Microsoft launches early stage fund to ‘keep pace with Indian innovation’

• Microsoft has announced its M12 fund in India.
• M12, which was launched in 2016, is a VC fund from the global tech company.
• In India, Microsoft has been actively engaged with startups with accelerator programs and funding.

Tech giant Microsoft has launched M12 its early-stage venture capital fund, in India.

The M12 fund was launched globally in 2016 but was initially called Microsoft Ventures. In 2018, the fund was rebranded as M12. It has over 75 companies in its portfolio, globally.

"The introduction of M12, Microsoft's venture fund in India will create new value for startups, venture capitals and the company itself to maintain the pace and direction of innovation," Microsoft India president Anant Maheshwari said.

This fund comprises of experienced VCs and Microsoft veterans who won’t just be putting money in a startup, but will also add value.

“The portfolio development team at M12 is specifically built to support and scale companies by leveraging the expansive resources of Microsoft,” the company said.

Microsoft has long been involved in the Indian startup ecosystem. The company’s initiative Microsoft for Startups has an accelerator program called – Microsoft ScaleUp.

The program which is meant for seed stage or Series A funded B2B tech-enabled startups, was launched in February 2018. It helped startups crack over 120 co-sell deals, where they can co-sell with Microsoft sales teams.