Microsoft says no to venture investing
C|Net | at | by Mike
Microsoft's strategy toward venture investing these days can be summed up in a word: Don't.
After making several venture capital investments in the 1990s, the Redmond, Wash.-based behemoth now largely eschews taking equity stakes in start-ups, according to Dan'l Lewin, corporate vice president of .Net business development at Microsoft and the company's point person in Silicon Valley.
Currently, Microsoft has investments in only about three or four small companies, he said. One is Groove Networks, founded by Lotus Notes creator Ray Ozzie. Microsoft also recently placed $1 million with Nanochip, which is concocting a new type of nonvolatile memory.