SXSW Accelerator continues to discover amazing new startups [Q&A]

The annual SXSW Accelerator competition presented by Oracle is set to take place on Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 15 at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival.

I spoke to Chris Valentine, event producer for SXSW Accelerator and Startup Village, about the competition, and what innovations and trends we can expect to see emerging this year.

BN: What is the SXSW Accelerator pitch competition?

CV: Now in its seventh year, the SXSW Accelerator competition brings together leading startups from around the world to present their innovations to a live audience and panel of experts that includes successful entrepreneurs, investors and industry influencers. More than 500 applications were received this year with 48 finalists selected to compete in the following categories: Enterprise and Smart Data, Entertainment and Content, Digital Health and Life Sciences, Innovative World, Social and Wearables. A few examples of this year’s judges and emcees include Sir Mix-A-Lot -- Recording Artist/Producer, Laurie Segall -- CNN Money, Bob Metcalf -- University of Texas, Sonny Vu -- Misfit Wearables, Andrew McLaughlin -- betaworks/Digg/Instapaper and Andrew Hyde -- Founder of StartupWeek/Weekend. A few of the VC firms who are represented include Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures, DFJ, Intel Capital, Flybridge, NEA, General Catalyst and GGV.

BN: Who are some of the past winners?

CV: A few of our past notable winners include: Siri, Tango, Hipmunk, Klout and Foodspotting. We also have some interesting data to share regarding SXSW Accelerator finalists. Of the 257 companies who participated, 50 percent of companies have received funding. Participants received more than $1.78 Billion in total funding (this does not include undisclosed grants, angel and seed funding). Finally, of the 257 companies who participated in SXSW Accelerator, 12 percent have since been acquired by the likes of Google, Apple, Facebook, Live Tree, British Telecom, Huffington Post, Live Nation, OpenTable, Constant Contact and Harmon to name a few. Click here for more information.

BN: What innovations are likely to emerge from this year's competition?

CV: The trends we are seeing are more focused on innovation and efficiencies and building upon what we have now instead of something we never seen before. We are seeing this across several sectors including Enterprise, Big Data, Wearable, Health and Social, to name a few.

BN: How do you think year's entries compare to previous years?

CV: In my opinion, this is our strongest event class to date. I believe that SXSW Accelerator continues to discover the best and the brightest in startup technology as we attract innovative companies from all over the United States and the world to take part in the two-day competition.

BN: Are there any particular trends which are standing out?

One trend I have noticed is the globalization of the startup eco-systems. We are seeing the startup world becoming smaller and smaller as more and more startup ecosystems connect with each other on a global scale with regards to expansion, talent, funding, and marketing/event efforts. Of particular note, 11 of the 48 companies who are participating in this year’s SXSW Accelerator are located outside the US.

You can view the complete list of finalists, judges and emcees at the SXSW Accelerator website.