Paddle Opens Applications for Expanded AI Launchpad to Help More Ambitious AI Founders Scale

Paddle, the payments infrastructure provider, has today opened applications for its third AI Launchpad, offering 75 ambitious AI founders the chance to participate in a 6-week program to help them build, launch and scale their AI-powered business ideas. The potential for AI startups is huge, with generative AI startups globally raising more than $25 billion in funding in 2023, a figure that is predicted to rise to around $45 billion this year. However, developing an AI product is just the beginning and founders need to have a strong commercial and operational understanding, not just great technical skills, if they are to build a sustainable, scalable AI business. Empowering AI innovators Paddle's AI Launchpad is designed to empower and support AI innovators and help founders to reach the pinnacle of their market niche. The program is aimed at AI-focused businesses whose core product offerings are built on natural language processing, machine learning, or other AI driven features and participants should have a minimal viable product ready by the start of the program. Applicants must also demonstrate clear signs of market traction and potential for scalable growth, with a growing customer or user base. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to meet and collaborate, fostering a supportive ecosystem of like-minded individuals through weekly workshops, office hours and a private 'Launchpaddler' community on Slack. Other benefits of the program will include:

• Expert mentorship: Participants will have access to mentorship and live masterclasses from top software industry leaders, providing invaluable guidance and insights.
• Cash Prize: The program will culminate with a cash prize of $20,000 for the best offering, as judged by a panel of experts, to help accelerate the development and market reach of the winning startup.
• Additional benefits from partners: Participants can receive up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits and access to dedicated AI training and resources.

Christian Owens, Founder and Executive Chairman of Paddle, commented: "Paddle's AI Launchpad began as a way to help a new generation of software founders build in one of the world's fastest-moving categories, but it quickly became more than that. The vibrant, dynamic and supportive community that has emerged from our two previous programs is inspiring to see. The power of collaboration and shared knowledge within this community has driven real, tangible progress for our cohort and the caliber of what these founders are building is exceptional. The Launchpaddler community is now actively shaping how the program evolves and we're excited to launch our next iteration, which promises to be the best yet." Helping founders unlock growth Since launching in 2023, more than 175 founder teams have participated in the AI Launchpad program. Previous winners include Virtual Staging AI, a platform that allows real estate professionals to sell properties faster by using AI and Vanna AI, a platform that uses retrieval augmentation to help businesses generate accurate SQL queries for their database. Launchpaddler growth successes:

• Several Launchpad participants have since seen their businesses achieve over 300% in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)
• Web traffic surged by over 80% for the 2024 H1 program's finalists
• Vanna AI surpassed 10,000 GitHub stars after becoming a Launchpad winner

Zain Hoda, Founder and CEO of 2024 H1 AI Launchpad winner Vanna AI, said: "The Paddle AI Launchpad was instrumental in shaping Vanna's growth strategy. The Masterclasses provided invaluable insights into critical areas like pricing strategy, marketing approaches, and defining our value metrics. Meanwhile, the community created a collaborative environment where we could exchange ideas and receive direct feedback on everything from pitch decks to pricing pages and marketing copy. This comprehensive support has been crucial in refining our business model and go-to-market strategy." Applications for the AI Launchpad will be open from 14th August to 22nd September 2024, with the program beginning in October. For more information on how to apply for AI Launchpad, including terms and conditions, please visit www.paddle.com/ai-launchpad.