Oxygen Accelerator, a ‘boot camp’ which provides tech startups with early stage finance and mentoring, is to return to the Midlands.

The 2014 programme will see ten teams from across the world come to the region to develop their startup idea.

Providing initial investment, office space and the support of over 150 mentors, the boot camp will equip the startups with links to experts in business, finance, marketing, technology and entrepreneurship.

The programme aims to ensure the firms are ready to pitch to investors for next stage funding.

Set up by Birmingham entrepreneur Mark Hales, Oxygen has seen scores of startups develop into successful businesses.

Billed as the ‘TripAdvisor for cars’, Carhoots graduated in 2012, securing a group of next stage investors that allowed it to set up camp in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley.

Another successful startup is Hobzy.com, a social networking platform for crafters, which has grown to a team of seven after receiving its second round of investment in 2013.

Last year, the accelerator programme ran from Google’s London headquarters.

Simon Jenner, CEO & co-founder of Oxygen Accelerator, said: “We took a ‘Google holiday’ last year and spent 13 weeks in Google’s campus at Silicon Roundabout to see first-hand what all the fuss was about.

“While London may have global appeal, it is the Greater Birmingham thriving tech community ‘Silicon Canal’, which houses the vibe and talent that Oxygen is genetically part of that has brought us back to the Midlands.

“We’re incredibly excited about this year’s spring intake - 2014 could be the year that ten tech startups become the next big thing.”

Applications open on May 1 at www.oxygenaccelerator.com.