ELEVATE AI was founded by two passionate startup enablers who believe that artificial intelligence has the power to transform the global gaming industry—and that founders building at this intersection deserve tailored support, real opportunities, and a strong community behind them.
Keith, our Startup Commercial Strategist, is a seasoned entrepreneur and B2B sales expert with over 15 years of experience in the gaming industry. A two-time founder and currently Chief Sales Officer at XGENIA—one of Europe’s most innovative AI-first gaming companies—Keith brings deep industry knowledge, a powerful network of VCs and studios, and a sharp instinct for turning early-stage ventures into scalable businesses.
Alessandro, our Innovation Ecosystem Builder, is a startup advisor, policy strategist, and co-author of the OECD’s Small Business Act 2019. With over two decades of experience supporting European tech ecosystems, he’s helped hundreds of founders access funding, navigate public grants, and scale sustainably. Alessandro is also the founder of Maltaccelerate, Malta’s leading Greentech accelerator.
We built ELEVATE AI to empower ambitious founders building AI-first companies for the gaming industry—with real mentorship, strategic capital, and deep commercial integration.
We don’t just want startups to get funding—we want them to build products that matter, find early traction, and unlock long-term success.
We’ve worked in startups. We’ve built them. Funded them. Scaled them. And we’ve seen how difficult—and lonely—it can be.
That’s why ELEVATE AI isn’t just an accelerator. It’s a launchpad and a safety net, a strategic partner and a sounding board, for the most ambitious builders in one of the most exciting frontiers in tech.
If you’re building with purpose, we’re building with you.
We host high-touch events, mentor sessions, and private innovation challenges at our Malta hub—powered by a dedicated operations and event team who make sure every founder and partner has the support, structure, and experience they need to succeed.
Behind the scenes, our remote-first team includes content strategists, startup coaches, data scientists, grant experts, and programme managers working across Europe. We’re fully digital and built to support startups no matter where they’re based.
Our growing global mentor network includes AI researchers, gaming executives, product leaders, founders, and investors—each handpicked to help startups overcome critical challenges, scale with purpose, and avoid the mistakes others have already made.
Your unique vision drives our services, shaping tailored solutions for your startup's success.
Because we offer what no other accelerator does:
Proven, tailored, and connected acceleration within the AI x Gaming intersection.
We believe the onboarding experience sets the tone for the entire journey. Here’s how it works:
From Day 1, you’re plugged into a network, given a roadmap, and matched with mentors tailored to your exact challenges.
Yes and no.
Yes, because we’ve built a step-by-step framework that simplifies complex growth stages: AI dev, integration with gaming platforms, fundraising, and go-to-market.
No, because founding an AI startup in iGaming isn’t easy. It’s a high-barrier industry. But that’s why we exist, to give you unfair advantages others won’t.
We remove friction and provide tools, guidance, and exposure to help you reach market fit faster and more effectively.
Here’s the breakdown of your acceleration arc:
📘 Month 1–2: Foundations
🧪 Month 3–4: Build & Iterate
🎯 Month 5: Market Fit & Metrics
🚀 Month 6: Demo Day
Not at all.
ELEVATE AI is remote-friendly, and we welcome global founders. That said, we highly recommend attending key sessions in person in Malta, home to a vibrant gaming industry and an emerging AI innovation hub.
We’re looking for ambitious AI founders building solutions that can revolutionise the gaming industry in one or more of these areas:
You should be:
Yes. Our relationship doesn’t end at demo day.
We continue to support standout startups with:
