Microsoft has announced the formation of Microsoft Ventures, a team of business development executives from the company that would focus on making investments in tech start-ups. The division formerly known by the Ventures name has now been renamed as Microsoft Accelerator.
In a blog post, the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Ventures Nagraj Kashyap announced that he and Executive VP of Business Development Peggy Johnson formed the team to make investments in start-ups and be a part of disruptive technology trends from the start. The former Ventures division, which is now known as Accelerator, will provide tools, technology and consulting to start-ups, but won"t provide funding.
Initially, Microsoft Ventures will work out of San Francisco/Bay Area, New York City and Seattle in the US, and Tel Aviv in Israel. Kashyap has revealed that the team will expand to more geographical territories in the coming years.
Microsoft Ventures is expected to invest heavily in cloud technology start-ups, but it would also be looking closely at personal computing tech companies and those involved in machine learning and security, as Microsoft itself is exploring these areas and the investment would complement its own services such as Azure, Office 365, HoloLens and Windows.
Currently, the Ventures team hasn"t provided any information about its investments but has assured that it will be actively participating in funding rounds throughout the year.
Source: Microsoft