Microsoft on Thursday launched its Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub in India as it looks to support young companies at every stage of their growth.
The digital platform, Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub, will offer over $300,000 worth of benefits and credits to startups in terms of technology, cloud platform, productivity tools, including GitHub Enterprise, Visual Studio Enterprise, and Microsoft 365.
According to a statement, the founders hub will assist early-stage startups to connect with mentors who will provide industry, business, and technical support to guide them through their next business milestones.
Sangeeta Bavi, Director - Startup Ecosystem, Microsoft India, said, “We aim to provide startups access to the resources that will power their innovation, connect them with customers, and an ecosystem of developers, partners, and investors to help them scale in India and beyond.”
Microsoft has also partnered with companies like OpenAI, an AI research and deployment platform, to develop AI systems such as GPT-3 and Codex to provide startups with exclusive benefits and discounts.
Additionally, it will provide founders access to Microsoft Learn for tailored startup-centric training and a variety of startup and unicorn programmes to help them build connections with customers or industry veterans and accelerate their growth.
"Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub is designed specifically for early-stage startups to lower the barriers to business creation — be a catalyst for entrepreneurship and innovation and contribute to easing the journey from an idea to a unicorn," the statement read.
Sangeeta said, “Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub was created following extensive research and conversations with hundreds of founders who explicitly shared their need for access to a digital ecosystem that promotes opportunities and democratises innovation regardless of background, location, progress, or passions.”
Last year, Microsoft launched a Microsoft AI Innovate programme for nurturing and scaling startups leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Edited by Suman Singh