Microsoft announces "Microsoft Venture" into China

Absrtact: In order to strengthen the ecological construction, Microsoft, which is controversial in Windows 8, has not only created a new venture, but also ignited the fire to China. Just last weekend, Microsoft announced that Microsoft Ventures, its VC division, had officially entered China, where

In order to strengthen the ecological construction, the controversial Microsoft in Windows 8, not only created a new venture sector, but also the fire to ignite the first China.

Just last weekend, Microsoft announced that its VC division, Microsoft Ventures, had officially entered China, a mysterious and low-key department that had only been in existence for less than two weeks.

Zhang, Microsoft's Asia-Pacific Research and Development Group chairman, said that Microsoft had also had venture-investment business before, but had been more fragmented in different sectors and now wants to integrate resources.

Integrating resources to build ecosystems

According to the plan, Microsoft Venture will be the Cloud Accelerator, BizSpark, the Bing Fund these three entrepreneurial support projects to pack up. The Cloud Accelerator, BizSpark, and Bing funds represent three different directions for hatching, development tool support, and start-up funding.

Among them, BizSpark was launched by Microsoft in 2008 to provide entrepreneurs with Microsoft enterprise software and tools support program, Cloud Accelerator launched in 2011, mainly for entrepreneurs to provide project guidance, office space, training, industrial chain resources and other related resources of the class hatching mode; The Bing Fund was launched in 2012 to provide seed funds for start-up developers.

Now set up a VC division, Microsoft is more in the Windows 8, Microsoft cloud Services platform ecosystem to build considerations. In the face of Google, Apple in the mobile ecological field of coercion, Microsoft wants to reach out from the cracks, in addition to relying on the existing hardware partners, is to obtain the support of application developers.

Zhang also said that the creation of Microsoft's venture is not an independent entity measured by internal rate of return, but rather the cultivation of ecological environment, so that more start-ups can use Microsoft resources for growth. "Ideally, having a good relationship with a start-up in the early stages will ultimately give Microsoft a long-term and effective partnership." "Zhang said.

In terms of investment, Microsoft Ventures do not aim at equity investments, but aim to help companies in the form of convertible securities, marketing, and Microsoft resources, aiming at the company between Angel Investment and a-round. and Microsoft Ventures in favor of the project is enterprise software, security, large data systems, artificial intelligence, cloud services, games and other fields.

A company that attended Microsoft's venture to Hatch told reporters that Microsoft's incubation project cycle is often within 6 months, during which time, Microsoft does not require the team must have a complete product, as long as the team members stable, entrepreneurial plan has new ideas, with a certain technical solutions, the total financing amount of not more than 1 million U.S. dollars, Microsoft will be able to support and guide the resources and technology, the project is mature, Microsoft also make a certain investment.

At present, Microsoft Ventures in the Cloud accelerator incubation activities have been held three. The first phase of the main project, the second phase of business-to-business projects, the third phase of large data projects. Zhang said that today's IT industry has entered the "Cloud + End" era, in this industry chain, in addition to the consumer side, there are backend enterprise-class platform services and data support.

or working with other VCs

But Microsoft's investment in start-ups will not be limited to companies involved in the Microsoft Ventures, "and Microsoft Ventures will also consider investing in other good startups." Zhang said.

However, the creation of Microsoft has not yet a dedicated pool of funds, which is very different from other traditional venture capital institutions. Zhang said that Microsoft had not set aside a special fund for Microsoft venture, but that the head of the Microsoft Venture project to the executive management, the board of directors for approval.

In fact, the development of Microsoft Ventures in China, but also with other VC agencies in close cooperation, hoping to introduce VC to help venture capital, but also for their own investment exit to consider.

In the previous Microsoft BizSpark activities, Microsoft and Nokia jointly to provide support to developers. Microsoft focuses on software support, while Nokia is focused on hardware interfaces and wind investment support, and its venture capital is provided by Nokia's growth partner fund, the company's Fund.

Microsoft Ventures has also established partnerships with the Gobi investment. Beijing I know the founder of Science and technology to our correspondent said that the company's entrepreneurial projects I know notes in the participation of Microsoft Cloud Accelerator activities have been the Gobi investment financing.

Ken, a partner in Gobi, said that, unlike Google and iOS platforms, Windows 8 was in the mobile arena, allowing the industry to see a different business model and new opportunities; In addition, the cross-platform nature of the Windows platform in the enterprise application market can also enable enterprise customers to see opportunities.

Microsoft's investment in Greater China, said Lin Weiwu, Microsoft saw more is based on the ecological construction of Microsoft, rather than to compete with other VC agencies.