William Hill launches start-up investment programme
Operator to host eight start-ups in Shoreditch and Tel Aviv tech hubs with an investment of up to £150,000 for the winning business
William Hill has launched a £350,000 start-up accelerator programme at its London and Tel Aviv tech hubs aimed at keeping the operator at the “cutting edge of omni-channel change”.
The operator has partnered with technology entrepreneur Stuart Marks’ investment fund L Marks on the WHLabs Accelerator project, which is accepting applications until 26 July, with Hills pledging to invest up to £350,000 into eight new businesses.
Hills has outlined six different categories for applications, encouraging start-ups which can enhance the betting experience, provide omni-channel innovation, improve technical efficiency, create new marketing solutions, new products or “surprise” the adjudicators.
Each of the selected start-ups will be given an initial investment of £25,000 and office space for the duration of the 12-week programme in either William Hill’s WHLabs hub in east London, or its technology and ancillary services hub in Tel Aviv.
The eight start-ups will be given access to William Hill’s APIs and mentorship, with the winning businesses getting a further investment of up to £150,000.
“Our industry is ripe for further disruption and through our WHLabs Accelerator we will nurture the next generation of technology start-ups, while helping ensure we remain at the cutting-edge of omni-channel change,” Andy Lee, managing director of William Hill’s online business, said.
“William Hill is at the leading edge of digital betting and we’re excited to work with the most innovative start-ups to identify and then help build the next big opportunities in gambling,” he added.
Last month William Hill outlined its plans across the digital channel at the Digital Shoreditch festival, where it displayed new products including a virtual reality horse racing app.