In a move to help the Indian start-up ecosystem, India’s second largets IT company Infosys, on Wednesday announced the creation of a $250 million (Rs. 1,550 crore) ‘Innovate in India Fund’ from its recently expanded innovation fund. Earlier, Infosys had said that it will expand its innovation fund to $500 million to accelerate the creation of its worldwide ecosystem of innovation.
The Innovate in India Fund, announced by Dr. Vishal Sikka, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director in a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be dedicated for investments in promising new Indian companies that will be inducted into the global ecosystem of strategic partners that Infosys is building.
The Fund will be used to invest in young companies innovating in next-generation solutions and technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, pervasive connectedness as well as collaboration and design technologies, the company said in a statement.
Speaking on the fund, Dr. Sikka said, “Start-ups represent the vision, the hope and the persevering entrepreneurial spirit taking root in India. With the ‘Innovate in India Fund’, Infosys will invest in great Indian start-ups, help amplify their engineering and operations, as well as help bring their innovations to market at scale.
Next-generation solutions built on emerging computing technologies, in innovative new ways, can dramatically reshape and improve the world around us. That’s why, we look forward to working with innovative companies to strengthen our collective potential and also accelerate the success of the Prime Minister’s ‘Digital India’ mission aimed at helping people gain benefits from the latest in information technology.”
Smart City
Other than announcing the new India fund, the company also said it will develop its Mysuru campus as a ‘Smart City’. The company will also provide its expertise in the areas of smart infrastructure planning and sustainable building technology to the Ministry of Urban Development.
Infosys is continuously investing in renewable energy such as solar energy and has a goal to reduce its water consumption on campuses by 50% and to recycle and reuse all water on its campuses. The company is also working towards a zero waste to landfill approach, the company added.
