Now almost 600 strong, 500 Startups announces new $44.1M seed fund

Accelerator program and investment group 500 Startups has just announced a new $44.1 million seed fund today, the second the group has raised since launching.

News of the new fund first sprouted early last month when the group filed documents with the SEC that revealed the investment came in two parts from over 100 different backers. The second fund is also substantially higher than the initial $29.6 million fund from 2011.

As for 500 Startups, the group typically invests $25,000 to $250,000 in early-stage companies that are typically already making a profit or on their way to doing so. Some of its past investments include TaskRabbit, Twilio, Wildfire, and SendGrid. Over the last year, the group has attempted to diversify its portfolio of companies by encouraging more women and international founders to apply. To date, it’s invested in over 500 companies from more than 40 countries.

“Actually we’re getting closer to 600, but no we aren’t changing our name!,” 500 Startups partner Christine Tsai told VentureBeat via email.

The firm has also expanded its team to more than 30 people across the world.

It is now gearing up to announce the seventh batch of companies that will go through its accelerator program. Tsai told me that about 1,200 startups applied for the batch, and only 30 were admitted.

Check out the infographic 500 Startups released showing its growth over the last three years: