By : Saber Mohamed – Nahla Makled
Amazon Web Services announced the launch of a new space startup assistance program on Tuesday, with the tech giant partnering with U.K.-based venture firm Seraphim Capital on the project.
The AWS Space Accelerator is a four-week business support program that will take place in June, AWS vice president of partners and program Sandy Carter wrote in a blog post.
The accelerator will select 10 companies to participate, with startups receiving as much as $100,000 in “AWS Activate credit” – essentially funds to use for various parts of Amazon’s cloud service.
Startups will also receive mentoring during the accelerator, “from space domain and technical subject matter experts with deep experience working on AWS,” the company said.
“Startups provide a catalyst for bold new experimentation in the space industry,” AWS’ Aerospace and Satellite division director Clint Crosier said in a statement. “We look forward to helping the first cohort of companies launch and grow through this new program.”
AWS established the Aerospace and Satellite unit last year, as the company identified a growing need for cloud-based support across the space industry.
Applications for to join the AWS Space Accelerator open on Tuesday, with proposals due April 21.
