Microsoft Opens Startup Accelerator for IoT Home Automation

Microsoft (MSFT) is stamping its influence on the Internet of Things (IoT) with a new program focused on the suddenly hot home automation market, specifically a startup incubator for the development of sensor-equipped gadget technology.

The vendor disclosed the accelerator program, overseen by the Microsoft Ventures unit and conducted jointly with American Family Insurance, at its recent Global Startup Day in San Francisco. It will be housed on Microsoft’s campus in Redmond and hit on two growing corners of the market—the smart home and the IoT. The program is slated to run from September to December of this year.

Recent developments such as Google’s (GOOG) Nest purchase, its Dropcam buy, and Apple’s new smart home platform announced at its Worldwide Developer’s Conference earlier this month have added fuel to both segments.

With Microsoft’s home market startup accelerator program, inclusion isn’t confined only to hardware companies, Rahul Sood, Microsoft Ventures general manager, told GeekWire. Microsoft also is urging software developers to apply. “I want to be really clear that this isn’t just a hardware accelerator,” he said.

Vendors accepted into the accelerator will be given mentorship and education on how to construct a company to compete globally. Involved businesses won’t be required to use Microsoft products and the vendor isn’t going to take a stake in the startups.

For its part, American Family Insurance is offering a $25,000 equity investment to startups seeking additional funding. Nascent companies will get a chance to test market their products with the insurance company’s customers and receive feedback.

Most of the startups Microsoft hosted on at the Global Startup Day event came from participants at earlier startup accelerators the vendor conducted in Bangalore, Beijing, Berlin, London, Paris and Tel Aviv, wrote Steve Guggenheimer, Microsoft Developer Experience & Evangelism corporate vice president and chief evangelist, in a blog post. The event marked Microsoft Ventures’ first startup accelerator inside the United States, he said.

“Looking beyond the current wave of mobile and social companies, we are on the verge of a new wave of innovative companies that will go far beyond phones, creating a new wave of smart devices,” wrote Guggenheimer. “With advances in sensor technology, cloud services and analytics tools, the homestead is the next frontier for startup innovation.”