Microsoft’s ‘Highway to a Hundred Unicorns’ selects 54 startups from Tier II cities
Highway to a Hundred Unicorns, a Microsoft for Startups initiative, works closely with local governments to strengthen the startup ecosystem in each state.
In an effort to boost the startup ecosystem in Tier II cities across the country, Microsoft’s initiative ‘Highway to a Hundred Unicorns’ has selected 54 startups from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala and Telangana.
According to a press statement, the top tech startups selected through ‘Emerge-X’, a competition for startups win Azure credits along with a host of business and tech benefits. The competition is said to have received over 530 applications.
The top three startups from each state will gain access to a year-long mentorship programme and a two-day founder bootcamp.
Highway to a Hundred Unicorns, the Microsoft for Startups initiative, works closely with local governments to strengthen the startup ecosystem in each state.
It aims to help entrepreneurs build and scale their companies, by leveraging the cloud platform, enterprise sales team and partner ecosystem.
Telangana Emerge X Winners with (L-R) Lathika Pai - Country Head, Microsoft for Startups, MENA & SAARC, Jayesh Ranjan - IAS Principal Secretary to Government of Telangana, Industries & Commerce (I&C) Dept., & Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (ITE&C) Dept., Gayle Sheppard - Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Azure Data and Rajiv Kumar - MD, Microsoft IDC and Corporate Vice President, Electronics & Devices, India
Lathika Pai, Country Head, Microsoft for Startups - MENA and SAARC, said, “The entrepreneurial energy of startups is rising well beyond the known metropolitan hubs and is remarkably high in Tier II cities, despite the obvious challenges. Through Highway to a Hundred Unicorns, we’ve been able to reach some highly promising innovators from each of the five states. In the next phase of our journey, we look forward to engaging with more startups and accelerating their growth and providing them with Microsoft’s platform to go global.”
The fifth edition of the outreach program was hosted at Hyderabad in association with the Government of Telangana.
The top three startups from each state includes Spider G, Greenovative Energy, and from Maharashtra; ACELR Tech Labs Pvt. Ltd. (), Private Limited, and CLAP Research Private Ltd from Kerala; Locanix, Byte Prophecy, and from Gujarat; , Bix42, and from Rajasthan; , , and from Telangana.
As per the release, over 75 ecosystem players including the Global Entrepreneurship Network, TiE, Headstart, NASSCOM, and Startup Grind as well as prominent investors, entrepreneurs and executives in the national startup ecosystem have actively engaged with the innovators at each of the locations.
(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)
