MassChallenge Inc., the Boston nonprofit offering more than $1 million in prizes to promising start-ups, said there were 1,237 applicants for its program, up 69 percent from last year.
Applications came in from 36 states and 35 countries, including the Russian Federation, Israel, India, and the United Kingdom, MassChallenge said. The deadline to participate in the competition was Wednesday.
John Harthorne , cofounder of MassChallenge, said he thought the surge in applications came from a growing base of alumni who are spreading the word about the competition. More than 200 start-ups have been finalists since MassChallenge launched in 2010.
“Our alumni are extremely satisfied with the support we provided,’’ he said. “They act as good word of mouth.’’
Harthorne also said he and the others at MassChallenge spent a substantial amount of time outside the state promoting the program, which is open to any start-up. “We spent a lot of our time physically in New York, California, Texas, the UK, Israel, and Russia,’’ he said. “There’s a benefit to physically getting in front of people.’’
Indeed, face time worked: The number of applicants from other states and countries increased to 38 percent of the total compared to 20 percent last year, Harthorne said.
MassChallenge will select 300 semifinalists and narrow the pool to 125 finalists, which will be announced May 29. These start-ups will participate in MassChallenge’s three-month “accelerator program,’’ which includes mentoring, free office space, access to funding, and legal advice. The winners of the competition will be revealed in October.
This year’s prize money will total $1.1 million, up $100,000 from last year, thanks to grants from new partners, including the venture capital firm VenCorps, and the John W. Henry Family Foundation, a charity run by Red Sox owner John Henry. The $50,000 being offered from the Henry Family Foundation will go to any start-up with “the most social impact potential.’’
Though this year’s applicants come from a range of industries, just as they have in the past, the Henry prize has increased the number of applicants from the social entrepreneurship field, Harthorne said.
Even start-ups that didn’t make it to the final round have been successful. Boston start-up AisleBuyer LLC, a semifinalist last year, was acquired this week for an undisclosed sum by Intuit Inc., a California software company. AisleBuyer develops technology for mobile devices to make in-store payments easier.
According to MassChallenge, the first class finalists has collectively raised more than $100 million in outside funding and created at least 500 jobs. The success of the program has led to talks of expanding it to Israel.
Chris Reidy can be reached at reidy@globe.com.