India’s second-largest software services provider, Infosys, plans to allocate quarter of $500 Mn (around INR 3000 Cr) funds to invest in startups of Silicon Valley, Israel and India. The company is in talks with a few venture Capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz to make collateral investment.
Infosys will be investing in the startups which align with the ideas of the company to actively provide innovative solutions to the customers. Prior to this, Infosys invested around $15 Mn in a spin-off of DreamWorks Animation and another $200 Mn in US and Israel-based automation startup Panaya.
Infosys CEO, Vishal Sikka plans to distinguish the company’s status quo from the likes of Cognizant and Wipro by broadening company’s offering in newer arenas of rapidly evolving technology landscape. Earlier in the year, Sikka had also announced a $250 Mn ‘Innovate in India Fund’ to invest in early stage startups in India.
Commenting on the Infosys’s strategy, he said, “We are looking at around a dozen companies to invest in. The company has already invested about $15 Mn in Dreamworks’ spinoff. We are also on the verge of investing in an amazing company that makes air quality sensors in the area of Internet of Things.”
Recently, Wipro has also invested $5 Mn in saas startup, Drivestream, holding minority stake in the firm. India’s biggest software companies are rushing to change their revenue mix as top customers including Daimler and Walmart push them for more innovative solutions.
Seeing a bling amongst the top software providers of the country, experts are interpreting that companies like Infosys and Wipro are on a look out to find the next big idea by tapping into the world of startups. Tracking startups, the software giants could compete with or accelerate their own core businesses and would generally back companies that would complement their existing operations.
