Microsoft to help boost growth of Chinese startups

Source: ChinaDaily | Jing Shuiyu

US tech giant Microsoft Corp will work with more Chinese tech startups to boost their growth through its local accelerators, said its top executive.

Microsoft Accelerator Beijing will screen startup candidates mainly in five vertical markets, healthcare, government service, finance service, manufacturing and smart city.

"New technology and new applications powered by innovation are leading the digital transformation, which is disrupting traditional businesses profoundly," said Alain Crozier, Microsoft Corporate Vice-President and Chairman and CEO of Greater China Region.

With accelerators based in China, its cloud computing service Microsoft Azure nourished a thriving local ecosystem of startups to further drive digital transformation, he said.

He was speaking on fifth anniversary of Microsoft Accelerator Beijing and Demo Day for the ninth batch of graduate startups.

In the past five years, nine batches of 156 startups have graduated from Microsoft Accelerator Beijing, with a total valuation of over 50 billion yuan ($7.3 billion).