Microsoft to support 54 start-ups from tier-2 cities

In its efforts to tap into the thousands of small companies operating in India’s hinterlands, global technology giant Microsoft has shortlisted a group of 54 start-ups from the country’s tier-2 cities for whom it will provide mentorship and other assistance.

Part of Microsoft’s ‘Highway to a Hundred Unicorns’ programme, the 54 start-ups have been selected via a competition for start-ups called ‘Emerge-X’ which the global tech major conducted over the past few months. The list of start-ups include those from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala and Telangana and the winners of the competition will receive Azure credits and a host of business and tech benefits, Microsoft said. Azure is the firm’s cloud services business.