Michael Stewart, managing partner at M12, is one of our top 50 Emerging Leaders in corporate venturing for 2025.
Michael Stewart, managing partner at Microsoft’s M12 investment arm is an engineer and inventor at heart, with 40 patents to his name, making the current AI boom all the more exciting for him.
This is a true technological revolution, he says. It is not the type of community-driven phenomenon such as Web3 in 2021, but a completely different beast that is already showing the potential to transform our society.
“The thing about the AI game is that it is so different from other technology booms. You could be forgiven if you thought we have been through these ups and downs before, but this one is very different,” he says.
The thing he will be looking out for this year is how AI agents will be commercialised – are they a service or a product? How will they work with businesses at different levels, particularly the world of large enterprises?
“Michael is the face behind M12’s success in investing in AI startups. He is highly regarded by founders and investors alike”
Stewart likens the AI revolution to the development of aircraft at the beginning of the 20th century. “Suddenly, the capabilities and assumptions we have made about answering difficult questions and solving difficult problems are going to be easy and nearly free. But the capability will also be very difficult for humans to understand.”
He cautions, however, against the trap of seeing companies as just their technologies and not as businesses as well.
“That sounds like very old, crusty advice, but it is not possible for an investor to stay on top of all the technology. It will be even more risky to rely on a certain technology being safe from replacement for any period of time,” he says.
The investments M12 has made so far in AI include startups Typeface, Inworld, Armada and d-Matrix.
“Michael is the face behind M12’s success in investing in AI startups. He is highly regarded by founders and investors alike,” says M12 investor Carli Stein. “He shines at building theses, sharing signal and seeing visions before other investors.”
See the full list of Emerging Leaders 2025 here.
