Microsoft Ventures and Israeli investment firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) are jointly establishing a startup accelerator in the field of cyber-security.
The Microsoft Ventures Accelerator’s four-month program will take place from September, 2014 to January, 2015 and focus on enabling cyber-security startups to create products and services providing solutions to the world’s most pressing relevant threats.
Six to eight startups will be accepted in the first batch, with JVP Cyber Labs taking part in the startup selection process, and mentoring. JVP also commits to offer a $1 million investment to one of the promising startups at the end of the program, together with a place in its own Be'er Sheva incubator.
JVP bills itself the largest investor in cyber security in Israel today, having led funding rounds for CyberArk, Navajo (acquired by SalesForce), Magnifire (acquired by F5 Networks) and NativeFlow.
For Microsoft Ventures, it isn't the first foray into 'startup acceleration' - it currently boasts accelerators in Tel Aviv, Berlin, London, Paris, Beijing and Bangalore.
Our accelerator program leverages the Microsoft worldwide footprint to give startups unparalleled routes to customers and partners. > > > There are very few companies that have Microsoft’s footprint and reach\-out potential, let alone accelerators, and we use this power to push startups to their success. We are eager to work closely with JVP to provide unique opportunities for entrepreneurs in our accelerator.
_(Full disclosure: one of our co-founders, Roxanne Varza, runs Microsoft's startup activities in Paris.)_
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