Chris Young, head of Microsoft’s M12 venture fund, has resigned after four impactful years. A former McAfee CEO, Young advanced Microsoft’s AI and data infrastructure investments, fostered innovation, and drove sustainability initiatives. Set to assist with the transition until March, he leaves behind a legacy of strategic partnerships and a stronger venture arm integrated into Microsoft’s business development. His next endeavor remains undisclosed.
London-based Vertice has raised $50 million in Series C funding led by Lakestar, valuing the company at $500M. The AI-driven platform optimizes SaaS and cloud spending, offering 20-30% savings and halving procurement cycles. By analyzing $3.4B in SaaS data and benchmarking 16,000 vendors, Vertice empowers enterprises like Santander and ASML to streamline expenditure. The funds will fuel global growth amid rising IT spending projections.
