Microsoft commits to the Indian startup ecosystem

Through the launch of their venture fund M12, Microsoft is looking to support Indian startups to achieve scale, and to evolve from being market-ready to enterprise-ready

June 24, 2019

The digital transformation of Indian businesses is creating a huge market opportunity for new innovations

M12 comprises experienced VCs and Microsoft veterans who will add value beyond the capital invested

In 18 months, Microsoft for Startups has closed over 120 co-sell deals with US$126 million in active pipeline for Indian startups

This co-sell motion has helped generate around US$8 billion in revenue for partners within an 18-month period

With the advent of technology, Indian businesses are fast-undergoing a digital transformation by adopting new-age solutions. This has created a huge market opportunity for startups. The startup ecosystem brings in innovation and disruption, not only by offering technical solutions that are urgently required, but also by creating jobs in the process. In this thriving environment, it is no surprise that Indian startups are attracting international interest from innovators and investors. 

Microsoft is one such supporter that — through its cutting-edge technology platform, a well-established partner organization, expansion of funding, and a focus on Microsoft for Startups — is helping Indian startups embrace their next growth phase. This includes assisting startups to achieve scale, and to evolve from being market-ready to enterprise-ready. To this effect, the company announced its commitment towards the Indian startup ecosystem.

In India, the launch of M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, has created new value for startups, venture capitalists, and the company itself, to maintain the pace and direction of innovation. M12 comprises experienced VCs and Microsoft veterans who have access to (and knowledge of) Microsoft’s strategic assets and resources, in order to successfully add value beyond the capital invested. 

Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India said, “Microsoft has been playing a vital role in shaping and nurturing the startup community in India and across the world. We remain excited about India’s entrepreneurial startup potential and will continue to accelerate it as a growth engine for the economy.”

The importance of Microsoft’s role as the technology partner is to support and enable startups to ‘Prepare, Market and Sell’ — To ‘prepare’ for any market condition to align with customer needs, to ‘market’ themselves and drive awareness of their solutions, and to ‘sell’ their solutions to end-users in association with the Microsoft sales team. In less than 18 months, Microsoft for Startups has closed more than 120 co-sell deals with more than US$126 million in active pipeline for startups. Moreover, this co-sell motion has helped generate around US$8 billion in revenue for partners within 18 months. With this push, it is likely that India’s already-booming startup ecosystem will receive further interest and investment to become a frontrunner in the international arena. 

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