UPDATE: China-focused accelerator Crayfish.io tours London and Cambridge

UPDATE: Unfortunately, due to circumstances in China, the roadshow described in the following article will not be proceeding as initially planned. Check the Crayfish.io website for more details as they are provided.

Following its launch in Cambridge last July, Crayfish.io is rolling out its China-focused accelerator programme during a Cambridge-London roadshow next month.

The roadshow, which is aimed specifically at startups and scaleups working within the IoT and semiconductor technology sectors, kicks off in Cambridge on February 18 before heading down to London on February 19.

The Cambridge event takes place 4pm-7pm (Feb 18) at PwC, St John’s Innovation Park, The Maurice Wilkes Building, Cowley Rd, Cambridge CB4 0DS.

The London event takes place 4pm-7pm (Feb 19) and is being hosted by techUK at 10 St Bride Street, London EC4A 4AD.

At both locations, Crayfish.io will be holding a workshop and pitching event where five pre-selected tech startups will be given the opportunity to pitch their business to Shenzen-based DB Investment Management (DBI), one of the accelerator programme’s two anchor investors.

Crayfish.io founder and CEO Ting Zhang will be sharing tips and advice on engaging with Chinese investors and increasing the likelihood of Chinese investment, while Fred Cai, founder of DBI, will detail the latest market trends and investment opportunities for IoT and semiconductor technologies.

Start ups and scale ups interested in pitching at either event should send their business plan (10 pages max) to accelerator@crayfish.io by Thursday February 6th 2020.

Crayfish.io says its accelerator is the UK’s first funded initiative focused on getting tech businesses China-ready.

Qualifying start ups must have a minimum viable product, be tech with IP and working within the sector focus.

They also need to be interested in doing business with China in a medium term of 18 months.

Each successful applicant will receive a cash injection in return for an equity stake in the business as well as introductions to investors and businesses in the network.

Ting Zhang said: “With our Accelerator programme now backed by two significant Chinese venture funds – DBI and UK-China Enterprise Fund (UKCE) – we are able to open up the initiative not just to more industry sectors but also roll it out further to include other major innovation hubs in and around London.”