Microsoft launches Bing Fund to provide cash and advice to start-up companies

Intermediary transaction SEO diagnosis Taobao guest Cloud host technology Hall

Tencent Science and Technology (Beckham) Beijing time July 13 News, according to foreign media reports, after weeks of rumors, Microsoft finally announced the launch of the latest incubator "Bing Fund" (Bing Fund), for the start-up companies to provide cash support and advice to help.

The Bing fund will provide 50,000 to 100,000 dollars of support to early startups through standard convertible bonds, Microsoft will also provide start-up companies with 4 months to 8 months of advice, design and development help, discounts on the Microsoft Azure Data Market API, and will introduce potential partners and customers to startups. These startups also have the option to use Microsoft's office in the Washington State Bellevue Park, a region specifically named Bing Hatchery.

"Our goal is to help entrepreneurs develop their early prototypes into scale products," Rahul Sood, general manager of Bing Fund, said in an interview Lahur Suder. "With support from a variety of ways, such as cash, Bing funds have also joined the growing number of business incubators and accelerator armies to help entrepreneurs start their business, and the success of Combinator, startups and TechStars is driving this trend." Microsoft has a lot of talent and resources, so it can be easily added to this trend.

The Bing hatchery, separated from the rest of the Microsoft campus, will have independent access cards, so startups will not be assimilated to each other. This is an important task for Sood, who has said that startups should maintain their own unique culture. One of the main advantages of the Bing fund is that it will draw some experts from Microsoft to create a network of advisers for each start-up, including products and marketing, as well as scientists from the Microsoft Research Department.

At the end of the incubation period, Microsoft hopes to help companies get their first round of wind investment through their VC partners or buy them directly from Microsoft. Sood and his team, with about 12 people, are looking for an investment target in the Internet to develop prototypes, have small teams and intend to expand. Sood said he was looking for Kinect-related projects, and that the Bing Fund's projects did not necessarily have to be linked to Bing search engines or related technologies, including speech recognition, image processing, video, local/geographic location/MAP technology.

"We will invest in startups that we think are breakthroughs in the internet," said Sood. "In addition, the company is looking for long-term potential, is expected to become a Microsoft partner or acquisition target start-up companies." "We will not be involved in landscaping or car washing," he said. ”

Sood joined Microsoft in January 2011, and the Bing Fund was his idea. Before joining Microsoft, Sood worked at HP. In 2006, Voodoo, a high-end gaming computer maker, founded by Hewlett-Packard, joined Hewlett-Packard after being bought by HP.

In an interview, the reporter asked the sood, so many years after working in Microsoft, whether it is a bit strange. The Voodoo pc was once known for its bold design, including tribal totem and bright colours, and Voodoo was one of only a handful of PC makers still assembling computers in North America before being bought by HP. After years of independent entrepreneurship, Sood joined a giant like Microsoft.

"I'm fully mature," said Sood, "an incredible company with too many smart people." Microsoft's idea of the outside world is completely different from its own. He says the first reason for loving Microsoft is that they have a living founder and chairman who are dedicated to making the world a better place. "His ideas and energy will still affect the company, and Microsoft is very good at letting entrepreneurs find their way within the company," said Sood. You just have to find your place, and that's a great place to work. ”