Azure Scale Programme
An independent assessment of your startup's technical and commercial readiness against nine published criteria, followed by two months of structured gap closure. It is built for B2B AI startups on Azure that are preparing for investors and for the next stage of Azure growth.
Programme at a glance
Six startups have each received more than $100,000 in Azure credits for their next 12 months after the programme.
Aligned to the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework, disclosed to you before the assessment starts.
Assessment, then gap closure.
Who it is for
- B2B AI startups running real workloads on Azure, typically after their first year of Azure credits.
- Founders preparing for investor due diligence or enterprise customers.
- Teams that want to know exactly which foundations are missing, and to close them in a fixed time.
How it works
- 1Screening call
30 minutes, free, with no obligation on either side.
- 2Assessment, about 2 weeks
You answer a short written questionnaire and share the materials that already exist. We analyse them and hold a one-hour online working session with your technical and commercial representatives. An investment committee convened by a member of the Microsoft Affiliated Investor Network reviews the findings and issues written recommendations.
- 3Two documents within five business days of the session
An Investor Report with our factual findings, shared with the investors in the programme, and a Gap Review for you: each gap and the concrete action that closes it.
- 4Decision on Azure credits
Investors in the Microsoft Affiliated Investor Network consider the report and may nominate you to Microsoft. An indicative period is two to three weeks; it is outside our control.
- 5Gap closure, 2 months
Four 30-minute sessions, one every two weeks, followed by a closing progress report to the investors. Gap closure starts when your Azure credits are active in your own tenant, or earlier if you choose. It runs whatever the outcome of the credits decision.
What we assess
The criteria follow the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework, applied at a level appropriate to an early-stage company. The question is not whether you have an enterprise-scale landing zone, but whether the foundations are in place or can be put in place, and whether you know which of them are missing.
| # | Criterion | Baseline expected at this stage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Azure usage | A production workload on Azure with recorded consumption, at least partly on native services rather than virtual machines alone. |
| 2 | Delivery model | SaaS, Azure Managed Application or hybrid, chosen deliberately, with a clear technical onboarding path for a new customer. |
| 3 | Environment readiness | Production separated from non-production, repeatable deployments, and an understood direction towards an Azure Landing Zone. |
| 4 | Security | No shared admin credentials, no secrets in source code, MFA on privileged accounts, customer data encrypted at rest and in transit. |
| 5 | Manageability | You know when the service is down, can restore data, and can see Azure spend by workload. |
| 6 | Technical team | At least one person with practical Azure experience who owns the environment; continuity does not depend on a single external contractor. |
| 7 | Commercial traction | Revenue stated plainly, or a clear statement of what you are proving instead. Absence of revenue is not a gap; ambiguity about it is. |
| 8 | Roadmap and go-to-market | A 12-month roadmap with dependencies and a named customer acquisition channel. |
| 9 | Investor ask and use of credits | A consumption plan consistent with the architecture: which workloads, over what period, at what rate. |
- Met — the baseline for this stage is in place and evidenced.
- Gap — not in place, but achievable within the gap closure period, with a concrete action in the Gap Review.
- Material gap — absent and structurally significant; stated plainly in the Investor Report.
What you need to prepare
Seven short written answers on: product and delivery model, Azure footprint, technical team, environment and deployment, security, commercial position, and roadmap with investor ask. A few sentences each are enough. Where something does not exist yet, say so; it is not held against you.
Materials, whatever already exists: architecture diagram or description, list of Azure services in production, Azure cost summary for the last three months, product or investor deck, roadmap, Marketplace offer link, and any completed security questionnaire. Nothing needs to be created for the assessment.
What is not included
Code review or penetration testing, financial audit or verification of your figures, legal, tax or regulatory review, and valuation or investment recommendation.
Important to know
- Microsoft alone decides whether to grant Azure credits and in what amount. We do not guarantee credits or any amount, and no part of our work is payment for credits or for an introduction to an investor.
- Our findings are factual. We do not recommend whether credits or investment should be granted.
- Credits, if granted, go to an Azure tenant that you own and control. They are not consumed, held or drawn down through AICA.
- Once your annual Azure consumption reaches USD 15,000 within 12 months of completing gap closure, with AICA attributed as your partner, the programme fee can be credited against other AICA services.
- AICA is a Microsoft partner and may receive remuneration under Microsoft partner programmes, including incentives linked to Azure consumption attributed to AICA.