After 19 batches since 2010, we’ve seen our companies experience the impact of strong mentorship. Today, 500 Startups, is announcing a Seed Program collaboration between General Motors and 500 focused right here in Silicon Valley as an effort to continually evolve and heighten our programs.

Our first corporate partner track aligns with GM’s vision to be innovative, autonomous, connected, electrified, and to create solutions that truly change the value and sustainability of transportation to enhance customers’ lives.

This partnership with GM will provide important resources developed to give access and knowledge transfer to one of the largest global automotive companies in the world.

When is this happening?

Starting January 23rd, we will open the first class as part of Batch 20’s Seed Program which includes: VC funding, exposure to corporate infrastructure, demo day, mentorship from GM, plus the opportunity of possible follow-on funding from GM.

Apply now! Deadline is December 31st. And while we are selecting ~5 companies for the GM specialized track, we still have a couple openings left.

The GM partnership will also continue for Batch 21 which will start in April of 2017.

What we’re looking for:

We’re looking for strong teams who focus on

•         Mobility services
•         Machine learning
•         Virtual Reality
•         Robotics
•         Additive manufacturing

“Working with 500 Startups will help us identify early-stage startups that could have relevance for automotive, but are either services or supporting technologies rather than merely vehicle features. Being able to mentor startup companies and learn from them is important, and 500 Startups has a track record of finding this talent globally.”  – Jon Lauckner, CTO of General Motors

The specialized GM track will be run by Robert Neivert (pictured below), Lupin Campos, Aaron Blumenthal, and several members of the GM’s Advanced Technology Silicon Valley Office. This track allows companies access to GM’s vast automotive knowledge to help companies build a product with strong market fit and the tools to grow. Connecting and understanding the groups behind innovation will help fuel advancement. And General Motors gets that.

Read more about the 500 + GM partnership in TechCrunch here.