India-based IT services provider Infosys plans to invest up to Rs 7.5bn ($120m) in startups based in Silicon Valley, Israel and India, the Economic Times reported yesterday.
Infosys launched a $250m corporate venturing unit called Innovate in India Fund in January this year as part of its Innovation Fund, which CEO Vishal Sikka expanded to $500m the same month. The Rs 7.5bn would come out of the Innovation Fund.
Although no formal arrangements have been signed, Infosys has been in talks with venture capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz to co-invest in startups, according to two people familiar with the company’s strategy.
One of the sources told ET: “There are no formal agreements with any particular VCs. The strategy is to back startups and entrepreneurs with ideas that align with the company. The idea is not just to be a passive financial investor but take disruptive solutions to customers.”
Infosys hopes to gain access to new technologies and stay ahead of competition such as Cognizant, which acquired healthcare software producer TriZetto for $2.7bn in September 2014.
Infosys made a $15m investment in as-yet unnamed spin-out of animation studio DreamWorks last month, also acquiring big data analytics company Panaya in a first step to tap into the Israeli ecosystem.