By Chris Metinko,

From the outside, M12’s mission likely seems simple to most: Invest money from the second-most valuable technology company in the world, put its monstrous go-to-market machine behind said investment, and then create a unicorn.

In reality, Microsoft’s venture arm must navigate complexities and obstacles not seen by traditional venture firms—and even many corporate venture arms—as it looks to drive returns back to the Redmond, Washington-based tech giant. At the same time, M12 must build the vast ecosystem Microsoft plays in, such as cloud, AI, business applications, infrastructure, security and deep technologies, and support the entrepreneurs it invests in.

“Over the past five years, M12 has...