Microsoft Ventures opens doors to later stage startups in India, takes 16 teams into accelerator

As Microsoft Ventures kicks off its Accelerator Program 2014 in India, the company is all geared up to focus and groom later-stage startups.

Unlike previous years, where the program – now taking in its fourth ever batch – was only looking at fresh tech startups, the newly launched Accelerator Plus Program is certainly a boon for startups that have already moved to the next level.

The next level is a stage where startups are actually serving some customers in the market and are seeing some traction. However, they might be faced with other challenges in the market, like sustaining their business, retaining customers, and gradually expanding their client-base and offerings.

The 2014 summer batch is made up of 16 startups:

Appointy – This is an online appointments platform for businesses.

App Virality – As the name suggests, this is a set of tools to help developers make their app more popular.

Bookpad – An online document storing, editing, and embedding service.

Boutline – This promises to be a way to get an event audience to perform social tasks that promote a brand.

Imly – A marketplace for home cooks to connect with hungry locals.

InstaSafe – Remote cloud access to work applications for businesses.

IntouchApp – Online contacts syncing and back-up.

Metaome – Big data for businesses.

Sliderule – An online learning hub.

6 mature startups