<p>In the last couple of years, Microsoft Accelerator has sourced financial support for 82 per cent of City’s start-ups working under it.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Microsoft Ventures Director Mukund Mohan told Deccan Herald that, 50 of the 60 start-ups have received funding from multiple quarters. <br /><br />About 40 per cent of the start-ups work in the consumer segment, while the rest are business oriented. Of these four work with education, three focus on healthcare and five fall under e-commerce.<br /><br />“We follow a policy of zero equity dilution to start-ups. Microsoft takes no percentage ownership of the company in exchange for our work, support and investments,” said Mohan.<br /><br />A special feature of Microsoft Accelerator is to provide customer access, which is not so readily available with other accelerators. Under its customer access programme it connects start-ups with customers world-wide.<br /><br /> Right from identifying and working with key investors, Microsoft provides technological support, along with guidance in the legal, accounting, design and management domains.<br /><br />While Microsoft feels that the Accelerator programme has been well-received so far, Bengaluru is competing with other Accelerator world cities like Beijing, London, Paris, Seattle and Tel Aviv, Israel.<br /><br /> Bengaluru is seen as the start-up capital of India, especially in the domain of technology with 40 per cent of the county’s tech start-ups emerging here. Delhi, on the other hand, is considered the number one location for e-commerce and consumer start-ups.<br /><br />The Bengaluru Accelerator is set to expand the programme with better infrastructure, providing start-ups with a niche space to hone global skills. Though Microsoft has been involved with start-ups for over a decade, their support has intensified over the past three years. <br /><br />Why the sudden interest? Start-ups, Mohan believes, are where new ideas and new technologies take shape. “The start-ups are already part of the mainstream world economy and will define its contours in the immediate future. Microsoft has to be a part of that change. India has a five million-strong developer community, and Microsoft understands they are integral to technological development and change. We want a visible footprint among the emerging technological hots,” he shared.<br /><br />The special interest in India is because it adopts and absorbs new technology rapidly, which, therefore attracts funders. “You know when you deploy a technology in India, it is understood and absorbed very fast. So working with such an intelligent community is not just tempting, but relevant. It is a market,” said Mohan. <br /><br />A good number of start-ups are targeting not only the Indian market, but the global market as well. “That’s big thinking. It means you will make products not only for India but ones that a global market will absorb,” he added.</p>
<p>In the last couple of years, Microsoft Accelerator has sourced financial support for 82 per cent of City’s start-ups working under it.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Microsoft Ventures Director Mukund Mohan told Deccan Herald that, 50 of the 60 start-ups have received funding from multiple quarters. <br /><br />About 40 per cent of the start-ups work in the consumer segment, while the rest are business oriented. Of these four work with education, three focus on healthcare and five fall under e-commerce.<br /><br />“We follow a policy of zero equity dilution to start-ups. Microsoft takes no percentage ownership of the company in exchange for our work, support and investments,” said Mohan.<br /><br />A special feature of Microsoft Accelerator is to provide customer access, which is not so readily available with other accelerators. Under its customer access programme it connects start-ups with customers world-wide.<br /><br /> Right from identifying and working with key investors, Microsoft provides technological support, along with guidance in the legal, accounting, design and management domains.<br /><br />While Microsoft feels that the Accelerator programme has been well-received so far, Bengaluru is competing with other Accelerator world cities like Beijing, London, Paris, Seattle and Tel Aviv, Israel.<br /><br /> Bengaluru is seen as the start-up capital of India, especially in the domain of technology with 40 per cent of the county’s tech start-ups emerging here. Delhi, on the other hand, is considered the number one location for e-commerce and consumer start-ups.<br /><br />The Bengaluru Accelerator is set to expand the programme with better infrastructure, providing start-ups with a niche space to hone global skills. Though Microsoft has been involved with start-ups for over a decade, their support has intensified over the past three years. <br /><br />Why the sudden interest? Start-ups, Mohan believes, are where new ideas and new technologies take shape. “The start-ups are already part of the mainstream world economy and will define its contours in the immediate future. Microsoft has to be a part of that change. India has a five million-strong developer community, and Microsoft understands they are integral to technological development and change. We want a visible footprint among the emerging technological hots,” he shared.<br /><br />The special interest in India is because it adopts and absorbs new technology rapidly, which, therefore attracts funders. “You know when you deploy a technology in India, it is understood and absorbed very fast. So working with such an intelligent community is not just tempting, but relevant. It is a market,” said Mohan. <br /><br />A good number of start-ups are targeting not only the Indian market, but the global market as well. “That’s big thinking. It means you will make products not only for India but ones that a global market will absorb,” he added.</p>
