Wipro sets up venture arm with Rishad Premji as head

Wipro Ltd, the country's third-largest software exporter, is setting up a corporate venture arm with an initial investment of up to $100 million (Rs600 crore) to support startups having innovative and disruptive technologies.

Rishad Premji, son of Wipro founder-chairman Azim Premji, will head the venture arm, perhaps the first VC solely for new technologies to be promoted by an Indian IT service firm.

The announcement coincides with the Andhra Pradesh government's grant of a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) to Wipro for developing a special economic zone (SEZ) in Visakhapatnam.

By investing in startups, Wipro hopes to safegaurd itself from the threat of new innovative and disruptive technologies that are common to traditional  IT services companies.

This is a strategy similar to that followed by some of the biggest technology companies such as Intel, Cisco and Dell in order to commercialise and mature ideas that are disruptive.

Traditional IT services companies are also likely to face similar threats from startups focused on disruptive technologies, including data analytics and machine-to-machine learning, say analysts.

Rishad Premji, who heads the strategy division at Wipro, is reported to have already started the job of putting together a team that will assist him on evaluating projects that need to be incubated.

The team would include Anurag Srivastava, who oversees the 'Change the Business Unit' at Wipro, Jagadish Velagapudi, head of strategic programmes, and Haripriya Rama Iyer, who in April was given a senior role in the strategy division.

Wipro is also interested in expanding domestic technology as, according to the company, innovation need not be restricted to the US or to some specific country.

Wipro had outlined massive investments in technology platforms, including automation and digital space, results of which should start showing as early as June next year, the executive said.

In fact, the company had, over the past few years, already made minority investments in two such startups, including $5 million (Rs30 crore) in US-based Axeda, which aims to offer machine-to-machine learning solutions for clients and an over $30 million (Rs180 crore) investment in Opera, a New Jersey-based data analytics company.

Meanwhile, the Telengana government, which is in the process of finalising the state's industrial policy, is in extended discussions with Premji for setting up new IT parks across the state.

The SEZ at Visakhapatnam is expected to create 6,400 jobs over the next five years.