Online investment platform Seedrs has announced a new partnership with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to launch “SERIES A,” an AI-focused accelerator.
The accelerator is said to be open to all Seed and Series A firms.
Seedrs described the partnership as “an industry first that will help supercharge some of the UK’s most exciting early-stage businesses, which are building AI infrastructure into their offering and strategising for their next funding round.”
The accelerator will entail a four-week program beginning May 1, with participants assisting in honing their business and strategy for a future funding round. A Pitching Demo Day will take place for six finalists where the selected businesses will have the chance to pitch their business in front of investors. Applications are being accepted now.
Seedrs Managing Director John Lake said the UK has emerged as a global leader in the AI realm.
“Our thriving ecosystem benefits from an excellent talent pool fuelled by some of the world’s best STEM universities and a sympathetic regulatory environment, so it’s no surprise it was the second most funded sector in the UK last year1. At Seedrs, we know that investors are backing AI and founders need to be equipped to capitalise. In partnership with Microsoft we’re extremely excited to provide a lucky few businesses with the insights and expertise they need to develop their AI products and access vital growth capital.”
Microsoft GM Orla McGrath added that by building AI solutions on Microsoft Cloud, startups will have the opportunity to benefit from their technology.
Microsoft is keen to boost its AI services and has launched a platform called Copilot as a service for its customers.
Seedrs is part of Republic and, thus, the largest securities crowdfunding platform in the world. Seedrs itself has funded over 2,100 deals, totaling over £2.8 billion since its launch. The combined operation boasts more than 2.5 million members globally.
