elemental Excelerator cohort are the most geographically dispersed, technologically diverse, and mature to date.

With that in mind, here’s a data snapshot for the stats lovers among you.

500

…startups at the top of the pipeline (the most ever!)

In October, we’ll announce the 15 to 20 companies in our 2019 cohort. An acceptance rate of less than 4%.

51

…countries represented

The EEx program is increasingly attracting attention from startups around the world, illustrating the power of our place-based innovation model and the dynamic nature of the markets where we are deploying world-changing technologies.

The 500 companies at the top of the pipeline this year hail from 51 different countries. All told, over 34% of the companies that applied are based outside of the U.S., up from 22% in 2017 and 10% in 2016.

30%

…water, mobility, and agriculture companies

Our goal is to balance the applicant pool — or “color the pie” — by attracting high-potential startups in energy, water, food & agriculture, and mobility. While energy-focused startups continue to make up the biggest slice at 58%, the share of water, food & agriculture, and mobility companies more than doubled in the past three years, from 14% in 2016 to nearly 30% this year.

$542k

…in average revenue signals more mature companies

As a growth-stage accelerator, our “sweet spot” is companies that fall between the Seed and Series C funding range. This year, more than half of the companies that met our minimum requirement fell into that sweet spot, and more than 62% are generating revenue. We have also seen a significant uptick in applicants’ average revenue, outside funding, and number of employees. Here’s what the average applicant from 2018 looks like compared to 2017:

10/2018

…we’ll announce our new cohort

Over the coming months, we’ll be busy investigating everything from 3D-printed batteries and electric aviation to CO2 recycling and the circular economy. In the meantime, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter for our cohort announcement in October, where we’ll refresh these numbers and reveal a new host of startups poised to transform our energy, water, mobility, and agriculture systems.