Infosys invests Rs 31.6 crore in venture fund

Software major Infosys Ltd on Wednesday announced investing Rs 31.6 crore in Stellaris Venture Partners, a city-based early stage venture fund.

“The investment is towards the first close of Stellaris’ fund and will be made by December 15,” the IT firm said in a regulatory filing with the BSE.

The outsourcing firm had set up a Innovation Fund in 2013 to finance start-ups and in new technologies with an expanded capital of $500 million (Rs 3,444 crore).

“India’s start-up ecosystem is witnessing rapid growth, led by cloud computing, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and big data due to proliferation of smart-phones,” said the company in a statement later.

Stellaris has built a network of entrepreneurs and advisors to source, evaluate and mentor the best Indian start-ups.

“In this environment, Stellaris aims to back entrepreneurs building applications for global businesses, Indian SMBs (small and medium businesses) and consumers in verticals such as financial services, retail, healthcare and education,” the statement pointed out.

Stellaris’ investment team has experience working in global technology companies and a strong track record in venture capital, with investments in companies such as Taxis-For-Sure and Big Basket to name a few.

“With operational and domain expertise in enterprise software and services in India and the US, we believe Stellaris is uniquely positioned to leverage India’s capital efficient talent pool to harness the next wave of enterprise innovation,” said Ritika Suri, Infosys’ global head of corporate development and ventures.

The IT leader looks forward to gaining early access to innovative companies inventing the future of enterprises globally.

“India has a vibrant technology start-up ecosystem with the potential to create breakthrough companies on a global scale,” added Suri.

Stellaris co-founder Alok Goyal said partnering with Infosys would be valuable to his investment team and its portfolio companies, thanks to the software major’s technology expertise, understanding of global enterprises and worldwide footprint.