Microsoft has today announced a new department designed to invest into disruptive start-ups in their early phases. The department, led by Nagraj Kashyap (corporate vice president) and executive vice president of business development Peggy Johnson, holds the name Microsoft Ventures. This is not to be confused with the "old" Microsoft Ventures. That arm, now called Microsoft Accelerator, helps start-ups with technology and expertise, but rarely cash. Microsoft Ventures will look for early-days start-ups in cloud, security and machine-learning markets, those that can complement their Azure cloud services, among other things. Basically, Ventures will sit somewhere between the Accelerator, and larger…
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