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Infosys to invest in second start-up

IT major focuses on new generation technology

BS Reporter Bengaluru
India’s second-largest information technology services firm Infosys would soon invest in a start-up that develops cloud-based air quality detectors, said a senior official

He added the investment is in line with the Bangalore-based IT major’s strategy of providing support to start-ups exploring innovative products in new-generation technologies, such as Internet of things, machine learning and artificial intelligence. The executive, however, did not reveal the name of the company or the quantum of investment.

Earlier this month, Infosys has announced its first investment in the start-up space when it put in around $15 million (close to Rs 94 crore) in a spin-off of animation movie maker DreamWorks Animation. That was Infosys’s first investment out of the $500 million innovation fund which the company had set up earlier. Infosys is the only investor in the spin-off company.

After assuming the charge of chief executive officer & managing director (CEO & MD) of Infosys in August last year, Vishal Sikka, a former top executive at German enterprise software maker SAP, is looking at multiple ways to engage with the software start-up ecosystem across the world. Last month, he announced expanding the innovation fund five-fold to $500 million. Subsequently, he had also announced to dedicate half of the fund for investment in innovative start-up companies in India.

“We will do things of that nature and we think that the information technology needs of the world require a different type of mindset for startups. More and more the innovations that businesses are looking for are going to come from start-up companies,” Sikka said at a recent analyst meet.

STEERING A NEW STRATEGY
  • The investment is in line with the Bangalore-based IT major’s strategy of providing support to start-ups exploring innovative products in new-generation technologies, says a senior company official
  • New-generation technologies include Internet of things, machine learning, artificial intelligence
 

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First Published: Feb 25 2015 | 12:46 AM IST

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