Oracle opens start-up accelerator in Israel for cloud innovation

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - U.S. software provider Oracle Corp said on Monday it was opening an accelerator programme in Israel for startups developing cloud technologies or whose technologies are based in the cloud. Run by Oracle's research and development team, the programme provides six months of mentoring from technical and business experts, advanced technology, access to Oracle's customers, and partners and investors. A pilot programme was first launched in India and more centres will be announced soon. Oracle said this was a multi-million dollar programme but did not disclose how much it would invest in each centre. Oracle's startup cloud accelerator programme builds on its excellence centre for Israeli startups, which was established in 2003 by Oracle Israel in cooperation with the government to support the growth of early stage startups. Thirty six companies were approved to take part in the excellence centre, totalling more than $150 million in estimated exits. (Reporting by Tova Cohen)