Today, Techstars announced that we have acquired UP Global, which includes Startup Weekend, Startup Week, Startup Digest, and Startup Next.  But acquired isn’t really the right word.  It’s more like merge.  Or join forces. Or unite.  Or, REUNITE.  Like twins, separated at birth.

Techstars and Startup Weekend share early beginnings.  The idea was borne of Andrew Hyde, right in the Techstars offices with David Cohen.  The first Techstars class participated in the event, along with 70 other amazing Boulder individuals.  Since then, Startup Weekend has blossomed into other programs (like Startup Week and Startup Next).  With thousands of events in over 600 cities in 120 countries and 6 continents, UP Global has brought entrepreneurial access to the ground level.

Since then, Techstars has also grown.  Over 600 companies have gone through 18 programs across 13 cities.  They have collectively raised over $1.5B in capital, and are valued at over $50B in market cap.  Techstars Ventures has $300M in capital under management.  Our secret weapon; our network of mentors, alumni, investors, and corporate partners, continues to grow and strengthen by the day.

By joining forces, Techstars and UP Global can accelerate the pace of innovation by strengthening the path for entrepreneurs, providing better support for entrepreneurial communities, and helping to grow the worldwide entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The UP Global programs will continue to run as community events (and will keep their name)- we aren’t touching something that isn’t broken!  And Techstars programs will continue to run as they have.  Just a lot more collaboration between programs.

Join me in welcoming the UP Global team to the Techstars family!