Microsoft launches new initiative to empower AI startups in India

The selected startups in each of the cohorts will have access to industry deep-dive sessions and AI masterclasses by industry experts, mentoring by unicorn founders, skilling and certification opportunities, among other benefits.Catering to technical and business audiences, the programme will bring together leading-edge tech know-how, global GTM go to market partnerships as well as engineering and research experts from Microsoft.


PTI | New Delhi | Updated: 21-10-2021 11:40 IST | Created: 20-10-2021 12:08 IST
Microsoft launches new initiative to empower AI startups in India
Representative image Image Credit: ANI
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Tech giant Microsoft on Wednesday launched a new program Microsoft AI Innovate for nurturing and scaling startups that are leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The 10-week initiative will support startups in India leveraging AI technologies, helping them scale operations, drive innovation, and build industry expertise. Both B2B and B2C startups from various industries, including financial services, healthcare, education, agriculture, space, manufacturing and logistics, retail, and e-commerce can participate in the quarterly cohorts of this program.

Supported by TiE Mumbai, the launch cohort will kickstart in November 2021. The first cohort will focus on manufacturing and logistics and the second one will focus on fintech. ''AI is increasingly transitioning from artificial intelligence into augmented intelligence that ensures efficient, faster, more targeted experiences for everybody.

“AI has a tremendous potential to empower people and institutions to do better, understand customers more deeply, share information more quickly and enable scientific breakthroughs,'' Microsoft India President Anant Maheshwari said at a virtual event. He added that India has the third-largest AI startup ecosystem in the world.

''AI adoption can add more than USD 90 billion to the Indian economy by 2035...to maximize AI's potential and mitigate its risks, we need to develop AI in a way that is responsible and fosters trust.

“As creators, users, and advocates of technology, it is important for us to make careful choices so that technology ultimately translates into benefits and opportunities for all,'' Maheshwari said.

Trust is non-negotiable and everyone is accountable for creating a responsible, trusted, and ethical tech ecosystem, he noted.

Through its latest initiative, Microsoft will focus on providing tech and business opportunities to startups for improving their solutions, transforming organizations, and building responsibly to make AI accessible to everyone, Maheshwari said. The program will also enable startups to reach out to newer customers and geographies with Microsoft's sales and partner networks. The selected startups in each of the cohorts will have access to industry deep-dive sessions and AI masterclasses by industry experts, mentoring by unicorn founders, skilling, and certification opportunities, among other benefits.

Catering to technical and business audiences, the program will bring together leading-edge tech know-how, global GTM (go-to market) partnerships as well as engineering and research experts from Microsoft. Qualified seed to series B startups will be provided with technical enablement benefits, including Azure benefits (in addition to free cloud credits) and product engineering support among other benefits. They will also receive support with business and sales acceleration needs such as marketplace onboarding.

Startups with enterprise-ready solutions will be provided opportunities to build their solutions alongside a dedicated team of professionals.

They will get go-to-market support as well as co-selling benefits with Microsoft's sales team and partner ecosystem. The startups will also get access to top partner and customer events to strengthen their networking reach.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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