Puerto Rico Startup Accelerator Teams Up With Google to Boost Island’s Ecosystem

Puerto Rican startup accelerator Parallel18 has joined the Google Developers Launchpad – a global acceleration program – which it hopes will provide the resources necessary for massive scale.

The Google Developers Launchpad helps startups build and scale by matching them with the best of Google. The partnership will see Parallel18 have access to Google’s global network, giving them the best practices of startups around the world.

These resources hope to help Parallel18’s startup portfolio – which already includes some of the fastest-growing companies in the region – scale its businesses exponentially. 

“This alliance with Google Developers Launchpad instantly widened our network of speakers and expert mentors, which are the key to offer a business development curriculum that is of the highest quality and relevant to the entrepreneurs we serve,” Eduardo Padial, Operations Manager at Parallel18, said.

The Google initiative has been planning to create a link between Latin America and the US for a while, said Kevin O’Toole, the Global Head of Strategy, Operations, and Partnerships for Google Launchpad.

“During the past few years, we’ve been working to create new bridges between Latin America and the United States,” he said.

“Puerto Rico is one of the most promising entry points to the Hispanics market in America, and thanks to Parallel18, all startups both in the island and everywhere else in the world, can benefit from our Launchpad program, and mentor network.”

As part of the collaboration, experts from Google’s network will join the Startups of Puerto Rico Speaker Series to offer conferences and workshops open to the community.

Founded in 2015, Parallel18 is a startup accelerator created by the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust to promote, support and give visibility to innovative entrepreneurship on the island. It has worked with over 200 startups from Puerto Rico, United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia and captured international attention for the local tech and innovation ecosystem.