Microsoft Corp.'s ‘Highway to a Hundred Unicorns', an initiative to help startups scale up their business, has selected 54 startups from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala and Telangana in efforts to enable the startup ecosystem in Tier II cities of India.
The top tech startups selected through Emerge-X, a competition for startups, win Azure credits and a host of business and tech benefits, according to a statement.
The competition has received more than 530 applications and the top three startups from each state gain access to a year-long mentorship programme and a two-day founder bootcamp, according to the statement.
‘Highway to a Hundred Unicorns', the Microsoft for Startups initiative, works closely with local governments to strengthen the startup ecosystem in each state.
The fifth edition of the outreach programme was hosted in Hyderabad on Monday in association with the Telangana government. More than 650 startups that participated in the five events have benefited from the mentorship and guidance through technology workshops on Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and others.
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 have been able to reach some highly promising innovators from each of the five states," Lathika Pai, country head, Microsoft for Startups MENA and SAARC, said in the statement. “In the next phase of our journey, we look forward to engaging with more startups and accelerating their growth and providing them with Microsofts platform to go global.”
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