Date : January 12, 2013
Place : Bangalore, India
The Microsoft Accelerator for Windows Azure announced the graduation of its first India batch of 11 technology startups yesterday. At a Demo Day held at the Microsoft Lavelle Road office here, the 200+ audience of mentors, venture capitalists and angel investors witnessed the amazing progress each startup team has made over the last four months at the Microsoft Accelerator for Windows Azure.
Congratulating the class, Mukund Mohan, CEO-in-residence, Microsoft Accelerator for Windows Azure, said: “This is the day we have been waiting for – the culmination of all the hard work collectively put together over the last four months. We had chosen the first batch of 11 from hundreds of applications received from startups from all over the world. While all 11 had great ideas, we realized they needed support in a few critical areas to be able to mature those ideas into long-term profitable businesses.”
“We provided them access to our community of 100+ mentors, from within and outside India, across varied industries, who are fully committed to ensure the success of the startups. We provided them access to our vast network of early adopters so that they could define their product/market fit before a formal launch to market. And we ensured that the last four months was an intense boot camp, where we tracked the weekly progress of each startup and provided reports to their mentors. The rigor has inculcated a deep sense of discipline among the teams. All of them are now ready to venture out on their own. We are hopeful some will soon emerge as lighthouse companies from India,” Mukund added.
Shripati Acharya, Managing Partner of AngelPrime, who was present at the Demo Day, said: “I have been a part of the Microsoft Accelerator for Windows Azure since its inception. When these 11 startups joined the first batch, each of them demonstrated tremendous passion and the commitment to work very hard. I am amazed at the progress they have made over the last four months. All of them have put in tremendous effort toward achieving the right product/ market fit, a robust go-to-market strategy, strong branding, deep connection with customers, partners, VCs and angel investors, and well-rounded teams. Their success will go a long way towards strengthening the technology startup ecosystem of India.”
Launched in early 2012, Microsoft Accelerator for Windows Azure announced its first India batch on July 26, 2012. Out of 200+ applications received from early stage startups, 11 companies, namely amplyfy.me, HealthifyMe, CipherGraph, CloudInfra, Gameizon, HireRabbit, Nowfloats, Plustxt, Sparsha Learning, Whitesharkk and World Without Me, were selected to constitute the first batch. Starting September 3, 2012, all 11 startups were housed in the state-of-the–art Accelerator facility in Microsoft’s Lavelle Road office, where they underwent a deep four-month immersion program under the guidance of the best in class mentors from Microsoft and the industry.
Microsoft Accelerator for Windows Azure is now open to receiving applications for the second India batch. Starting November 23, 2012 till January 15, 2013, technology startups can apply online (http://www.microsoft.com/india/accelerator). After rigorous screening, the final list of 15 startups will be announced on February 1, 2013. The four-month incubation process for the second batch will begin from March 1, 2013.
About Microsoft India:
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Microsoft Corporation (India) Private Ltd is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, USA. It has had a presence in India since 1990 and currently has offices in nine cities - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune.
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