Microsoft is putting its expertise and resources behind startups that take on global issues such as gender equality, poverty, hunger, and clean water.
"The goal of this initiative is to enable inclusive, sustainable growth across the world,” Jean-Philippe Courtois, vice president of global sales for Microsoft, told Cheddar. The company is focusing on startups tackling the kinds of environmental and social issues outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a guiding framework for global change adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015.
The Global Social Entrepreneurship Program will be available in 140 countries. Once approved, startups will have access to grants from Microsoft Philanthropies, $120,000 in credits for Azure cloud computing, and $1,000 per month for access to web hosting platform GitHub Enterprise.
Microsoft’s global sales team will also work alongside startups to help them bring their products to market around the world.
“We are selecting companies that are still in the early stage that don’t have much of a big revenue stream — less than $25 million of revenue,” Courtois said. “The key for us is to look at the quality of the innovation when it comes to societal impact.”
Startups must be less than seven years old, in the Seed, Series A, B, or C stage of funding, and offer “an innovative technical solution that supports customers in their digital transformation.”
Courtois cited some startups that fit the bill: OmniVis in Bangladesh has developed a smartphone-based cholera detection system that is currently being tested in Singapore.
The Seabin Project out of Spain has deployed more than 800 trash-skimming devices to trawl the world’s oceans for marine litter, collecting more than a half a million tons of garbage so far.
Zindi is a web-hosting platform for artificial intelligence solutions for companies, nonprofits, and government organizations in Africa and around the world that has gotten the stamp of approval from 10,000 data scientists.
While the initiative is wide open to startups from more developed countries, Courtois emphasized the important role of companies in the world’s most vulnerable communities.
“The smallest guys are living in the middle of the problems that they are trying to solve,” he said. “Those are the people who have the sensitivity to usually bring the most innovative solution.”
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
