Southeast Asia gets its first Bitcoin startup incubator

By Sainul Abudheen K for e27

At the beginning of the three-month programme, each startup will receive US$50,000 in funding in return for 8 to 15 per cent equity from Satoshi Studios.

Named after Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, the incubator will provide a three-month intensive programme for startups in the region. The inaugural programme will commence in April 2017.

Selected startups will work with other Blockchain enthusiasts from the region.

“The name very appropriately reflects the kind of entrepreneurs we are looking to incubate and accelerate. Satoshi is a symbolic name for all of us in the blockchain industry and we want our entrepreneurs to stand up to the standards of innovation and free thinking set by this name-figure and further carry the lamp of innovation ahead,” Founder Sahil Baghla told e27.

Founded in 2016 by Baghla, Nikunj Jain, and Ayush Varshney, Satoshi Studios provides a workspace and living space for the selected startups for three months in Delhi. At the beginning of the programme, each startup will receive US$50,000 in funding in return for 8 to 15 per cent equity.

Satoshi Studios is looking for startups that solve real-world problems through Blockchain in any industry. The incubator will also incubate concept-stage startups.

The incubator is backed by some of the experts in the Bitcoin space, including Roger Ver (who has single-handedly funded the seed rounds for the entire first generation of Bitcoin businesses), Amit Bhardwaj (who is leading the march for Bitcoin adoption in India), and Michael Terpin (who co-founded BitAngels, the first angel network for investments in bitcoin/digital currency companies).

“India and the rest of the Southeast Asian countries have very similar opportunities of being benefitted by Blockchain technologies. All these countries will be missing a step in the technological evolution and digitisation process and directly adopting the next more efficient system, hence the commonality of problems and solutions lead us to target the entire region, and not just one country,” Bahgla added.

First appeared at e27