Germany-based startup accelerator EyeFocus Accelerator has launched with sponsorship from backers including electronics component maker Zeiss and chemical and pharmaceutical firm Bayer, TechCrunch has reported.
Bayer, which invested through its Bayer Healthcare subsidiary, was joined by Zeiss Ventures, Zeiss’s corporate venturing unit, and venture capital firm Peppermint Venture Partners.
The accelerator will operate a three-month programme in Berlin focusing on startups working on technology to prevent, cure or facilitate living with diseases of the eye. The sponsors will invest up to €20,000 ($25,000) in each graduating startup.
The accelerator is the brainchild of Alejandro Dussan, previously the head of emerging markets of Europe, Middle East and Africa for Bayer Pharma, and Tobias Stone, an entrepreneur, fund manager, and consultant.