The KinoTek team at TechCrunch Disrupt in October 2019. (Photo/KinoTek)

KinoTek, a Portland-based software startup, announced this week that it will have Microsoft in its corner as it prepares the beta launch of its first product.

The company got the word last week that Microsoft had accepted it into its Microsoft for Startups program, which is an accelerator for select startups. As part of that program, KinoTek was invited to join the Microsoft Partners Network, which provides open access to a suite of Microsoft’s products and services as it executes on its go-to-market strategy. Microsoft isn’t investing any actual dollars in KinoTek, which is in the process of raising its first round of equity investments, but the products and services it will provide are valued at more than $100,000, according to Justin Hafner, KinoTek’s co-founder and CEO.

The Portland startup is building “human performance software” that uses virtual reality, wearable sensors and motion capture technology to improve athletic performance and reduce the chance of injury. It was spun out of research that Hafner conducted while a student at the University of Maine. His co-founder, David Holomakoff, serves as KinoTek’s Chief Product Officer and is still a research scientist at UMaine.

“With this partnership, Microsoft has not only invested in KinoTek, but helped contribute to the ever-growing tech ecosystem throughout the state of Maine,” Hafner said. “This strategic partnership is a giant step forward to becoming the industry leader in movement analysis.”

The majority of the $100,000 deal will come from costs associated with KinoTek’s use of Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing service that allows companies to build, deploy and manage applications through the use of Microsoft-managed servers, according to Hafner. KinoTek will also receive Microsoft’s suite of enterprise software, including Github, Teams, and Office, etc.; a dedicated cloud architect for one-on-one individualized support, assistance from the Microsoft team on developing its go-to-market strategy; PR help; and lead sharing and joint-selling opportunities.

“Microsoft is not investing actually dollars, but rather resources to push us forward,” Hafner told Maine Startups Insider.

Hafner anticipates that the relationship with Microsoft will accelerate his company’s ability to launch its beta product by three months, allowing it to begin in May 2020 instead of August/September 2020. Hafner said the company plans to launch its first commercial product at the beginning of 2021.

“These next six months of testing and collaboration will help KinoTek successfully penetrate the sports-tech ecosystem and achieve national scale,” Hafner said.

KinoTek, which currently has four employees, recently begun raising its first round of outside investment. The company reported in January that it had raised $75,000 in convertible debt, the first part of an anticipated $400,000 raise, according to its SEC filing. But Hafner this week told Maine Startups Insider that the company will likely raise much more than the $400,000.

“I can’t provide any specific updates but plan on closing the round by May-June,” he said. “The fundraise picked up quite a bit once word spread and I have been traveling around the U.S. over the past couple weeks.”

Hafner anticipates the company will add another three to five employees once it completes the round of financing.

Since Hafner co-founded the company in 2018, the company has managed to make some early headlines: