Microsoft starts venture fund targeting cloud, AI

Three years and $8 billion later, Microsoft is slashing 1,850 jobs at Nokia. LibreOffice is free and has many of the same features as Microsoft Office. SAN FRANCISCO -- Microsoft has launched a venture capital fund that will invest in companies advancing cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies. Microsoft Ventures will place staffers in existing offices here as well as in Seattle, New York and Tel Aviv, according to a blog post Tuesday from corporate vice president Nagraj Kashyap, who will run the new investment fund along with Peggy Johnson, Microsoft's executive vice president for business development. The move is an echo of existing funds operated by Google, Intel and others, which allow such giants to get in on the ground floor of companies that can boost their particular ecosystems.