Microsoft Accelerator for Windows Azure Announces Final 11

Microsoft today announced the final list of 11 select technology startups to be incubated at the Accelerator for Windows Azure in Bangalore. Announcing the top 11, Amit Chatterjee, Managing Director, Microsoft said, "This is a proud moment for us at Microsoft. It was great to have a huge response with 200+ applications and funnelling it down to 11. We had decided to select the top 10 but looking at the quality of applications, we picked 11."

The final 11 companies are:

•  amplfy.me
• Caeruz Ventures
• CiperGraph
• Cloudinfra
• Gameizon
• HireRabbit
• NowFloats
• Plustxt
• Sparsha Learning
• Whitesharkk
• WorldWithoutMe

The judges looked for business concepts which clearly indicated how the startups would leverage the flexible, scalable Cloud platform as part of the final offering. They chose applications that clearly communicated that the teams are building a business of scale that would attract venture or angel investment. Along with that, they looked for ideas that proposed products that solve real problems or create meaningful innovations. And they also focused on the capabilities and experience of the teams proposing those ideas.

S. Somasegar, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Corporation, who flew in from Redmond to congratulate the 11 startups, believes that the global startup ecosystem is at an inflexion point.

The inauguration of the accelerator workspace in Microsoft's Lavelle Road office is based on the "shared workspaces" model and promises to provide the adequate facilities to the startups. A few breakout areas are provided for informal huddles and mentor sessions. Having state-of-the-art infrastructure, the accelerator's success will depend on how well the startups perform after the 4 months period.

More about the program here.