The Microsoft Mafia

Ivelina
August 14, 2023
Tech Mafias

In our weekly tech mafia series we cover the biggest tech mafias in Silicon Valley and beyond, taking a closer look at what companies former employees have started, how much money they’ve raised, and who their investors are.

What is a tech mafia group?

Disruptive startups like PayPal have produced a line of ex employees who go on to start their own influential startups. For example, employees who worked at PayPal went on to found companies like LinkedIn and YouTube.

The Microsoft Mafia

We all know about Microsoft, so let's start off with a fun fact: did you know that one of Microsoft's most popular software products, Microsoft Office, actually made its debut on the Mac?

Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, and it took them less than a day to design the original logo - talk about moving fast!

This is one of the biggest mafia groups we've covered up to date, so stay tuned as we add them to our leaderboard to find out if they can beat Google in the number one spot in terms of most money raised per group.

Quick stats on the Microsoft Mafia:

  • Total number of companies founded: 2,474
  • Total amount of money raised: $69 billion

We've selected 106 of the top most notable companies, followed by several rising stars of the Microsoft Mafia. You'll recognize some popular names like Zillow, Airbnb, and Fireflies.

Learn about their investor details, money raised, and more below!

Companies covered:

  • Trifo
  • Horizon Robotics
  • Typeface
  • Adept AI
  • UiPath
  • Zenoti
  • Mode Analytics
  • Osano
  • Dialpad
  • Airbnb
  • SingleFile Technologies
  • Glassdoor
  • Highspot
  • Fireflies.ai
  • Stack Overflow
  • Rover
  • BitGo
  • Coda
  • Karat
  • FourKites
  • Dremio
  • Icertis
  • Fiddler AI
  • SingleStore
  • mParticle
  • OpenLattice
  • Jirav
  • Wrapbook
  • Level
  • Credo AI
  • DataVisor
  • FlixBus
  • Xembly
  • Stagwell
  • Chronosphere
  • Qualia
  • Auth0
  • Gogoro
  • Graft
  • Viome
  • Kasha
  • Divvy Homes
  • INRIX
  • Inflection.io
  • Turvo
  • ActionIQ
  • Virta Health
  • Dig Security
  • Collective Health
  • TerraPower
  • Step
  • Oculus
  • Island
  • Droom
  • ThoughtSpot
  • Truveta
  • Mashgin
  • NextRoll
  • Flipboard
  • AvantStay
  • FrontRow
  • Glowforge
  • Ketch
  • Ambient.ai
  • Click Therapeutics
  • Zillow
  • Rubrik
  • Emotibot Technologies
  • ThredUp
  • Dada Group
  • Kueski
  • Bear Robotics
  • Luma Health
  • Porch Group
  • Hyperproof
  • Paga
  • Flexe
  • Insurate
  • Clobotics
  • Apiiro
  • Rainbow
  • Spectrum Labs
  • Incorta
  • Yodo1
  • Kula
  • Mighty Networks
  • Quidd
  • Upbound
  • SentinelOne
  • Symphony Communication Services
  • Personalis
  • The Trade Desk
  • Axis Security
  • Kojo
  • Finmark
  • Instabug
  • Nabis
  • 98point6
  • Anomalo
  • Radar
  • Mattermost
  • Code.org
  • Upstream Security
  • Gable
  • Beewise
  • Flipp
  • Archblock
  • FitOn
  • Kasisto
  • ReversingLabs
  • Blues Wireless
  • Vapor IO
  • Shelf Engine
  • Xembly
  • Lenskart
  • Noom

Trifo

Founder: Zhe Zhang
Microsoft
Role: SDE II
Capital
Raised: $41.5M
Investors
: Samsung Ventures
Stage
: Series C

Trifo is an AI home robot company that helps people live better by doing work around the home.

Zhe’s journey unfolded from college passion to a Ph.D. in Robotics, Microsoft and Magic Leap adventures.

Horizon Robotics

Founder: Kai Yu
Microsoft
Role: Summer Intern
Capital
Raised: $2.2B
Investors
: Sequoia Capital
Stage
: Series C

Horizon Robotics provides energy-efficient computing solutions for smart vehicles.

Dr. Kai Yu, CEO of Horizon Robotics, is an influential figure in intelligent systems.

Typeface

Founder: Abhay Parasnis
Microsoft
Role: General Manager, Microsoft Azure
Capital
Raised: $165M
Investors
: Menlo Ventures
Stage
: Series B

Typeface offers a generative AI application that provides streamlined and personalized content creation for enterprises.

Abhay, CEO at Typeface.ai, drives AI content creation. Board roles at Dropbox & Schneider Electric. Former EVP, CTO at Adobe, known for innovation, 2 books, 35+ patents.

Adept AI

Founder: David Luan
Microsoft
Role: PM
Capital
Raised: $415M
Investors
: General Catalyst
Stage
: Series B

Adept AI is a machine learning research and product lab that builds general artificial intelligence.

UiPath

Founder: Daniel Dines
Microsoft
Role: SDE
Capital
Raised: $2B
Investors
: Sequoia Capital
Stage
: Public

UiPath is a software company developing robotic process automation and artificial intelligence software.

Daniel, the founder of UiPath is a skilled developer, owned SQL Agent in SQL Server 2005 launch. He orchestrated vital feature integration, sparking notable security, scalability, and performance enhancements lauded by customers.

Zenoti

Founder: Dheeraj Koneru, Anand Arvind, Sudheer Koneru
Microsoft
Role: Group Program Manager, Software Design Engineer, Director/Product Unit Manager
Capital
Raised: $331M
Investors
: Norwest Venture Partners
Stage
: Series D

Zenoti is a provider of cloud-based software for the spa and salon industries.

Mode Analytics

Founder: Benn Stancil, Derek Steer
Microsoft
Role: Analytics, Principal Product Intelligence Manager, Yammer
Capital
Raised: $81M
Investors
: Foundation Capital
Stage
: Series D

Mode Analytics is a developer of a collaborative analytics platform used to make data-informed decisions.

Osano

Founder: Scott Hertel
Microsoft
Role: Technical Architect
Capital
Raised: $19.4M ]Investors
Investors
: Next Coast Ventures
Stage
: Series A

Osano is a provider of a data privacy compliance suite that aids businesses in complying with privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA.

Scott Hertel, founding CTO of Osano, boasts 20+ years of expertise in tech leadership. A strategic mind in enterprise systems, big data, and more, he's skilled in team management, scaling solutions, and crafting software tools that create value.

Dialpad

Founder: John Rector
Microsoft
Role: Software Engineer
Capital
Raised: $450M
Investors
: Felicis Ventures
Stage
: Series F

Dialpad is an AI-powered cloud communications platform that turns conversations into opportunities and helps teams make smart calls.

The founder of Dialpad - John Rector, an engineer at Warp, excels in backend management. With a focus on operations, he's dedicated to fostering talent density and team culture for scaled success, all while enabling top-notch software development.

Airbnb

Founder: Nathan Blecharczyk
Microsoft
Role: Intern Program Manager for Visual Basic .NET
Capital
Raised: $6.4B
Investors
: Sequoia Capital
Stage
: Public

The one and only Airbnb!

Glassdoor

Founder: Rich Barton, Robert Hohman
Microsoft
Role: General Manager, Development Manager
Capital
Raised: $204.5M
Investors
: Battery Ventures
Stage
: Series H

Glassdoor is a job and recruiting site that operates online jobs and career community.

Highspot

Founder: David Wortendyke, Oliver Sharp, Robert Wahbe, Scott Gellock
Microsoft
Role: Partner Architect, Windows Azure, GM of Strategy, Server and Tools Division, Corporate Vice President, Product Unit Manager
Capital
Raised: $644.9M
Investors
: Sapphire Venture
Stage: Series F

Highspot is a sales enablement platform that helps companies worldwide improve the performance of their sales teams.

Fireflies.ai

Founder: Krish Ramineni
Microsoft
Role: Product Management
Capital
Raised: $19M
Investors
: Canaan Partners
Stage
: Series A

Fireflies.ai was founded in 2016 by Krish Ramineni and Sam Udotong and is based in San Francisco, it works across all the major video-conferencing platforms including Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, etc. Search your meetings and have your meeting data automatically populated inside apps like Salesforce, Slack, and Dropbox.

Stack Overflow

Founder: Joel Spolsky
Microsoft
Role: Program Manager
Capital Raised
: $153M
Investors
: Spark Capital
Stage
: Series E

Stack Overflow is a platform for developers and programmers to share knowledge and solve coding challenges.

Rover

Founder: Aaron Easterly
Microsoft
Role: General Manager, Advertising Strategy and Monetization
Capital
Raised: $360.9M
Investors
: Spark Capital
Stage
: Public

Rover unites pet owners with reliable pet sitters and dog walkers.

BitGo

Founders: Ben Davenport, Mike Belshe
Microsoft
Role: Software Engineers
Capital
Raised: $69.5M
Investors
: Redpoint
Stage
: Series B

BitGo is an institutional digital asset financial services company that provides clients with security, custody, and liquidity solutions. It was founded to solve the secure storage problem for companies using Bitcoin. BitGo now supports a broad set of crypto assets, and handles over $10 billion in monthly transaction volume.

Lenskart

Founder: Peyush Bansal
Microsoft Role: Program Manager
Capital Raised: $1.6B
Investors: Chrys Capital
Stage: Series I

Lenskart, established in 2010, strives to revolutionize vision correction. In a world where 2.4 billion lack proper correction, including 530 million Indians, Lenskart's mission is to provide eyewear experiences for all.

Noom

Founder: Artem Petakov
Microsoft Role: Software Engineering Intern
Capital Raised: $658.9M
Investors: Sequoia Capital
Stage: Series F

Noom is a psychology-based digital health platform used to provide intelligent nutrition and exercise coaching.

Artem Petakov's lifelong fascination lies in merging technology and psychology. Passionate about influencing widespread, advantageous choices, he finds joy in enhancing long-term wellness.

Coda

Founder: Alex DeNeui, Shishir Mehrotra
Microsoft
Role: Program Manager, SQL Server Strategy Team, Director of Program Management
Capital
Raised: $240M
Investors
: General Catalyst
Stage
: Series D

Coda is a document collaboration platform that brings data and teams together.

Karat

Founder: Mohit Bhende
Microsoft
Role: Senior Director, XBOX
Capital
Raised: $169.1M
Investors
: Norwest Venture Partner
Stage: Series C

Karat develops an interviewing cloud platform to solve the shortage of software engineers.

Co-founder Mohit Bhende's Karat tackles engineer scarcity via its Interviewing Cloud.

FourKites

Founder: Arun Chandrasekaran
Microsoft
Role: Consultant
Capital
Raised: $241.5M
Investors
: Bain Capital Ventures
Stage
: Series D

FourKites is a supply chain visibility platform designed for transportation into yards, warehouses, and stores.

Dremio

Founder: Tomer Shiran
Microsoft
Role: Product Management
Capital Raised
: $410M
Investors
: Norwest Venture Partners
Stage
: Series E

Dremio Arctic makes it easier for data teams to provide improved governance, data quality, and query performance.

Icertis

Founder: Samir Bodas
Microsoft
Role: Various Positions; Last Position Held: Director
Capital Raised
: $441M
Investors
: Greycroft
Stage
: Series F

Icertis is an AI-powered contract management platform that ensures compliance and minimizes risk.

Fiddler AI

Founder: Amit Paka, Krishna Gade
Microsoft
Role: Senior PM & Technical Lead, Software Engineer
Capital
Raised: $45.2M
Investors
: Bloomberg Beta
Stage
: Series

Fiddler is a pioneer in enterprise Model Performance Management.

SingleStore

Founder: Adam Prout, Nikita Shamgunov
Microsoft
Role: Software Engineer, Senior Software Development Engineer
Capital Raised
: $464.1M
Investors
: First Round Capital
Stage
: Series F

SingleStore is a provider of a database for operational analytics and cloud-native applications.

mParticle

Founder: Dave Myers
Microsoft Role:
Enterprise Services Engagement Manager
Capital Raised:
$272M
Investors
: FJ Labs
Stage
: Series E

MParticle is a customer data platform for multi channel consumer brands.

Dave Myers, the founder of mParticle, thrives on solving complex, large-scale problems, championing inclusivity. With a 20+ year career, he's a seasoned C-suite executive, expert in growth, operations, and disruptive solutions.

Jirav

Founder: Martin Zych, Sameer Halai
Microsoft Role:
Financial/Business Strategy Analyst, Product Manager - Microsoft Research
Capital Raised:
$32.3M
Investors:
Cota Capital
Stage
: Series B

Jirav provides an FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis) as a Service utilizing a dynamic toolset that connects model and operational data resulting in the ability to Plan and Report on Revenue, Headcount, and Expenses quickly & accurately.

Wrapbook

Founder: Naysawn Naji
Microsoft Role:
Program Manager II
Capital Raised:
$130.6M
Investors
: Tiger Global
Stage
: Series B

Wrapbook provides digital profiles that facilitate onboarding, paying and insuring project workforces compliantly.

Credo AI

Founder: Navrina Singh
Microsoft
Role: Director Product Management| Microsoft Cloud & AI
Capital Raised:
$18.3M
Investors
: Village Global
Stage
: Series A

Credo AI empowers responsible AI adoption. Their AI governance platform automates oversight, risk management, and regulatory compliance, aligning with global standards.

DataVisor

Founder: Fang Yu, Yinglian Xie
Microsoft Role:
Senior Researcher
Capital Raised:
$94.5M
Investors
: Sequoia China
Stage
: Series C

DataVisor is a fraud and financial crime detection service utilizing unsupervised machine learning to identify attack campaigns before they conduct any damage. DataVisor protects some of the large organizations in the world from attacks such as account takeovers, fake account creation, money laundering, fake social posts, fraudulent transactions, and more.

FlixBus

Founder: Daniel Krauss
Microsoft
Role: Technical Account Manager
Capital
Raised: $1.2B
Investors
: TCV
Stage
: Series G

FlixBus is a unique combination of tech-startup, e-commerce platform, and transportation company.

Xembly

Founder: Jason Flaks, Ziad Ismail
Microsoft Role:
Senior Program Manager Lead, Director of Product Management
Capital Raised:
$15M
Investors
: Norwest Venture Partners
Stage
: Series A

Xembly is an AI chief of staff, an all-in-one assistant that helps users reach their productivity potential at work.

Jason Flaks, with 20+ years of expertise, crafts advanced AI, ML, VR, AR, and more. As a Microsoft Xbox Kinect and HoloLens founding member, he's known for pioneering open microphone speech recognition. Boasting 40+ patents, he excels in conversational AI and holds an MS degree from the University of Miami.

Stagwell

Founder: Mark Penn
Microsoft Role:
EVP and Chief Strategy Officer
Capital Raised:
$108M
Stage
: Public

Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing.

Chronosphere

Founder: Martin Mao, Rob Skillington
Microsoft Role:
Software Development Engineer, Engineer Office 365 Directory Platform
Capital Raised:
$342.5M
Investors:
Founders Fund
Stage:
Series C

Chronosphere stands out as the sole observability platform tailored to navigate the cloud-native landscape's pace and intricacies. By aiding DevOps in mitigating issues, it safeguards customer experiences and profits.

Qualia

Founder: Reza Qorbani
Microsoft Role:
Software Architecture Consultant
Capital Raised:
$17.4M
Investors:
CRV
Stage
: Series B

Qualia is delivering high quality, transparent, audience intelligence.

The founder, Reza Qorbani, excels in aligning technology with business solutions. Over a decade as CTO and Tech Advisor, he's led agile teams and built enterprise-grade advertising platforms for Fortune 500 clients. With expertise in architecting large-scale projects like real-time bidding systems and Big Data processes, he drives scale and efficiency while reducing operational costs.

Auth0

Founder: Eugenio Pace
Microsoft Role:
Principal Lead Program Manager
Capital Raised:
$332.3M
Investors:
Bessemer Venture Partners
Stage:
Series F

Auth0 is a cloud identity management SAAS application for the web, mobile, IoT, and internal software.

Gogoro

Founder: Horace Luke, Matt Taylor
Microsoft Role:
Creative Director, Director of Hardware, Microsoft Mobility Group
Capital Raised
: $1.1B
Investors
:Samuel Yin
Stage
: Public

Gogoro is a provider of electric scooters and a battery swapping system for urban electric two-wheel scooters and motorcycles.

Viome

Founder: Naveen Jain
Microsoft Role:
Group Manager, MSN
Capital Raised:
$169.5M
Investors
: Khosla Ventures
Stage
: Series C

Viome is a provider of comprehensive health insights designed to help people track their microbiome health, mitochondrial health, cellular health, and biological age.

The company's insights help users to make suitable lifestyle and nutrition choices for them, enabling users to assess their internal eco-system with simple personalized recommendations.

Kasha

Founder: Christoph Bichsel
Microsoft Role:
Program Manager II, Senior Manager of Anti-Malware Developer Services
Capital Raised:
$28M
Investors
: Mastercard
Stage
: Series B

Kasha, an innovative e-commerce platform in East Africa, focuses on women's health and personal care products. Serving urban and rural areas, it offers a diverse range of health-promoting products. From maternal health to family planning, Kasha addresses various stages of life and health needs, including menstrual hygiene, sexual health, and disease prevention

Divvy Homes

Founder: Brian Ma, Nicholas Clark
Microsoft Role
: Program Manager, Senior SDE
Capital Raised:
$1.2B
Investors
: GGV Capital
Stage
: Series D

Divvy Homes is a tech-enabled real estate platform that facilitates rent-to-own home purchases.

Brian Ma, founder Divvy Homes, is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and founder.

INRIX

Founders: Bryan Mistele, Craig Chapman
Microsoft Role:
General Manager, Development Manager
Capital Raised:
$194.1M
Investors:
Bain Capital Ventures
Stage:
Series F

INRIX enables cities, people, and businesses with mobility insights by transforming big data from connected devices and vehicles.

Turvo

Founder: Eric Gilmore
Microsoft
Role: Group Product Manager Bing
Capital
Raised: $91.6M
Investors
: Felicis Ventures
Stage
: Series B

Turvo is a real-time collaborative logistics platform that connects anyone, anywhere to move things.

ActionIQ

Founder: Nitay Joffe
Microsoft
Role: Software Engineer - Bing Powerset Search
Capital
Raised: $144.7M
Investors
: Sequoia Capital
Stage
: Series C

ActionIQ is a purpose-built enterprise customer data platform solving complex data problems: flow and scale, analytics, and orchestration.

Virta Health

Founder: Sami Inkinen
Microsoft
Role: Business Development Manager
Capital
Raised: $373M
Investors
: Venrock
Stage
: Series E

Virta delivers a clinically-proven treatment to reverse type 2 diabetes and other chronic metabolic diseases.

Dig Security

Founder: Dan Benjamin
Microsoft Role:
Cloud Security Product Strategy and M&A
Capital Raised
: $45M
Investors
: Felicis
Stage
: Series A

Dig Security is a cloud data security startup that provides real-time visibility, control, and protection of data assets.

Collective Health

Founder: Ali Diab
Microsoft Role
: Product Manager
Capital Raised:
$719M
Investors
: Founders Fund
Stage
: Series F

Collective Health is a company providing an alternative to traditional health insurance.

TerraPower

Founder: Bill Gates, Edward Jung
Microsoft Role:
Co-founder, Chief Architect
Capital Raised:
$758.6M
Investors:
CRV
Stage
: Series A

TerraPower focuses on developing a sustainable and economic nuclear energy system while reducing proliferation risks.

Step

Founder: Alexey Kalinichenko
Microsoft Role:
Software Design Engineer
Capital Raised:
$491.3M
Investors:
General Catalyst
Stage
: Series C

Step is a financial services company that builds mobile-based banking for teenagers.

Oculus

Founder: Jack J. McCauley
Microsoft Role:
Engineer
Capital Raised:
$98.4M
Investors:
Spark Capital
Stage
: Series B

Oculus develops virtual reality platforms and products, including Rift, that let people experience anything, with anyone.

Island

Founder: Dan Amiga
Microsoft Role:
Senior Consultant, Solution Architect
Capital Raised:
$285M
Investors:
Sequoia Capital
Stage
: Series B

Island, the Enterprise Browser, combines seamless work and security. Offering control, visibility, and governance, it redefines work with a familiar Chromium-based browser experience.

Droom

Founder: Sandeep Aggarwal
Microsoft Role:
Sr Manager
Capital
Raised: $333M
Investors
: Integrated Capital
Stage
: Series F

Droom, India's top tech-driven auto marketplace, revolutionizes vehicle buying and selling.

ThoughtSpot

Founders: Amit Prakash, Sanjay Agrawal
Microsoft Role
: Software Engineer, Principal Research Software Design Engineer/ Lead
Capital Raised:
$663.7M
Investors
: General Catalyst
Stage
: Series F

ThoughtSpot is a business intelligence platform that helps anyone explore, analyze, and share real-time business analytics data.

Truveta

Founder: Terry Myerson
Microsoft
Role: Executive Vice President
Capital Raised:
$195M
Investors
: Microsoft
Stage
: Series A

Truveta is a healthcare data platform collaboration with physicians, life science researchers, and others in the healthcare community.

Mashgin

Founder: Abhinai Srivastava
Microsoft Role
: Researcher
Capital Raised
: $73.7M
Investors
: Y Combinator
Stage
: Series B

Mashgin's A.I. based self-checkout system can be deployed in a matter of minutes and at the fraction of the cost of Amazon Go.

NextRoll

Founder: Aaron Bell
Microsoft Role:
Software Development Engineer
Capital Raised:
$158.6M
Investors
: Foundation Capital
Stage
: Series C

NextRoll is a marketing technology company that employs machine learning to provide businesses with strategic ways to reach buyers.

Flipboard

Founder: Mike McCue
Microsoft Role:
General Manager
Capital Raised:
$235.5M
Investors:
GGV Capital
Stage
: Series D

Flipboard develops a mobile social magazine platform that curates and shares news articles from diverse sources. Users can personalize their magazine, aggregating content based on interests, and share it via social media. It's a way to catch up on news, read global stories, and explore articles, videos, and photos shared by friends.

AvantStay

Founder: Reuben Doetsch
Microsoft Role:
Program Manager Intern
Capital Raised:
$686M
Investors:
3L Capital
Stage
: Series B

AvantStay stands as a pioneering hospitality platform, reshaping travel, transactions, and investments. It tailors curated experiences using proprietary tech, covering bookings, operations, and consumer engagement.

FrontRow

Founder: Arshdeep Singh Gulati
Microsoft Role:
Software Engineer
Capital Raised:
$17.1M
Investors:
GSV Ventures
Stage
: Series A

FrontRow is an online learning platform for creative arts, hobbies and sports.

Glowforge

Founder: Dan Shapiro
Microsoft Role
: Lead Program Manager
Capital Raised:
$133.2M
Investors:
Foundry Group
Stage
: Series E

Glowforge is a manufacturer of 3D laser printers intended to offer printing services on a wide range of materials and many more.

Ketch

Founders: Seth Yates, Tom Chavez, Vivek Vaidya
Microsoft Role:
Senior Software Engineer, General Manager, Online Publisher Businesses, Group Program Manager
Capital Raised:
$43M
Investors:
CRV
Stage
: Series A

Ketch is a data control platform that manages compliance with privacy regulations.

Ambient.ai

Founder: Vikesh Khanna
Microsoft
Role: Software Development Engineer (SDE)
Capital Raised:
$52.1M
Investors:
Y Combinator
Stage
: Series A

Ambient.ai integrates computer vision intelligence and camera infrastructure to sensor and prevent security incidents.

Click Therapeutics

Founder: Wei Kiddy Zhou
Microsoft Role:
User Experience Designer
Capital Raised
: $926.4M
Investors:
Silicon Valley Bank
Stage
: Series B

Click Therapeutics offers software-based medical treatments for unmet needs, using cognitive methods and data personalization.

Zillow

Founder: Rich Barton, Lloyd Frink
Microsoft Role:
General Manager, Group Program Manager
Capital Raised:
$96.6M
Investors:
Benchmark Capital
Stage:
Public

Zillow is an online real estate marketplace for finding and sharing information about homes, real estate, and mortgages.

Rubrik

Founder: Arvind Jain
Microsoft Role:
Software Engineer
Capital Raised:
$554.3M
Investors:
Greylock
Stage:
Series E

Rubrik offers live data access for recovery and application development by fusing enterprise data management with web-scale IT.

Emotibot Technologies

Founder: Kenny Chien
Microsoft Role:
Partner Engineering Director
Capital Raised:
$88.4M
Investors:
V Fund Management
Stage
: Series D

Emotibot Technologies designs and develops emotional intelligence systems for robots.

ThredUp

Founder: Chris Homer
Microsoft Role:
Midmarket Solution Advisor
Capital Raised:
$304.1M
Investors:
Upfront Ventures
Stage:
Series F

ThredUp is a fashion resale marketplace that enables individuals to buy and sell clothing for women and children.

Dada Group

Founder: Jun Yang
Microsoft Role
: Intern
Capital Raised:
$1.3B
Investors:
Sequoia Capital
Stage
: Public

Dada Group is a leading platform of local on-demand retail and delivery in China.

Kueski

Founder: Leonardo de la Cerda
Microsoft Role:
Software Developer Engineer
Capital Raised:
$323.3M
Investors
: Altos Ventures
Stage
: Series C

Kueski is one of the largest buy now, pay later online consumer lending companies in Mexico.

Bear Robotics

Founder: Fangwei Li
Microsoft Role:
Software Engineer
Capital Raised:
$115.8M
Investors:
IMM
Stage:
Series B

Bear Robotics develops self-driving robots that use artificial intelligence to serve food in restaurants.

Luma Health

Founder: Aditya Bansod
Microsoft Role:
Lead Program Manager & Program Manager
Capital Raised:
$159.1M
Investors:
FTV Capital
Stage: Series C

Luma Health offers patient access, revenue cycle management, and patient relationship management.

Porch Group

Founder: Scott Austin
Microsoft Role:
Director of Digitally Distributed Games
Capital Raised:
$648.8M
Investors
: Founders Fund
Stage
: Public

Porch Group is a vertical software platform for residential environments.

Hyperproof

Founder: Craig Unger
Microsoft Role
: General Manager, Dynamics CRM
Capital Raised:
$22.3M
Investors:
Toba Capital
Stage
: Series A

Hyperproof is a cloud-based compliance operations software that collects evidence automatically and manages a compliance program.

Paga

Founder: Jay Alabraba
Microsoft Role:
Program Manager
Capital Raised:
$36.7M
Investors:
Tim Draper
Stage
: Series C

Paga is a mobile payment company building an ecosystem to enable people to digitally send and receive money, creating simple financial access.

Jay Alabraba is a seasoned startup founder with diverse experience in technology, pharma, and finance.

Flexe

Founder: Edmond Yue, Francis Duong, Karl Siebrecht
Microsoft Role:
Software Design Engineer, Program Manager - Xbox, General Manager
Capital Raised:
$263M
Investors:
Tiger Global
Stage
: Series D

Flexe delivers omnichannel logistics programs for eCommerce fulfillment, retail distribution, same-day delivery, and network capacity.

Clobotics

Founder: Yan Ke, Claire Chen, George Yan
Microsoft Role:
Principal Software Development Manager, Director of Business Operations, General Manager, Marketing & Operations GCR
Capital Raised:
$63M
Investors:
GGV Capital
Stage:
Series B

Clobotics provides intelligent computer vision solutions for the retail and wind power sectors.

Apiiro

Founder: Idan Plotnik, Yonatan Eldar
Microsoft Role:
Director, Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics, Azure ATP, Principal Software Engineering Manager
Capital Raised:
$135M
Investors:
General Catalyst
Stage:
Series B

Apiiro enables security and development teams to proactively remediate risk before releasing to the cloud.

Rainbow

Founder: Christian Baroni
Microsoft Role:
Product Designer
Capital Raised:
$19.5M
Investors:
Y Combinator
Stage
: Series A

Rainbow is a mobile app of Ethereum wallet for managing your assets.

Spectrum Labs

Founder: Justin Davis
Microsoft Role:
Solutions Architect
Capital
Raised: $45M
Investors
: Greycroft
Stage
: Series B

Spectrum Labs is a technology company that pioneers AI solutions for consumer brands. Mastering UGC and GenAI, they enhance measurement, activation, and moderation, capitalizing on the evolving Internet language. Positioned at the forefront, Spectrum Labs captures economic potential in the metaverse and AI-driven experiences.

Incorta

Founder: Matthew Halliday
Microsoft Role:
Senior Program Manager
Capital Raised
: $192.6M
Investors:
Google Ventures
Stage
: Series D

Incorta is the data and analytics platform built for finance and accounting.

Yodo1

Founder: James LaLonde, Henry Fong
Microsoft Role:
Senior Manager, Consultant
Capital Raised:
$18M
Investors:
GGV Capital
Stage
: Series B

Yodo1 is a game platform company that helps developers better market, manage, and monetize their games.

Kula

Founder: Achuthanand Ravi
Microsoft Role:
Software Engineer
Capital Raised
: $14.7M
Investors
: Global Founders Capital
Stage
: Seed

Kula is a recruitment automation platform built to enable hyper-growth companies to build massive talent pipelines on autopilot.

Mighty Networks

Founder: Matteo Melani, Tim Herby
Microsoft Role:
Developer Manager, Principal Lead Software Development Engineer
Capital Raised:
$66M
Investors
: Floodgate
Stage
: Series B

Mighty Networks empowers creators to build comprehensive communities. Their all-in-one SaaS platform offers community, content, courses, and commerce under the creator's brand, uniting members across platforms for shared value and growth.

Quidd

Founder: Michael Bramlage
Microsoft Role
: Lead Product Manager  
Capital Raised
: $19.8M
Investors
: Sequoia Capital
Stage
: Series A

Quidd is the marketplace for buying and selling digital collectibles.

Upbound

Founder: Bassam Tabbara
Microsoft Role:
Partner Architect
Capital Raised:
$69M
Investors
: Google Ventures
Stage
: Series B

Upbound is an infrastructure management platform that runs, scales, and optimizes services across multiple cloud environments.

SentinelOne

Founder: Ehud Shamir
Microsoft Role:
Senior Software Security Developer
Capital Raised:
$696.5M
Investors:
Sequoia Capital
Stage
: Public

SentinelOne is an autonomous cybersecurity solution company.

Symphony Communication Services

Founder: David Gurle
Microsoft Role:
Director of Program Management Real Time Collaboration & Communication Team
Capital Raised:
$511M
Investors
: Goldman Sachs
Stage
: Series E

Symphony Communication Services offers a secure collaboration platform. This single workflow application transforms communication, boosting productivity and ensuring data security and compliance.

Personalis

Founder: Atul Butte
Microsoft
Role: Summer Software Engineer
Capital
Raised: $225.1M
Investors
: Lightspeed Venture Partners
Stage
: Public

Personalis is a contract research organization and genome-scale diagnostics services company specializing in genome guided medicine.

The Trade Desk

Founder: Dave Pickles, Jeff Green
Microsoft
Role: Development Lead, COO of Ad Exchange
Capital
Raised: $257.5M
Investors
: IA Ventures
Stage
: Public

The Trade Desk empowers ad buyers with a self-service platform. Through data-driven campaigns, buyers manage diverse advertising formats across devices, fostering display, video, and social engagement.

Axis Security

Founder: Dan Amiga
Microsoft
Role: Senior Consultant, Solution Architect
Capital
Raised: $99.5M
Investors
: Canaan Partners
Stage
: Series C

Axis Security is a cloud security company that makes it simple to secure access to business resources.

Kojo

Founder: Ryan Gibson
Microsoft
Role: Engineer - HoloLens
Capital
Raised: $83.6M
Investors
: Battery Ventures
Stage
: Series C

Kojo revolutionizes construction procurement. Contractors optimize margins by streamlining procurement through an integrated digital platform, connecting teams and vendors. Real-time insights, cost savings, and waste reduction empower contractors.

Instabug

Founder: Moataz Soliman
Microsoft
Role: Software Developer Engineer in Test
Capital
Raised: $53.1M
Investors
: Accel Partners
Stage
: Series B

Instabug is a computer software company that offers services for mobile app developers to help them in testing their applications.

Nabis

Founder: Vince C. Ning
Microsoft
Role: Software Engineer
Capital
Raised: $50M
Investors
: FJ Labs

Nabis is a licensed cannabis wholesale marketplace that distributes cannabis products to retailers. It provides a lightning-fast distribution, sales, marketing, financing, and data analytics services. The company's technology coordinates the entire cannabis distribution lifecycle from production to delivery.

98point6

Founder: Robbie Cape
Microsoft
Role: Product Unit Manager / General Manager
Capital
Raised: $299.3M
Investors
: Activant Capital
Stage
: Series E

98point6 is a digital care service that delivers personalized consultation, diagnosis, and treatment to patients. The company combines deep technology with the expertise of board-certified physicians to provide text-based care anytime, anywhere.

Anomalo

Founder: Elliot Shmukler
Microsoft
Role: Software Design Engineer
Capital
Raised: $39M
Investors
: Foundation Capital
Stage
: Series A

Anomalo allows users to continuously inspect and validate the data coming into their warehouses.

Elliot Shmukler, Anomalo's co-founder and CEO, boasts 20+ years in Internet Consumer Software products. Expert in product strategy, growth, and data-driven optimization, he excels in tackling challenges across backend and consumer realms.

Radar

Founder: Nick Patrick
Microsoft
Role: Program Manager
Capital
Raised: $85.5M
Investors
: Accel Partners
Stage
: Series C

Radar is a location data infrastructure platform that helps growth and product teams to build location-aware app experiences.

Mattermost

Founder: Corey Hulen, Ian Tien
Microsoft
Role: Senior Development Lead and Architect, Senior Product Manager
Capital
Raised: $70M
Investors
: Y Combinator
Stage
: Series B

Mattermost is an open-source platform for secure collaboration across the entire software development lifecycle.

Code.org

Founder: Ali Partovi, Hadi Partovi
Microsoft
Role: Lead PM, General Manager
Capital
Raised: $57.9M
Investors
: Google
Stage
: Grant

Code is a non-profit foundation focusing on developing computer programming education in the U.S.

Upstream Security

Founder: Yonatan Appel
Microsoft
Role: Senior Development Lead
Capital
Raised: $105M
Investors
: CRV
Stage
: Series C

Upstream Security offers a cloud-based platform for connected vehicles, focused on automotive cybersecurity detection and data-driven applications.

Gable

Founder: Liza Mash Levin, Omri Haviv
Microsoft
Role: Senior PM Manager, Senior Software Engineering Manager
Capital
Raised: $16.3M
Investors
: Foundation Capita
Stage: Series A

Gable connects companies and their employees to flexible, scalable, and cost-effective hybrid offices.

Beewise

Founder: Saar Safra
Microsoft
Role: Director
Capital
Raised: $118.7M
Investors
: Insight Venture Partners
Stage
: Series C

Beewise offers robotic beehives that utilizes AI-powered precision robotics with minimal human intervention.

Flipp

Founder: Matthew Cheung
Microsoft
Role: Program Manager
Capital
Raised: $62M
Investors
: Insight Venture Partners
Stage
: Series A

Flipp, founded by former Microsoft engineer Matthew in 2007, envisions an interconnected retail future.

Archblock

Founder: Tory Reiss
Microsoft
Role: Enterprise Sales Lead - Windows Mobility
Capital
Raised: $34.2M
Investors
: GGV Capital
Stage
: ICO

Archblock bridges institutional capital to DeFi’s modern financial infrastructure.

FitOn

Founder: Lindsay Cook, Russell Cook
Microsoft
Role: Campaigns Manager / Product Manager, Technical Product Manager
Capital
Raised: $70M
Investors
: Accel Partners
Stage
: Series C

FitOn, a digital wellness hub, propels health results for 12M+ consumers, employees, and health plan participants. Lindsay, FitOn's co-founder and CEO, leads the prime health & wellness platform.

Kasisto

Founder: Zor Gorelov
Microsoft
Role: Senior Consultant
Capital
Raised: $81.5M
Investors
: Two Sigma
Stage
: Series C

Kasisto's enables financial institutions to service, engage, and acquire customers.

ReversingLabs

Founder: Mario Vuksan
Microsoft
Role: Consulting Engineer/Program Manager
Capital
Raised: $81M
Investors
: JP Morgan Chase
Stage
: Series B

ReversingLabs delivers game changing threat detection and analysis solutions.

Blues Wireless

Founder: Ray Ozzie
Microsoft
Role: Chief Software Architect
Capital
Raised: $65M
Investors
: Sequoia Capital
Stage
: Series A

Blues Wireless is a communications equipment company that provides embedded cellular solutions.

Vapor IO

Founder: Andrew Cencini
Microsoft
Role: Program Manager
Capital
Raised: $90M
Investors
: Goldman Sachs
Stage
: Series C

Vapor IO develops and provides a nationwide network solution for the edge, combining edge exchange, edge colocation, and edge networking.

Shelf Engine

Founder: Bede Jordan
Microsoft
Role: Principal Software Engineering Lead, HoloLens
Capital Raised
: $58.2M
Investors
: General Catalyst
Stage
: Series B

Shelf Engine is a provider of an automated prediction engine that predicts the perfect amount of perishable goods to order.

Rising Stars

Level

Founder: David Edelstein
Microsoft Role: Group Product Manager
Capital
Raised: $11.7M
Investors
: Untapped Capital
Stage
: Seed

Level is building the Financial Operating System for microbusinesses.

David's journey started at McKinsey in Brazil, crafting mobile financial solutions. His path continued at Microsoft, pioneering embedded financial services and pre-paid computing. Over the years, he focused on mobile-first financial services, especially aiding micro- and small business growth.

Xembly

Founder: Jason Flaks, Ziad Ismail
Microsoft
Role: Senior Program Manager Lead/Senior Program Manager
Capital
Raised: $15M
Investors
: Norwest Venture Partners
Stage
: Series A

Xembly is an AI chief of staff, an all-in-one assistant that helps users reach their productivity potential at work.

SingleFile Technologies

Founder: Matt Woodward
Microsoft
Role: Software Design Engineer Lead
Capital
Raised: $8.6M
Investors
: Foundry Group
Stage
: Seed

SingleFile Technologies automates secretary of state filings with our cloud based, filing platform using AI technology.

OpenLattice

Founder: Matthew Tamayo
Microsoft Role
: Program Manager
Capital Raised:
$7.6M
Investors
: Basis Set Ventures
Stage
: Series A

OpenLattice supports public servants in making more informed decisions using integrated data.

Finmark

Founder: Greg Lissy
Microsoft
Role: Director, Channel Strategy
Capital
Raised: $11.6M
Investors
: Bessemer Venture Partners
Stage
: Seed

Finmark streamlines startup financial planning. User-friendly interface simplifies tracking and sharing complex metrics. Founded in 2020.

Inflection.io

Founder: Aaron Bird, Dave Rigotti
Microsoft Role:
Product in Bing & Azure, Product Marketing Manager - Bing Ads
Capital Raised:
$6.3M
Investors:
MHS Capital
Stage:
Seed

Inflection.io is a venture-backed product company that builds marketing technology to power product-led growth.

Graft

Founders: Eric Schkufza, Irina Calciu
Microsoft Role:
Research Interns
Capital Raised:
$14.5M
Investors:
Google Ventures
Stage
: Seed

Graft is a modern AI platform enabling data teams to build production-ready AI solutions in a few clicks. No machine learning skills, no need to hire a team, and no infrastructure to build or maintain.

Spot

Founder: Gordon Hempton
Microsoft Role:
Software Development Engineer
Capital Raised:
$7.2M
Investors
: Freestyle Capital
Stage
: Seed

Spot is the virtual hub for the organization– bringing the spirit and utility of being in the same physical office to a digital experience.

Insurate

Founder: Hossein Mousavi
Microsoft Role:
Product Manager
Capital Raised:
$4.5M
Investors:
Foundation Capital
Stage:
Seed

Insurate is revolutionizing work comp with data science. Accurate risk assessment, attractive premiums, and focus on challenging codes boost agent success.

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