Techstars Chicago revealed their first class today. Back in February Techstars announced that Excelerate Labs the Chicago based accelerator that operates out of the 1871 space was becoming TechStars Chicago. They began taking applications at that time and announced the first cohort on Thursday.

This first official “Techstars Chicago” class will start May 28th and end on August 28th. TechStars Chicago participants will receive a round of seed funding, work space, an intense startup curriculum and mentorship from one of the best accelerator mentor networks in the world.

As with all the Techstars classes there is a wide range of startups across SoLoMo, healthcare, big data, analytics and even fitness.

Here is a complete list of the 10 startups that made it into the first Chicago cohort, as originally posted on the Techstars blog.

CaptureProof – The platform through which patients can securely and easily share photos and videos with their doctors.

HIPOM – A cloud-based solution that gives parents total control of the Internet access on all devices in the home.

Nexercise – A mobile app that makes fitness fun through the use of friendly competition, smart alerts and real rewards.

Pathful – A Web analytics platform that captures every visitor interaction with every element on a website automatically, making it easier for marketers and designers to understand visitor behavior.

Peoplematics – A cloud-based search platform that unlocks the data users store in the cloud with intuitive search and sharing across applications.

Project Fixup – A digital matchmaker that fixes people up on fun one-on-one dates.

SimpleRelevance – An analytics-driven email marketing platform that provides customized digital communication for every customer and every message.

SocialCrunch – The marketing data provider presents a new way to unlock the most provocative human insights for brands and their agencies.

Sqord, Inc. – The fitness platform that makes healthy, active play more fun for kids by allowing them to compete and earn points for everyday activities.

TradingView – A browser-based community for investors and traders to share and discuss their ideas.

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Today in a blog post penned by Techstars founder David Cohen, he announced that Excelerate Labs, the startup accelerator located at 1871 has become Techstars Chicago.

Excelerate Labs was founded by Troy Henikoff and Sam Yagan (OKCupid, SparkNotes and Match.com) in partnership with Sandbox Industries and New World Ventures.

We’ve covered several of the Excelerate Labs startups and have managed to make a few trips to 1871 over the last year. Their classes work hard, play hard and innovate. It’s one of the finest accelerators in the country, which has prompted Cohen and Brad Feld to invest in multiple Excelerate Labs graduates including: SpotHero, GiveForward and Tap.Me

Techstars has always started their programs from scratch. At one point they began endorsing a number of accelerators that applied their same methodology. That network was once known as the Techstars Network and has since spun out of the Techstars brand and into “Global Accelerator Network”.

For the first time ever Cohen is now turning to an existing accelerator, Excelerate Labs, to open Techstars Chicago.

“We were so impressed with what they’ve built that we asked them to join forces with us and turn Excelerate Labs into TechStars Chicago. TechStars and Excelerate have always been kindred spirits: we both put entrepreneurs first and believe in the power of mentorship.” Cohen said on the Techstars blog.

Troy Henikoff says, “We are excited to combine Excelerate’s deep roots in Chicago with TechStars’ vast alumni and mentor networks. TechStars Chicago will be an even stronger force in Chicago and will add incredible firepower to the TechStars platform.”

“I congratulate Excelerate Labs and I am pleased that TechStars has identified Chicago as one of the best places to start a technology business. This advancement is a huge step forward for the city’s technology economy and will fit hand-in-glove with the other efforts being made to promote entrepreneurship and create new jobs around Chicago.” – Mayor Rahm Emanuel

Applications for Techstars Chicago are open now. The first early bird deadline is March 1st, the final deadline is March 15th. The program will begin May 29th and end on August 29th. To apply click here

Join Pat Riley, Managing Director of the Global Accelerator Network, along with several of their accelerators at the biggest startup conference in the U.S. everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference

Techstars Chicago Reveals First Class!

Check out these other startup accelerator stories.

Excelerate Labs Becomes Techstars Chicago

Join Pat Riley, Managing Director of the Global Accelerator Network, along with several of their accelerators at the biggest startup conference in the U.S. everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference