Microsoft’s venture capital arm can’t take credit for its parent’s blockbuster early investment in OpenAI, maker of the buzzy chatbot ChatGPT. That deal, which helped to transform the tech giant into a leader in artificial intelligence, was handled by corporate leaders.
But M12, Microsoft’s in-house VC firm, does have a lot of powder at its disposal—$275 million this fiscal year—as it looks to invest in the next big thing, two sources familiar with the matter told Fortune. Until now, the number has been a closely guarded secret.
Microsoft replenishes M12 each year with funds from its balance sheet. The amount it gives has remained relatively stable in recent years, the sources said. The fund doesn’t typically spend all of its allotment. In recent years, it has invested $150 million to $250 million annually in startups, said the sources, who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the fund’s finances.
Currently, M12 has 110 active investments in its portfolio, it confirmed to Fortune, including AI platform Typeface.ai. Last week, Microsoft integrated the startup’s technology, which helps companies create social content using generative AI, with its consumer insights platform. Microsoft has also invested in startup Split.io and made its delivery platform available to developers using Microsoft’s Azure services.
Microsoft founded its VC fund in 2016 under the name Microsoft Ventures. At the time, the fund invested less than $100 million annually, according to one source.
Last year, M12 (“M” for Microsoft, “12” for the number of letters in “entrepreneur”) underwent a major strategy shift under Michelle Gonzalez, corporate vice president and global head who joined in 2021. The fund had previously operated more independently and invested as a generalist, focusing on financial returns. But in Jan. 2023, Gonzalez announced it would shift to fund startups more closely aligned with Microsoft’s priorities—namely in AI, cloud infrastructure, and cybersecurity.
“Over the last 12 months, we realized startups and Microsoft needed a new M12, and so we developed a more focused investment strategy tightly aligned to Microsoft,” Gonzalez said in a statement to Fortune. “This has helped us create exceptional value through connections, customers, and unique benefits for our portfolio.”
Last year’s change—unwelcome to some within M12, as Fortune previously reported—may stem from a deemphasis on financial returns. For a company like Microsoft with $212 billion in revenue last year, returns on $275 million invested is unlikely to have a material impact on the company. But funding businesses that could enhance Microsoft’s own products may bear greater strategic benefits.
The most obvious example is the company’s $13 billion investment in OpenAI—completed by Microsoft, not M12. With its first round invested in 2019, Microsoft has emerged as a major player in AI. It is using OpenAI’s technology in Copilot, the AI assistant that is being integrated into nearly every Microsoft product.
