Ahmed Mazhari, president of Microsoft Asia, speaks during a press conference at the company's office in central Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Microsoft Korea

US tech giant starts Microsoft Launcher program here

By Baek Byung-yeul

U.S. tech giant Microsoft kicked off its Microsoft Launcher program here in a bid to help nurture Korean startups, the company said, Monday. The company said Microsoft Launcher is specifically designed to help startups here as the program offers various benefits such as free access to its software, education and business counselling support as well as co-working office space.

Ahmed Mazhari, the president of Microsoft Asia, said the importance of the Asian market, including Korea, has emerged as recent innovations in various industries have come from this region.

"Two decades ago Korea's GDP was $627 billion, last year it recorded $1.8 trillion, demonstrating Korea's continuous growth. Microsoft believes that Korea is not only a dynamic market on the global stage, but also a potential game changer," Mazhari said during a press conference in its Korean unit's office in downtown Seoul.

He said the company has helped companies in Korea increase their productivity with its technology and that the Microsoft Launcher program will become a great accelerator for startups here.

"In Korea, we nurtured the potential of contactless education and video platform startups during the pandemic to build resilience in education for whoever wants to keep learning and connecting. Moreover, Microsoft helped transform the healthcare industry from the diagnosis phase through artificial intelligence," he said.

"With the introduction of Microsoft Launcher in Korea, which gives access to all the capabilities of the Microsoft platform needed to run your business and the developer tools you need to build your business, this is just the beginning, as we continue to drive significant investments and support for startups in the region," the president of the Asia region added.

Lee Ji-eun, country manager of Microsoft Korea, speaks during a press conference at its offices in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Microsoft Korea

Lee Ji-eun, the country manager of Microsoft Korea, said that Microsoft is sincere about helping local startups.

"Korea's digital innovation and growth are attracting worldwide attention, and Microsoft Korea is thoroughly considering our startup ecosystem to continue enhancing Korea's role and competitiveness on a global stage," Lee said. "Through Microsoft Launcher, which has been created based on our own unique environment, we will empower promising local startups to create a sustainable ecosystem while overcoming technical or financial barriers."

The company's Korean unit explained that its support program offers up to 500 million won ($370,897) worth of benefits and credits, giving startups free access to the technology and resources they need to build and run their business.

In the case of cloud infrastructure, startups can build their businesses at their own pace with up to 200 million won worth of Microsoft Azure credits. As usage increases, startup founders can unlock additional credits over time, depending on each growth stage. The platform also provides one year of free access to powerful development and productivity tools including GitHub, Visual Studio, Power Platform, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and more.

In addition to providing technical support, the Microsoft Launcher program will also empower entrepreneurs to innovate and grow by connecting them with mentors so that they can receive counselling.

Some startups with less than 10 employees will take the chance to move into co-working spaces located in Seoul and Busan, which helps startups reduce the rent burden for the first six months. Microsoft Korea will also help arrange meetings with global venture capital firms and facilitate pitching opportunities to investors, the company added.

Microsoft Korea said it plans to recruit companies that want to join the program at all times through its official website.