Key takeaways
- Microsoft and ISRO have signed a memorandum of understanding to support space technology startups in India.
- The partnership aims to provide startups with technological tools, go-to-market support, and mentorship.
- Startups identified by ISRO will gain access to the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub platform.
- Microsoft's deep learning technology will enhance data analysis capabilities within India's space industry.
- In addition to technology services, startups will receive training in cloud computing, product design, and fundraising.
Today, Microsoft and ISRO signed an MoU for fuelling the growth of space technology startups in India by providing them with technology tools and platforms, go-to-market support, and mentoring them to be enterprise ready. ISRO-identified startups will be boarded onto the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub platform.
Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub allows free access to tech tools and resources to startups for running and building their businesses. This includes build and scaling on Microsoft Azure, GitHub Enterprise, Visual Studio Enterprise, along with smart analytics with Power BI and Dynamics 365.
Shri S Somanath, chairman of ISRO, said that Microsoft’s deep learning technology will enable India’s space industry to analyse and process vast amounts of data for various applications. The private spacetech industry has been on the rise, and this partnership will strengthen ISRO’s vision of bringing out the potential from space innovators and entrepreneurs in India.
In addition to the technology services, startups will also receive mentorship from Microsoft to use cloud computing, product and design, marketing, and fundraising along with access to Microsoft Learn, a platform tailored with startup-centric training content.
Read: Big Tech Loves Space, But Not Enough
Microsoft has been one of the biggest big-tech contributors in the space technology industry and have been partnering with NASA since the beginning of space exploration missions. In 2020, they also partnered with SpaceX for connecting them on their cloud computing network through the Starlink satellite.
Microsoft also launched their Azure Space Platform for providing cloud infrastructure for space companies and also democratised the space industry by offering infrastructure-as-a-service by releasing Azure Orbital Space SDK for testing, development, and deploying space hardware.
