M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund

The next stop for the Microsoft AI Tour is San Francisco on April 16! 🤖 It’s an incredible opportunity to connect with founders, developers, and enterprise leaders building the future with #AI. We proudly support several of the startups driving this AI wave forward, and we’ll be on-site to meet with innovators shaping what’s next in GenAI, infrastructure, security, and beyond. Learn more about what to expect at the event here: https://lnkd.in/edZ7N7kn #MSAITour

AI is sparking a wave of creativity, and startups are riding the momentum. In Silicon Valley, 18 companies are showcasing disruptive solutions built on Microsoft Azure at the new Innovators Lounge in the Experience Center—uncovering fresh insights from big data and reshaping how industries operate. The future’s got a front-row seat, and it’s standing room only. https://msft.it/6043q075T

Startups in Silicon Valley and around the world are applying #AI in unexpected and transformative ways. 🤖 Our new Innovators Lounge at the Experience Center—Silicon Valley highlights 18 powerful examples of companies redefining how we work and what we can achieve. 🌟 cc: Shaloo Garg

Congratulations to nEye Systems on closing their Series B funding round, totaling $58M! 🎉 nEye Systems is an optical switch startup founded by University of California, Berkeley technologists focused on facilitating faster and more efficient data transmission within data centers via their programmable photonic integrated circuit (PIC). The round was led by Alphabet Inc.'s independent growth fund, CapitalG, with participation from NVIDIA, Micron Technology, Socratic Partners, and M12, of course. Read more about their next chapter here: https://lnkd.in/gymM6iBh

M12 is proud to support Solve Intelligence in their Series A funding round to build #AI purpose-built for patents. 🌟 Solving the complexity of IP with AI isn’t just innovative—it’s transformational. Solve’s platform is helping patent professionals draft applications faster and with greater accuracy, unlocking new efficiency in one of the most technical domains out there. 🔍 This is exactly the kind of breakthrough we love to back at M12—AI-powered, deeply vertical, and built by domain experts. This round included investments Thomson Reuters Ventures and Y Combinator and was led by 20VC. Congrats to the entire Solve team—we’re just getting started! 🎉 📢 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/geFPTa6P 

✅ Study the competition ✅ Get the right mentors ✅ Be brutally honest with yourself Some sage advice for budding startup founders from Nikita Shamgunov, Founder and CEO of Neon, in our latest installment of our Founders Feature series. Read our full conversation with Nikita here: https://lnkd.in/gVaSr948 

Today, we commemorate Microsoft's 50th anniversary! 🎉 So much groundbreaking innovation and growth to celebrate over the last half century. At M12, our mission has always been to accelerate the trajectory of startups by providing not just capital, but also unparalleled access to Microsoft's ecosystem and resources. This synergy has fostered advancements across various sectors, including #AI, #cybersecurity, and enterprise software. As we look ahead, M12 remains committed to supporting the next generation of innovators, continuing Microsoft's legacy of empowering individuals and organizations worldwide to achieve more. Here's to celebrating 50 years of excellence and to the many more milestones to come! 🚀

Well done to Armada and Zencity for making the illustrious Fast Company Most Innovative Companies list! 🏆 We're always excited to see our portfolio companies make lists like this and are proud to be supporting the innovative work they're doing. Keep up the great work! https://lnkd.in/gsC72wbW  https://lnkd.in/e_Qghct9 

🚀 Big news from M12 portfolio company NeuBird.ai! Neubird is collaborating with Microsoft to bring its GenAI-powered Teammate for ITOps to Microsoft Teams—helping enterprises streamline IT operations with the power of AI. 🤖 In a world where IT teams are overloaded, Neubird’s AI-driven automation delivers faster resolution times, reduces operational burden, and empowers teams to focus on high-impact work. This is a huge step toward making ITOps more efficient, scalable, and AI-first. We're excited to support Neubird as they continue to innovate in this space! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g_YthnKn

What makes a great CVC investor? 🤔 Global Corporate Venturing’s latest feature explores key lessons from top investors, from balancing strategic and financial goals to adapting in a rapidly evolving market. One big takeaway: The best corporate VCs bring diverse expertise—whether from technical, operational, or investment backgrounds—to drive real impact. 💪 Among the many brilliant thought leaders included in this article, we’re excited to see our own Michael Stewart included. He was recently recognized by Global Corporate Venturing as a 2025 Emerging Leader for his contributions to #AI investing and innovation. Read more insights from this year’s Rising Stars & Emerging Leaders here: https://lnkd.in/dECfsprt