StartX, which is a startup accelerator for Stanford students, has raised $400,000 from investors, including computer server maker Cisco, phone operator AT&T and discount coupon provider Groupon.
Other investors include venture capital firm Founders Fund and its non-profit arm Founder.org and Greylock Ventures, philanthropy Kauffman Foundation, software provider Microsoft and internet services provider AOL.
StartX, formerly known as SSE Labs, now manages $1.5m and is led by Jeff Mounzer, its senior managing director, and John Melas-Kyriazi, partnerships director.
Since launching in 2010, the accelerator has seen more than 100 portfolio companies pass through the programme and go on to raise more than $100m. About 85% of startups which enter StartX end up getting funded, supporting about 250 Stanford alumni as founders, with four acquisitions.
Separately, the University of Melbourne in Australia has launched a start-up accelerator, Melbourne Accelerator Program, for students, modeled after StartX. The first six-month program began in June and included four companies, including Venuemob and SoundGecko that raised an aggregate $730,000 from consortia led by Optus, the local subsidiary of Singapore-based phone operator SingTel. Participants received $20,000 in funding, mentoring, and office space.