I’m excited to announce a new partnership that marks a significant milestone for Microsoft for Startups. We’re joining forces with Pear VC, making Microsoft the official cloud and AI provider for their elite early-stage accelerator, PearX.
Pear’s team has built an extraordinary reputation for nurturing groundbreaking companies. Their track record speaks for itself—supporting transformative startups like DoorDash, Gusto, Vanta, and Guardant Health. With their fourth fund recently closing at $432 million and an impressive record of three initial public offerings (IPOs) and seven unicorns over the past decade, Pear’s impact on the startup ecosystem is undeniable.
What makes this partnership particularly exciting is the alignment of vision between our organizations. Just as Pear believes in hands-on mentorship and comprehensive support, we at Microsoft are committed to providing the technological foundation that tomorrow’s AI innovations will be built upon.
Empowering innovators: Resources for success
Starting today, PearX founders will have access to an incredible suite of resources to help turn their AI visions into reality. We’re particularly proud to offer up to $350,000 in Azure Credits—an impactful amount of computing power for early-stage startups. But the support goes far beyond just credits:
- Founders will have access to our advanced graphics processing unit (GPU) virtual machine clusters for intensive AI workloads.
- They’ll be able to leverage Azure OpenAI Service for innovative language model deployment.
- We’re providing access to more than 1,800 frontier and open-source models from leading providers like Microsoft, OpenAI, Hugging Face, Meta, and Mistral.
PearX: A journey from vision to reality
Pear focuses on early-stage investing, and PearX is the way that the firm invests in pre-seed companies. PearX is an accelerator for early-stage founders, which runs two cohorts per year: Winter and Summer. The program lasts for twelve weeks—kicking off with a three-day founder retreat and culminating in a Demo Day to thousands of investors.
PearX is more than just an accelerator—it’s a comprehensive program that equips founders with the tools and mentorship they need to transform early-stage concepts into impactful companies. The program follows a structured but flexible approach, making it accessible to innovative founders globally.
What excites me most about this partnership is seeing how founders will combine Pear’s proven startup acceleration methodology with Microsoft’s enterprise-grade AI infrastructure. The possibilities are truly limitless.
Looking forward
I walked away from our partnership discussions more energized than ever, convinced that the future of AI innovation is not just bright—it’s transformative. These founders aren’t just experimenting with AI; they’re shaping the future, and I’m beyond excited to see the incredible achievements they’ll unlock with the combined support of Microsoft for Startups and Pear.
