Newchip 

Newchip has helped me become the entrepreneur I always wanted to be. Their program totally changed the way I do business and has proved to be very valuable for our growth.

Their team of experienced mentors provides invaluable guidance and support throughout the investment process. They helped us refine our pitch, connect with potential investors, and navigate the complexities of fundraising. Their expertise and connections in the industry were instrumental in attracting the right investors for our business. We are grateful for their dedicated mentorship and the positive impact it had on our growth and success.

I am a Founder running an Edtech company who was part of NewChip's Feb 2022 Intake.

How you can expect to be hooked: Firstly, NewChip pays many people to scout or refer them companies. We too, received an unsolicited email from one of the scouts who acted as an investor looking to invest, who then very quickly passed us over to one of NewChip's Sales Representatives.

During the multiple sales calls and email exchanges, the NewChip's Sales Representative promised us a wonderful program that comes with online courses that you can do at your own pace, 2 Demo Days that supposedly exposes you to hundreds of investors in their network (more on that later), a dedicated Investor Relations Team to connect you with relevant investors and more.

We were told that it comes at a cost of US$8,000 but they would guarantee that we would be introduced to at least 20 relevant investors and received at least 1 Investment Offer. The Sales Representative went as far as to share that companies can expect 30+ investor meetings on average.

Of course, even though we had evidence in the form of email exchanges and recorded calls, we would still have not gone ahead with this program that comes at a ridiculous cost of US$8,000 if not for the fact that NewChip puts it in writing (Contract) that EXPLICITLY guarantees us (1) introduction at least 20 relevant investors and (2) at least 1 Investment Offer, lest a full refund of the Program Fee would be given.

The Experience: While the online modules are good and structured, most of these information are readily available on the Internet.

Apart from that, all the other aspects of the program are a complete waste of time, even before we start talking about how NewChip completely fails to adhere to its Contractual Obligations and being as close to a scam as it can get.

First off, the 2 Demo Days they promise. A complete waste of time. They get you to go through this whole lengthy review process to give the impression that the investors are highly curated and they care about how well you do, but really, they are just throwing you, together with hundreds of other companies, in front of a small pool of investors (if any) who are supposedly interested to spend 2 whole days watching taped recordings of startups pitching. As you can expect, we received 0 investor introductions from those 2 Demo Days. And the same goes for many other NewChip portfolio companies that we spoke to.

Next, the dedicated Investor Relations Team who is supposed to connect us with relevant investors. Our first IR Representative left NewChip without any notice and we were left hanging for some time. Our second IR Representative promised to have monthly calls to track our progress but that never materialised. Multiple emails to him would also often gone unanswered. Finally, he too left NewChip without any notice and we were introduced to a third IR Representative in a short span of 9 months.

Finally, and most importantly, the FAILED CONTRACTUAL GUARANTEE that we are pursuing legal claims against NewChip. As mentioned earlier, NewChip guarantees us via its written Contract (1) introduction at least 20 relevant investors and (2) at least 1 Investment Offer, lest a full refund of the Program Fee would be given.

The result is that we barely received 6 investor introductions in a full year and no Investment Offer to say the least. Based on the contract, we were confident that we would receive the full refund. We started reaching out at the start of 2023 to get the refund process started, but as it would turn out, NewChip would have no intentions of giving any refund right from the start and the next Nightmare begins.

We were passed over to their Senior Client Success Manager (Taylor. B) who during our first virtual call, shared with us that we needed to provide a total of 15 screenshots to prove that we have been reaching out to investors on our own, that our company has continued to be active, amongst other aspects. Take note that there is no such obligation in the Contract for us to provide these, but nonetheless, we provided it as requested.

We were promised a reply by the following week, but none came. When we followed up, they changed their word on the requirements and requested for more screenshots. We provided that, they went silent. Passed us to Shane for another round of ridiculous dealings. Eventually after much effort, we reached an Agreement with Andrew Ryan (CEO) to confirm the refund but the money still never came.

NewChip would likely reply to this post requesting for us to reach out to their Support team or using the excuse that they are under Chapter 11 while fake positive reviews continue to appear. As long as you see this post, AVOID NEWCHIP AT ALL COSTS.

PS: Check their Glassdoor and the tons of negative reviews elsewhere.

We were supposed to be part of the may cohort, but we were unsure if the program was all it promised. To secure the spot while still doing some due diligence by talking to companies that went through the program, we had to make a 1.6k deposit. I have it in writing that they promised to refund the deposit if we decide not to continue with the program. A few days later, I requested a refund since we did not want to continue with the program. It has been a few weeks, and no refund has hit my bank account. I emailed our contact person (the sales rep that brought us in), and her email no longer exists. I wrote to a few other email addresses used to communicate with us, and none of them exist anymore.

If anyone from NewChip sees this review, I posted it here as my last option to contact you since you obviously blocked my email address.

After wasting a lot of time emailing with them I'm putting my review back. We have participated in their program but they can't hold their promises.
The curriculum in general is quite basic but okay. After that, they promised that they could help us to get an investment but it never happened. They haven't replied to our emails for months.
I'd suggest saving some time for yourself and going to a proper trustworthy accelerator.

DO NOT GIVE MONEY. This is a scam, you will lose money, and the company currently holds an F rating with the BBB.

My experience started the same as the others who reviewed here, and I had been told over the phone numerous times that if my company was not funded, or if I decided to not begin the program, my deposit would be fully refunded. My delayed cohort was scheduled to start about 3-4 months from when I made the initial deposit, and after about a month or so of digging into the program I emailed to cancel my participation in the cohort and request a full refund of my deposit. Despite the full terms listed on their website, which state that a full refund is available should you cancel before your cohort begins, they refused. I asked them to provide me with written terms stating this change in policy and I was ghosted.

Forward a couple months later, still trying to dispute the initial deposit with my bank, I was charged again. I emailed the support domain listed throughout their website and the email address bounced.

Horrible user experience!

1. The IR is taking its time and I've received two intro suggestions with both at 24 hours notice and one of them in the middle of the night my time. Fair enough, maybe the investors don't like our deal.
2. I was invited to one session, where the investor stood me up. He was busy, fair enough.
3. I applied to their Online Demo Week and the meeting requested a passcode, which was not sent to me anywhere. This was annoying, as it probably means that I will not "graduate" from the program.

Overall feeling is that the Newchip counterparts (apart from the wonderful Eugenio) are quite grumpy and if one complains, they answer in a hostile manner, like the time when I complained about being stood up.

I did get the AWS credits though, which compensate a part of the 7,5kUSD fee to enter the program. That was nice.

I can't

Did an intro call with a guy and agreed to speak to his director to discuss next steps. In the first call and intro's they were very eager. However, no one showed up in the followup call and no one ever responded back to my messages. Bad experience.

Incredibly frustrating experience where I was mis-sold a service they did not offer and are now not communicating with me having not delivered or given any service promised.

- Missold an investor relations programme as an accelerator having specifically stating I did want to sign up an accelerator
- Was told all my pitch documents had been reviewed and investor list had been created before contract was signed and that process would start straight away. This never happened as when we joined, we got added to an accelerator and they said they needed to see all our pitch documents.
- I was never told about an accelerator prior to signing up, so found it very confusing when all I started getting was communications and introductions to do with an accelerator.
- Shared all pitch materials but not one looked through the materials
- Joined an "Investor Relations" call on Friday where one member out 4 turned up and said he had no real FinTech experience and had looked briefly at our business at 2am the night before and could think of 3 investors, 1 of which we were already dealing with. Not once did he ask anything about the business, the round or the materials despite the email from them saying that was the purpose of the call.

Truly global vision, with a brilliant team! ASTRALABS is an amazing company, and Newchip is truly the future of accelerator programs. Cannot wait to see how far they can take this company!

Our company founder went through NewChip's program, and graduated successfully. Unfortunately, NewChip did not follow through on their end and did not provide our company with any introductions to any investor(s) as promised by NewChip. NewChip apparently doesn't dispute that no introductions were made, because they didn't happen. We've tried communicating, but now they no longer communicate back to us. We had tried negotiating a refund of our fee, to no use. Our contract stipulates we have to resolve disputes through arbitration, so it seems that's the only means to a resolution for us. A sad experience for us, we're out our fee and arbitration is going to be expensive for both of us.

I had a strange experience with New Chip. They reached out to me via email several times, offering me help raising money for my start up. When I finally responded, I met with a junior person, and then their manager, via Zoom. In those calls, I ran through my pitch deck and told them all about where our company was in terms of product development, GTM planning, etc. Oddly, neither of them asked any probing or challenging questions about the market opportunity we are focused on, or why we thought our solution was 'better' than what currently exists. Instead, I was told that I had been chosen to join their next cohort that started in a few weeks, assuming that I paid them $7,500 for the opportunity. It was unlike any venture capital process I have ever been through, and I was skeptical that something 'wasn't right'. After finding a number of negative reviews online, and talking to a 'friend of a friend' who had a bad experience with them, I sent my New Chip account person several emails asking for some references that I could speak with, and clarity about what happened to my fee if they failed to deliver the number of investor meetings that the 'promised'. Perhaps not surprisingly, I have heard nothing back from them since. Bummer.

Shutdown and took our money. They brought companies into their March and April 2023 cohorts KNOWING they were in bankruptcy and FAILED to disclose it. They have not even remotely discussed refunds either. Found out that they were collecting anywhere from 5k-20k from unsuspecting startups, with the promise of helping them find investment. They likewise found "mentors" from anywhere and paid them pennies, if not offered them the title "accelerator mentor" so they could build their status while paying them NOTHING. NOT okay. Incredibly shady and I can only hope we get our money back.

Dhruv Patel is spamming us with automatically generated emails, several times.

Not sure how, but I guess they are scraping our website and sending spam mails.

Newchip was amazing for us due to relationship building. While we await a final outcome, I can say that meeting the amazing Venture Fellows like Jason and Jack was amazing. They helped us with messaging and introductions. I can't say how much Newchip has helped our company do better, and the entire team loved the experience.

'm a busy founder, but I write this to warn others about this potential scam.

These guys seems like they just want your $7500 fee. If they were serious they would invest in your startup.

They cold outreached me and were super positive about my startup (which a serious accelerator almost never does). After the initial call, I did some due diligence and found many red flags, but accepted the next call to confirm my suspicion.

Look at their social media; their Instagram has only fake followers, and their YouTube videos have no views.
Read the actual negative reviews, they say the same thing.

On to the second call:
They say they get 3000 applicants per month and only 50 get accepted. That I can almost guarantee is a lie. They would never have to do cold outreach like this then. They almost begged me to join, so that they could get their fee.

During the interview, they asked NO critical questions. They only want you to feel good by telling you how good your business is and all the things they can help you with. An actual accelerator would really screen for the best startups and ask critical questions, but Newchip does not because they just want your money.

After the call they guy said he was gonna "fight" for me to get me in. Shortly after I got "accepted", and a declined. Some days later the same guy sent me some long e-mail that he probably sends to everyone who declines, and it had some completely wrong info in it.
For example, he mentioned "sorry about the family. They come first. Covid is no fun". I never mentioned any of these things. It's so strange.

Compare these things to an actual, and reputable accelerator like Y-Combinator, and it is obvious that it is a scam.

I am an investor in NewChip. I invested a few years ago before they really started to take off and then again within the last 18 months. Andrew Ryan and his team have been incredibly transparent in their communications with investors. They have built an amazing eco system and I have never seen a team work harder than they do. I am excited about their future and if you are either an investor of a customer you should be too.

I have been investing in Newchip (Astralabs) since 2018. During that time, I have never ceased to be impressed by the energy, intelligence, and good will toward investors of the entire management team. They have provided frequent communication regarding the progress of the company, which has been incredible during this period. I have investments in other startup companies that have been far less successful. Lack of communication has been a hallmark of these other companies. The management team of Newchip has also offered several opportunities to participate in revenue sharing arrangements, again with the focus on taking care of its investors.

On the business front, progress of the company has been outstanding. They have expanded their service to many areas around the globe, and the type of service they are providing, developing entrepreneurs, could not be more important in these times when so much damage has been done to the economy.

In summary, I have the highest respect and admiration for the management team of this company and the progress they have made, and I have every confidence that they will continue their progress well into the future.

Newchip.com is a fantastic platform for anyone interested in investing in startups and early-stage companies. The site is well-designed, user-friendly, and packed with useful features that make investing in startups easy and accessible.

One of the things that impressed me most about Newchip.com is the quality of the startups listed on the platform. The company has done an excellent job of curating a diverse range of high-potential startups from various industries, including tech, healthcare, and finance.

The platform's dashboard is intuitive, making it easy to browse through the various startups and filter them based on your investment criteria. You can quickly view key information about each company, including their pitch deck, financials, and team bios.

I also appreciate the level of transparency and support provided by Newchip.com. The company has a team of experienced professionals who are always available to answer any questions you may have and provide guidance on your investment decisions.

Overall, I highly recommend Newchip.com to anyone interested in investing in startups. It's an excellent platform with a wide range of high-quality investment opportunities and exceptional support.

I share interest in Newchip and have been for a while now and half full faith in them and their goals. They’ve done me very well and were always responsive throughout. Ryan and his team is great to work with. I have no complaints and will continue to support them. Keep up the great work Newchip