The new business spin-out is called Brinc Accelerator of Accelerators (Brinc AOA)

Brinc, venture accelerator with programs in IoT & Connected Hardware, Drones & Robotics, and Food Technology, announced that it has raised US$1.5 million pre-seed round to focus on developing and operating training programs around China for existing and new incubator, accelerator, and investment companies. The spinout is called Brinc Accelerator of Accelerators (Brinc AOA), and it has been piloting a project for the last 18 months.

The company noted that the goal in 2019 is to run four training programs educating over 100 accelerator programs. So far, the program has already run three training programs in combination with various China government entities with The Brinc team training over 75 incubator and accelerator programs.

Brinc’s AOA seeks to provide fee-based training to incubators, accelerators, and investment companies then moving on to tie up longer-term relationships through accelerator associations and obtain equity alignment with their startups and programs.

The company stated that: “Ultimately, the goal is to help improve the quality of startups in China and to generate more opportunities for follow-on investment through future funds brought online and through syndication through China’s venture capital ecosystem, which is one of the fastest growing and largest in the world.”

Recorded statistics show that China’s market is ripe for disruption with a unicorn born every 3.8 days with last year saw China produced 97 unicorns.

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In 2018, China’s unicorns came from Transportation & Space (12 unicorns on average) and AI & Robotics (7 unicorns on average) sector. There was also a rise in Retail & Consumer, Fintech, Education, Logistics, and Tourism sectors.

Beijing had contributed 13 new unicorns with a total valuation of US$37.16 billion, followed by Shanghai and Hangzhou which produced four unicorns and three
unicorns respectively. Guangzhou has only two unicorns but the total valuation of the two companies was US$5.7B, which is higher than the total valuation of the three unicorns in Hangzhou.

Brinc AOA’s pre-seed round is being led by Artesian & Animoca Brands: Artesian Venture Partners (AVP), which is Australia’s early stage venture capital firm with over US$250M FUM.

Artesian targets both financial and strategic returns and invests in startups at seed, angel, and growth stages in Australia, China, and Southeast Asia.

Based in Hong Kong, Canada, Finland, and Argentina, Animoca Brands (ASX: AB1) leverages gamification, blockchain, and artificial intelligence technologies to develop and publish a portfolio of mobile products including games such as The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes as well as products based on popular intellectual properties such as Garfield, Snoopy, Thomas & Friends, and Doraemon. Animoca’s strategic backers include Intel Capital, IDG Accel, and Sun Hung Kai.

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The partnership between Animoca and Brinc will also see the development of gaming & e-sports vertical with the support & training of Brinc AOA. Startups will receive an equity investment, intensive mentoring, and connections to the top sports and e-sports business executives, sponsors, game developers, publishers, marketers, and investors that are already within the network of Animoca Brands.

China has had over 4,500 incubators and accelerators and over 5,000 co-working spaces, which makes this one of the fastest growing startup ecosystems in the world.

Brinc AOA said it will start from the Greater Bay Area cities then eventually expand to other cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and more.
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