Studio 9+ Accelerator Raises $2.5 Million To Fund Its First Class of Entrepreneurs

YouWeb founder Peter Relan‘s new accelerator has raised another $2.5 million in funding from several angel investors, bringing total funding for Studio 9+ to about $4.6 million. The program is also extending its application deadline to Sept. 10 to include two more companies in its first class of participants.

Launched in July, Studio 9+ provides mentorship through three segments, each lasting three months: creating a minimum viable product, tuning for market fit and building out the company. In exchange for funding and participation in the program, Studio 9+ asks for 18 percent equity.

The program already has selected 10 startups out of more than 100 applicants, and is moving the deadline to coincide with TechCrunch Disrupt SF next week. The funding will go toward providing each of the 12 teams with $110,000 throughout the nine-month program.

Relan tells me the focus for Studio 9+ moving forward is keeping its classes small so it can provide more mentorship funding than other similar programs. Although nine months is much longer than most accelerators, Relan’s previous incubator YouWeb kept entrepreneurs engaged in the program for a year.

Angel investors participating in this round include David Whorton, Dan Warmenhoven, S. Somasegar, Raj Shah, Praful Shah, Ajit Mayya, Pankaj Agarwal, and Brett Wander.