IDG Ventures India and Microsoft India have announced an ‘Early Stage Funding Programme’ for start-ups. Under the partnership, startups registering for Microsoft’s entrepreneurship programme, BizSpark, will gain funding of up to Rs 25 crore by IDG Ventures and access to the Microsoft suite, including latest tools and technologies at no cost.
The programme is open to technology companies which are under three years old, and whose annual revenues are less than Rs 5 crore, IDG Ventures chairman and managing director Sudhir Sethi said in a statement. Companies meeting these eligibility criteria will be offered access to development software through Microsoft’s BizSpark programme and asked to send their business plans to IDG Ventures for evaluation. Startups that meet the investment criteria of the VC will be provided access to funding of up to Rs 25 crore.
Rajan Anandan, managing director, Microsoft India, said, “In the three months since we launched BizSpark, 200 start-ups have been empowered with access to genuine software at absolutely no cost. The partnership with IDG Ventures is committed to helping start-ups succeed and enable growth of local innovation in India.”
Microsoft BizSpark was announced in December 2008 in India. Microsoft claims to have impacted 200 start-ups with BizSpark by providing professional software at no charge.
“In the current economic scenario, lack of adequate funding is likely to be a key barrier to success of young technology companies. We are keen to demonstrate our commitment to the start-up community by offering financial resources to deserving young technology companies. We plan to evaluate over a thousand business plans by the end of the year and commit funding to the top few candidates,” Sethi said.
IDG Ventures India is a $150-million venture capital fund investing in technology and technology-enabled services in India. The fund has invested across a range of sectors including software products, offshore services, Internet, digital media, telecommunications, engineering, electronics, semiconductors, hi-tech manufacturing, financial services, healthcare and other technology-enabled sectors.
In India, IDG Ventures has offices in Bangalore and Mumbai and has invested in Manthan Systems, Ozone Media, 3D Solid Compression, Aujas Networks, ConnectM, iViZ, Kreeda Games, Perfint and Myntra. The fund is part of IDG Ventures, a global network of technology venture funds with over $3.7 billion under management, 220 investee companies and 10 offices across North America and Asia.