Microsoft Ventures in India has announced the fifth batch of 12 technology start-ups that will constitute the Winter (July-November 2014) batch of its Accelerator Program.
CryptoPhoto, DabKick, Fairket, FlatPebble, NiftyWindow, Playblazer, RHLVision, AppKnox, DeltaX, ProHance, Tallenge and TruTech have been selected after several rounds of shortlisting from the original list of 1300+ applications received for this batch.
The applications were a mix of B2C and B2B companies in various technology fields, and also included few international start-ups. Three of them, namely CryptoPhoto, AppKnox and DabKick are from Australia, Singapore and the US, respectively.
For the first time, the current batch will have a start-up from the gaming industry, Playblazer. Simultaneously, the programme will have TruTech, which is into gesture control and works with existing operating systems and devices to make them gesture compatible.
Welcoming the fifth batch, Ravi Narayan, director, Microsoft Ventures in India, said: “As Microsoft Ventures grows another batch wiser, we’ve been seeing a trend of more and more diverse companies and ideas coming into our program – ideas that challenge us to work harder to be able to help our start-ups grow inorganically.”
Going forward, Microsoft Ventures in India will also put more focus on its alumni program. Through several initiatives, such as providing the Accelerator alumni participation opportunities in key events, customer acquisition programs, etc, Microsoft Ventures will help them build stronger and deeper contacts with the industry.
Microsoft Ventures in India has graduated four batches comprising 51 start-ups since the Accelerator program commenced in August 2012. Out of these companies, 82 per cent have been funded within a year of being in the program, and two of the graduates, Adepto and Plustxt, have been acquired.
Over the last one year, Microsoft Ventures has also been focusing on strengthening its partnership with industry bodies which are passionate about boosting India’s start-up ecosystem. TIE, NASSCOM, iSPIRT, Startup Village are some of these organizations which have also referred some of the start-ups in the current batch.
