Here’s what happens when Infosys loosens its purse strings!

It’s not one or two, but half a dozen! That’s the number of startups, Bengaluru based IT major, Infosys is looking to invest on. Keeping a budget of $250 million (Rs 1,580 crore), Infosys is evaluating the start up firms.

As per a news report by The Economic Times, India's second-largest software exporter is also finalising an agreement to sign up for software products think-tank iSpirt's mergers and acquisitions program to connect with early-stage product companies, sources informed the ET.

At a time when Ratan Tata and Amabnis are looking up to the startup ventures, increase in non -traditional technology solutions to solve new-age business problems are making IT companies look for an option for a viable collaboration

The ET news report reads, Infosys is keen on investing on startups that have a profile similar to that of enterprise software maker SirionLabs, a technology developing firm. Analytics and artificial intelligence are the key focus areas for Infosys.


"The discussions are still at a very early stage," the sources informed the financial daily. "Most of the startups that companies like Infosys are looking to tap are incorporated in India, with their founders based out of the Silicon Valley."

Yusuf Bashir, newly-appointed head of Infosys's $500-million startup fund, visited Bengaluru in April to meet members of iSpirt's M&A team and evaluate how to best tap into India's software product ecosystem. iSpirt executives also met Kaustav Mitra, vice-president, innovation ecosystems at Infosys. Like Bashir, Mitra too was a former colleague of Infosys chief executive Vishal Sikka at SAP.

iSpirt's M&A connect program has a curated list of nearly 100 early-stage software companies under a business exchange program that typically connects large enterprises such as IBM and SAP with early-stage startups that are building disruptive software solutions. Companies like IBM, SAP, Intel, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Flipkart and Salesforce are members.

According to the ET, Infosys expanded the size and scope of its startup fund by five times to $500 million in January. Later, Sikka pledged to invest $250 million in Indian startups in the first such commitment by a cash-rich software services company.

(Image: Infosys)