Microsoft wants to kickstart the next billion-dollar Indian tech company

Microsoft Ventures is revving up its India Accelerator program.

The Indian arm of the Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant today announced that it’s accepting applications for its fifth Ventures Accelerator batch in Bangalore, India. Microsoft India is looking for a mix of Indian startups and international companies (interested in Asian markets) to participate. The program is scheduled to kick off in July and end with a demo day in November.

“Our Accelerator is turning out to be one of the most competitive programs in this part of the world, with hundreds of startups wanting to be part of it,” Ravi Narayan, director of Microsoft Ventures in India, said in a statement. “The visibility, reach, and intensity of the program drives startups to achieve tremendous progress during the four months of the program.”

16 startups made it into the summer batch, Microsoft India’s fourth, which will “graduate” in late May. They range from SlideRule, a startup facilitating online course discovery, to Appointy, a scheduling software startup that aims to help businesses grow virally.

36 companies graduated from the first three batches, according to Microsoft India, which said 82 percent of the companies received funding during or after the accelerator program.

Interested startups can apply for the Bangalore accelerator program here.

“We will work closely with our industry partners, mentors, and panel of jury to identify exceptional technology entrepreneurs who are solving big problems at scale, both for India and global markets,” said Narayan. “We welcome all technology startups, from India and abroad, to send in applications.”

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