Microsoft's venture fund to invest in Indian startups

Microsoft on Wednesday announced that its corporate venture fund M12 will invest in Indian startups with a funding size of $2 million to $10 million.

Rashmi Gopinath, partner at M12, will lead the fund's investment portfolio in the country.

M12 announced its first India investment in the healthcare SaaS (software-as-a-service) startup called "Innovaccer".

"M12 offers unique access to strategic go-to-market resources and relationships globally. I hope we will get a great traction in the Indian market," Gopinath told reporters here.

As the corporate venture arm for Microsoft, M12 (formerly Microsoft Ventures) invests in enterprise software companies in the Series A through C funding stage.

According to reports, venture capital investments in Indian tech business-to-business (B2B) start-ups have been trending upwards, with over $3.09 billion raised in equity funding across 415 deals in 2018 -- 28 per cent more than $2.41 billion in 2017.

"India offers unique competitive advantages by being home to top technical talent in the world in areas like including computer vision, robotics, blockchain and autonomous driving," said Microsoft.

"We are thrilled to broaden M12's reach to include India," said Nagraj Kashyap, Global head of M12 and Corporate Vice President, Microsoft.

--IANS

na/nir