Asian Tech Press (SEP 10) -- Microsoft Corp. today confirmed that it has invested in Indian budget hotel chain OYO. Moreover, the two companies also reached a multi-year strategic partnership agreement to jointly develop "next-generation" travel and hospitality products and technologies.

OYO will use Microsoft Azure cloud services to meet its cloud needs. In addition, the two companies will jointly develop solutions to serve small and medium-sized hotel operators.

As part of the partnership, OYO will also develop a "Smart Room" experience for travelers on its platform, including providing guests with a premium and customized room experience. Through Microsoft's Azure IoT, this experience will include self-service check-in and check-out, self-service KYC, as well as IoT-managed smart locks and virtual assistance.

Last month, Microsoft was reported to have invested $5 million in OYO, valuing it at $9.6 billion. That valuation is slightly lower than the $10 billion valuation OYO received in its last round of funding but well above the $3 billion valuation given by SoftBank Group in recent quarters.

Microsoft India President Anant Maheshwari said, "By combining the power of Azure with the technology and products developed by OYO, we look forward to accelerating innovation in the travel and hospitality space."

Today, OYO has grown to become one of the largest hotel chains in the world, with operations in India, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States. OYO is expected to file for an IPO (initial public offering) later this year.

The investment is also Microsoft's latest in Indian startups, having previously invested in Indian news aggregation and short-form video platform DailyHun, e-commerce giant Flipkart and logistics SaaS company FarEye.

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