Announcing the new set of initiatives, Ravi Narayan, Director, Microsoft Ventures in India, said: “With Think Next, we are looking to foster talks and open serious discussions on how key players in the startup ecosystem can contribute to its growth. The lack of meaningful M&A’s has been a major deterrent to the growth of software product startups in India. In iSPIRT we found a likeminded partner who was equally passionate about resolving this, and hence we decided to work together. There are many more issues plaguing the Indian startup ecosystem, which are emerging through discussions with our industry partners. We have just launched our Think Next (https://www.microsoftventures.com/thinknext/india) website, where we will continue to publish our learnings, relevant reports and action items. We strongly urge everyone to contribute towards Think Next by sharing their feedback and thoughts on our forum.”

 Sharing his excitement at partnering with Microsoft Ventures, Sanat Rao, Partner, M&A, iSPIRT, said: “2014 has been a ‘blowout’ year for global technology M&A so far. However, it’s a different story for India’s software product industry.  While Indian product companies are investing in innovation, we need to help solve the discovery problem to ensure meaningful and successful exits. And that’s what we will focus on, in association with Microsoft Ventures.”

READ MORE: World's 10 Most Valuable Startups and Skills Academy Acquires A4e India