Microsoft Ventures is investing SkyGiraffe, a startup whose technology lets companies make their real-time internal business data available to their workforce on secure mobile apps. The companies announced the deal this morning but didn’t disclose the size of the investment.
The investment comes as Microsoft itself tries to expand its mobile business and leverage its experience in enterprise technologies to gain ground on Apple and Google in the smartphone and tablet markets. SkyGiraffe’s technology, currently in private beta, works across Android, iOS and Windows-based devices.
It’s the first investment under the Microsoft Ventures program, which brought together existing Microsoft startup initiatives including the Bing Fund startup investment program. Microsoft had made a series of investments via the Bing Fund prior to the Microsoft Ventures initiative.
SkyGiraffe started working with Microsoft through the BizSpark program, which provides free software and cloud computing to early stage startups. It went on to participate in the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator program in Israel before securing the investment.
