Infosys to Extend its Startup Arm, To Invest 750 Crore


BENGALURU: After it made its first startup investment last month, Infosys led by Vishal Sikka is raring to spill some more money and extend its startup arm as it plans to invest $500 million that is about 3,000 crore in startups in Silicon Valley, Israel and India along with venture capital firms, reports ET.

Going by sources it is said that, Infosys has had discussion with a handful of VC firms almost daily, but no formal agreements are brought down to the table with any of the companies so far.

Vishal Sikka who has been rather a pro active Chief Executive Officer is targeting some untapped areas of technology to broaden the company’s offerings as well as keep it competitive to its rivals such as Cognizant and Wipro. Following that Infosys made its first startup investment last month, by spilling $15 million in a spin-off from Dream-Works Animation. This investment was done shortly after, Infosys bought the U.S. and Israel-based automation startup Panaya in a deal estimated to be about 1,200 cr.

In an interview, Sikka said Infosys was holding discussions with venture capital firms almost daily. "We are looking at around a dozen companies to invest in."  "We have invested in one already, which is the Dreamworks spinoff. We have invested about $15 million to that and we are also on the verge of investing in an amazing company that makes air quality sensors in the area of Internet of Things."

Ritika Suri, who joined Infosys from SAP last year, is leading the startup arm, fund and mergers and acquisitions for Infosys. And with the Panaya acquisition, it’s quite certain that Infosys is hoping to extend its footprint and tap into Israel's startup ecosystem by a larger presence.

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