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M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, announced it has opened its India office in Bengaluru – the country’s technology hub. The local arm will pursue investment opportunities across the region, focusing on B2B software startups in areas of applied Artificial Intelligence (AI), business applications, infrastructure, security, and vanguard technologies. M12 invests in disruptive enterprise software startups in Series A through C funding stages, targeting local and cross-border solutions. The Bengaluru office joins an M12 network that includes San Francisco, Seattle, London, and Tel Aviv.
Last month, the Microsoft Corp. is supposedly negotiating an investment of as much as $2 billion in billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms Ltd, the digital unit of India’s most valuable company. The companies did not confirm the story, Livemint reported.
Abhi Kumar, India Lead for M12, said, ‘Typically, we see the greatest hurdles in a startup’s journey as they scale from local success to global challengers, and then again when they go on to become category leaders. Both inflection points require specific and deep organizational strength, proven talent, go-to-market partnerships, and global investors.’
The deep technical and business talent from India’s top engineering schools and major R&D centers are among the primary draws to the region. M12 has been remotely investing in India since 2019 and its portfolio includes Indian startups such as Innovaccer and FarEye.
Post-investment, the startups in M12’s portfolio can elect to work with the fund’s Portfolio Development team, which is dedicated to unlocking growth opportunities.
