Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was present in Berlin today for the company's technology hub opening. Ballmer was there to announce the first batch of Microsoft Ventures Accelerator. The program would reportedly begin on November 11.

Ballmer would be retiring as the tech giant's chief within 12 months from his announcement in August. Although Ballmer's strategies in consumer mobile failed to capture significant market share for Microsoft, the company experienced a surge of annual revenue from USD25 million to USD70 million overall.

Located on Unter den Linden, Microsoft's new hub included an events area, several meeting rooms, customer lounge and Microsoft staff offices. An entire floor would be reserved for startups. According to a VentureBeat report, High-Tech Gründerfonds and Seedcamp investors would be moving in the new technology hub.

Ballmer welcomed nine promising startups from the software, cloud, internet and mobile areas. The said startups were selected from a pool of 300 applicants.