The software behemoth that specializes in cloud-based data storage, Snowflake, announced on Thursday that it intends to add $200 million in new commitments to its startup accelerator.
The recent cash infusion comes after a series of actions taken by Snowflake in recent months that demonstrate the company’s aspirations for expansion.
Previously called the Powered by Snowflake Funding Program, the Snowflake Startup Accelerator makes investments in a variety of early-stage businesses. Notably, the accelerator funds businesses using Snowflake to develop AI-based products tailored to particular industries. The accelerator gives startups access to co-marketing opportunities, technical help from Snowflake, and credits for Amazon’s public cloud, AWS.
Coalesce, Andrew Ng’s LandingAI, and TwelveLabs are among the graduates from earlier batches.
Snowflake’s new and current venture capital partners, including Bain Capital Ventures, Blackstone Innovations Investments, Bessemer Venture Partners, Capital One Ventures, General Catalyst, Greylock Partners, Hetz Ventures, Mayfield, NewBuild Venture Capital, NTTVC, and Virtue, will contribute a portion of the additional $200 million.
You need to be mindful of the fine print. While participating venture capital firms may invest in Snowflake Startup Accelerator startups, Snowflake stated in a blog post that there is “no guarantee” that any specific company will receive money or that the entire goal amount will be invested.
Snowflake continues to make significant investments in AI, as evidenced by its announcement of plans for a $20 million AI upskilling program and a new 30,000-square-foot “AI hub” at its Menlo Park site. The business said earlier this week that it has extended its collaboration with Microsoft to provide access to OpenAI’s AI models. Late last year, Snowflake purchased Datavolo, an AI data pipeline company, and signed a multi-year agreement with Anthropic.
Snowflake’s plan seems to be working. The company’s most recent fiscal quarter (Q4 2024) saw $987 million in revenue, above Wall Street expert projections.
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