Microsoft partners Social Alpha to accelerate growth of healthtech startups in India

Tech giant Microsoft on Thursday said it has partnered with startup incubator Social Alpha and launched a programme for healthtech startups to help them scale with advanced technology and joint go-to-market support.

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of the healthcare system, disrupting the continuity of healthcare delivery practices and patient access to high-quality medical care, Microsoft said in a statement.

"Committed to address the most prevalent and persistent health and business challenges, Microsoft for HealthTech Startups aims to help entrepreneurs with technical support as well as resources for co-selling and co-building tech tools to achieve better outcomes across healthcare," it added.

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare enables startups to access a portfolio of released and new healthcare capabilities tailored to the unique requirements of health data in the cloud.

"Being forced by the global pandemic to rethink how healthcare services across the world operate, startups in this industry are reimagining solutions for some of the most pressing healthcare challenges," Microsoft India Director – Startup Ecosystem Sangeeta Bavi said.

Technology innovation with advanced data and analytics capabilities is a critical enabler as trusted and reliable solutions are built at scale, Bavi added.

"The Microsoft for Healthtech Startups program deepens our focus on specific industries and is aimed to accelerate the growth journeys of startups with the best tech enablement and business resources," she said.

Social Alpha has supported over 20 health-tech startups working across devices, diagnostics, treatment and access.

The collaboration with Social Alpha will provide health-tech startups programmatic support through product innovation labs, sandbox pilots and structured incubation initiatives that offer knowledge services, boot camps and masterclass sessions with mentors as well as tech and industry experts, the statement said.

As the startups accelerate, they receive access to go-to-market resources, ecosystem networking, angel networks and investor forums, it added.