In 2012 Scaale launched an initiative to expand international investments in early-stage startups at a time when venture capital was localized and angel investing was still nascent in most places. This was one of the first angel networks focused on cross-border deals, connecting promising startups with investors across emerging hubs in Europe and Asia.
The investment process operated through a hybrid of virtual and in-person activities and real-time and asynchronous communications. Telepresence rooms were setup at Scaale offices in the US, Europe, India, and China to live stream pitch events and developed a proprietary platform for subsequent Q&A and due diligence materials access.
From 2012 -2016 Scaale's platform facilitated investments in robotics, education, gaming, social networks, enterprise software, consumer goods, and more. Guidance was also provided to founders on presenting remotely to international audiences and to investors that were new to evaluating startups. In the time since, early-stage investing has almost become remote first and much more global. We are proud to have contributed to this trend.
In 2015 Scaale spearheaded India's first international startup conference to bolster its emerging startup ecosystem. The event took place in Goa, drawing 200+ startups, investors, and CXOs from around the world. Highlights included presentations from 100+ companies across 15+ countries, engagement with 60+ international investors, and involvement of 40+ global corporates. The event was covered in a dedicated 30 minute segment broadcast by ET Now and led to over $2 million in investments.
In 2016, we hosted a sequel conference at SAP Labs in Bangalore. Preceded by a 20-city roadshow aimed at identifying India's most innovative startups, over 1,000 startups were evaluated by the Scaale team across India. The culmination of this endeavor was a competitive event on a single platform attended by 500+ delegates consisting of corporates, VCs, investors, with a follow up 30 minute broadcast by ET Now.