M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund)
Corporate VCSeattle · Seed–Growth · 44 people tracked
Also known as Microsoft Ventures
Investment thesis
M12 invests in innovative technology startups with a strategy tightly aligned to Microsoft, aiming to turn early-stage companies into future technology leaders. A key focus area is AI cloud infrastructure, advancing the next generation of cloud and data architecture. The fund emphasizes creating value for portfolio companies through connections, customer introductions, and unique benefits derived from its parent company, Microsoft. Examples cited include deep engagement with portfolio companies such as Inworld (AI and gaming) and Evisort (AI-driven enterprise software), where M12 has fostered partnerships and opened doors to enterprise opportunities.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 44 people
from the firm's website & public directories
What they invest in
from 37 of 54 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×23Enterprise Software ×21Developer Tools ×11SaaS ×11Cloud Computing ×9Cybersecurity ×9Data & Infrastructure ×7Deep Tech ×7
HQs:United States×19Canada×1China×1United Kingdom×1
Investments · 54 tracked
founders shown can be your intro path1910 Genetics develops genetic engineering and biotechnology solutions, leveraging computational and biological approaches.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechCambridge, US
Samir Kumar(Director)Marc Foster(Director)Jennifer O. Nwankwo(Executive Officer, Director)Jory Bell(Director)
Acerta provides an industrial AI analytics platform for discrete manufacturers to identify and resolve production defects early, reducing scrap, rework, and downtime.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningEnterprise Software
Implicit is an AI-powered knowledge platform that aggregates technical content from manuals, tickets, and procedures to provide cited answers to both human workers and AI agents.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Santa Monica, US
Gregory McNeal(Executive Officer, Director)Bilal Zuberi(Director)Benjamin Marcus(Executive Officer, Director)
AKA builds a security layer for AI agent systems, providing real-time monitoring and control of agent operations including prompt scanning and tool call enforcement.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise Software
Allstacks is an AI-agent platform that connects data from software development tools (Jira, GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins) to provide engineering teams and leaders with delivery metrics, risk alerts, and recommendations for planning, managing, and optimizing software creation.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareRaleigh, US
Jeremy Freeman(Founder)Hersh A. Tapadia(Executive Officer, Director)Darrell J. Freeman, Jr.(Executive Officer, Director)Scot Sherwood(Director)Jack Klinck(Director)
BoardAndrew Drylie(Director)
Andor Health provides AI-powered virtual healthcare communication and collaboration solutions that enable real-time coordination between care teams to improve patient outcomes and reduce clinician burnout.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthEnterprise SoftwareHealthtechOrlando, US
Raj Toleti(Chairman & CEO)
Applied Intuition develops physical AI software for autonomous and intelligent machines, including vehicles, robots, ships, and satellites across industries like automotive, defense, logistics, and manufacturing.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareRoboticsSunnyvale, US
Qasar Younis(Co-founder and CEO)Peter Ludwig(Co-founder and CTO)
Arize provides observability and evaluation tools for AI systems and large language models, enabling development teams to monitor, debug, and improve AI agents in production.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software
APARNA DHINKARAN(Director)DHARMESH THAKKER(Director)Brett Wilson(Director)Jason Lopatecki(President, Chief Executive Officer, Treasurer, and Secretary)MORGAN GERLAK(Director)Ashu Garg(Director)
Arkose Labs provides fraud and bot protection for enterprises including banks, gaming platforms, fintechs, and marketplaces.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaSSan Francisco, US
Kevin Gosschalk(CEO)Nagraj Kashyap(Director)Jeremiah Grossman(Director)Mark Resnick(Executive Officer)James Wu(Director)Dafina Toncheva(Director)
PartnerJames Wu· led
Armada develops edge computing and AI solutions for industrial applications.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureDeep Tech
Auctor is an AI-native platform for managing the full software implementation lifecycle, designed for services teams and system integrators to deliver projects faster and more consistently.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSNew York City, US
William Sun(Founder)inMatthew Blackburn(Co-Founder & CTO)inAnthony Sky Ng-Thow-Hing(Founder)in
Beamery provides an AI platform for workforce transformation that helps enterprises hire, redeploy, and reskill talent by connecting skills and task intelligence to real-time workforce data.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareHR TechSaaSUnited States, US
Abakar Saidov(Co-founder)Sultan Saidov(Co-founder)Michael Paterson(Co-founder)
Blackshark.ai builds AI infrastructure that converts satellite and drone imagery into operational intelligence for understanding the physical world.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDeep Tech<UNKNOWN>
Bluevine is a financial technology platform offering banking services including checking accounts, payments, and lending products designed for small businesses.
FintechSaaSJersey City, US
Eyal Lifshitz(Chief Executive Officer)inNir Klar(Chief Technology Officer)inStewart Newbigging Wilkinson(Director)Yonatan Cheifetz(Director)Laurel Charmaine Bowden(Director)
Builder.io provides visual development tools that enable teams to collaborate on software development through a plug-and-play approach.
Cloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsSan Francisco, US
ClearMotion develops active suspension systems for automotive vehicles.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechHardwareMobility & TransportationChangshu, CN
Zack AndersonShak AvadhanyChristian Steinmann(CEO)
Druva provides a cloud-native data security platform that combines backup, protection, recovery, and AI-driven data insights for enterprise workloads.
Cloud ComputingCybersecurityData & Infrastructure
San Jose, US
Yiren Huang(Executive Officer, Director)Alan Armstrong(Executive Officer, Director)Lip Bu Tan(Director)Bill Moore(Director)Joseph DeFranco(Executive Officer)Michael Raam(Director)
Siemens Building X provides space and workplace management applications for facility owners, enabling workspace bookings, office navigation, and schedule coordination with real-time usage insights and environmental monitoring.
Enterprise SoftwarePropTech
Conduktor provides an operations platform for real-time data streaming that unifies access, governance, and observability for Apache Kafka and other streaming data.
Data & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSaaSLondon, GB
Nicolas Orban(CEO)Stéphane Derosiaux(CTO)Stéphane Maarek(Chief Evangelist)Andrei Brasoveanu(Director)Orson Stadler(Director)
Contrast Security provides an Application and API Security platform that detects and stops live application-layer attacks using patented in-app sensors.
CybersecurityDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software
Jeff Williams(Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer)Rick Fitz(Chief Executive Officer)
Chicago, US
Arsen Avakian(Executive Officer, Director)Gregory Wasson(Director)Glen Tullman(Executive Officer, Director)
CruxOCM develops AI-powered automation software for industrial control room operations in energy infrastructure, enabling autonomous monitoring and control to improve throughput and reduce operational risk.
AI & Machine LearningCleantechClimate TechEnergyEnterprise SoftwareIoTCalgary, CA
At-Bay provides cyber insurance and risk management technology for businesses of all sizes, combining insurance products with cybersecurity expertise and monitoring to help companies prevent and manage digital risks.
CybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareInsurTechUnknown, US
Rotem Iram(Co-founder & CEO)Roman Itskovich(Co-founder & Chief Risk Officer)
Aquasec provides open-source and commercial security scanning solutions, including Trivy, designed to detect vulnerabilities and maintain security posture in cloud-native applications.
Cloud ComputingCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
DatologyAI provides automated data curation for AI model training, helping companies identify and remove low-quality data to improve model performance and reduce computational costs.
AI & Machine LearningData & Infrastructure
Deployed is a document assembly platform that helps teams create accurate business documents (Statements of Work, NDAs, project briefs, and related agreements) through guided questionnaires and pre-approved clause libraries, rather than template editing.
Enterprise SoftwareLegalTech
Kayleigh Kuptz(CEO)
San Francisco, US
Greg Sands(Director)Antony Brydon(Executive Officer, Director)Jeff Patterson(Executive Officer, Director)
Ecomedes develops a digital platform for sustainable building products data, helping architects, builders, and manufacturers discover, compare, and document environmentally certified construction materials.
B2B MarketplacesConstruction TechSaaSDenver, US
Kathleen Egan(CEO)Timothy Connors(Director)Paul Shahriari(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Michael Levinthal(Director)
Automates the entire contracting process from a single platform.
System of record for code, now part of Microsoft.
PJ Hyett(Cofounder)Chris Wanstrath(Cofounder)
Security company for AI, cited by M12 as a portfolio company leading in the security-for-AI space.
AI engine powering next-gen video games and interactive experiences
Knox Systems helps software companies navigate FedRAMP compliance and secure federal government contracts.
Cloud ComputingCybersecurityGovTechSaaS
William Christopher Johnson(Executive Officer, Director)Viviana Faga(Director)Irina Denisenko(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardCarrie Lee(Federal Advisor)David Epperson(Federal Advisor)Chad Tetrault(Federal Advisor)
Rescale provides cloud-based engineering and R&D platform with simulation, modeling, and digital engineering tools for enterprise engineering teams across multiple industries.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingDeep TechDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Joris Poort(Founder/CEO)inAdam McKenzie(Founder/CTO)inToshiya Otani(Director)
BoardYanev Suissa(Director)
Unbabel provides AI-powered machine translation software combined with human editors to enable multilingual customer support and localization for businesses globally.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSSan Francisco, US
Vasco Pedro(Founder/CEO)inJoão Graça(Founder/CTO)inBruno Prezado Silva(Founder/Lead Designer)inHugo Silva(Founder/Developer)Phil Shawe(President and CEO)Jin Lee(Co-CEO)
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund) invest at?
- M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund) invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth stages.
- What is M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund)'s typical check size?
- M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund) typically writes checks of $100K – $10M.
- What sectors does M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund) focus on?
- M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund) focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, Developer Tools, Enterprise Software, SaaS, Sales Tech, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund) located?
- M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund) is headquartered in Seattle, US.
- Does M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund) lead rounds?
- Yes, M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund) leads investment rounds.
From the blog
visit blog ↗M12 recently invested in enterprise software implementation efficiency and federal cloud compliance. The fund backed Auctor, an AI platform reducing software deployment failures, and Knox Systems, which streamlines FedRAMP authorization for government cloud adoption. AI summary
Media · Podcasts & interviews
from their channelM12 Manufacturing Summit | Futureproofing the Enterprise
M12, Microsoft's venture fund
Images
Co-investors · 78
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Uncork Capital is a seed-stage venture firm that backs founders at the earliest stage, before their potential is widely recognized.
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▶66 more co-investors
Foundation CapitalCRV (Charles River Ventures)Battery VenturesInnovation EndeavorsObvious VenturesSoftBank Vision FundAcrew Capital8VCTrinity VenturesRed Swan VenturesTrajectory VenturesRidge VenturesUS Venture PartnersIntel CapitalTSVCCostanoa VenturesEclipse VenturesEntree Capitalboldstart venturesViola VenturesPoint72 VenturesQualcomm VenturesOrbiMed83NorthCisco InvestmentsNyca PartnersTeam8Blue Owl CapitalPlayground GlobalZeev VenturesBDC Venture CapitalAdverb VenturesVertex Ventures IsraelThomvest VenturesPitangoForum VenturesS32H.I.G. Growth PartnersBlu Venture InvestorsS CapitalWI Harper GroupEssence Venture CapitalThe Column GroupTriatomic CapitalVenture Guides Management, L.P.Pfizer Venture InvestmentsGrove VenturesUbiquity VenturesHyperplane Venture CapitalSony Ventures CorporationSwift Ventures10DAnsa CapitalRabbit VenturesTechnology Crossover VenturesYL VenturesMotley Fool VenturesFramework Venture PartnersTPY CapitalFaberBosch VenturesHolly VenturesIntuitive VenturesMustard SeedMetaVC PartnersInnovacom
Firms observed investing alongside M12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund), from public investor directories.
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