4 ms·
While it might be more successful to have 8500 (fairly large) seed investments, Microsoft is not a venture capital firm. If one were an investor in MS, I'd wou
by imack 15y ago
While it might be more successful to have 8500 (fairly large) seed investments, Microsoft is not a venture capital firm. If one were an investor in MS, I'd would wonder why they were using my capital for other companies and why I shouldn't just invest in them myself?
Companies that have their own VC arms tend to be very focused on a vertical where synergy can exist (ie. Intel). For MS to make 8500 investments they'd have to spread their money so wide that there would be no focus in the portfolio.
Whereas with purchasing Skype, they can roll it into existing platforms and conceivable increase the value of it.
- puredemo 15y agoWhy would you mind if the ROI was better?
- thematt 15y agoThe authors argument was that it would be in the vein of Microsoft Research. The existing Microsoft Research works on very diversified research activities that don't necessarily integrate vertically in their existing product pipeline. Some of those activities get spun out into product teams, but many don't. I'll wager that the process of doing that research (even absent a formal product at the end) makes them better as a company.