M12, Microsoft's venture fund on Wednesday announced its local presence in India with the opening of an office in the city.

The office will pursue investment opportunities across the region, focusing on B2B software startups in the sectors of applied AI, business applications, infrastructure, security, and vanguard technologies, the company said in a release.

M12 seeks to invest in disruptive enterprise software startups in the Series A through C funding stages, targeting both local and cross-border solutions, it said, adding that the new office is a step forward in M12's long-term commitment to the Indian startup ecosystem.

M12 has already been remotely investing in India since 2019.

Its portfolio includes category leaders such as Innovaccer and FarEye.

"Typically, we see the greatest hurdles in a startups journey as they scale from local success to global challengers, and then again when they go on to become category leaders.

Both inflection points require specific and deep organizational strength, proven talent, GTM partnerships, and global investors.

M12 is proud to be co-located in the region, and to bring experience and resources that will help startups successfully navigate these inflection points," M12 India lead Abhi Kumar said.

Post-investment, the startups in M12's portfolio can elect to work with the fund's Portfolio Development team, which is dedicated to unlocking growth opportunities, the company said.

Since its founding in 2016, M12 has invested in 90 companies.

The Bengaluru office joins an M12 network that includes San Francisco, Seattle, London and Tel Aviv.

M12 (formerly known as Microsoft Ventures) also partners with several of Microsofts broad startup engagement programs, such as Microsoft for Startups.

First Published:Jun 10, 2020 2:20 PM IST