Cambridge Tech to invest in 50 US-based start-ups

Cambridge Technology Enterprises Limited (CTE), a Hyderabad-based, publicly-listed IT services provider, has launched Cambridge Innovations (CI), an investor and technology partner to early-stage US-based start-ups leveraging technologies in the area of cloud and big data.

A brand demarcation of Cambridge Technology, CI will provide capital, people and technical knowledge to early-stage entrepreneurs looking to reach the next level of growth with reduced technology risk. The firm will provide up to 25% (or up to $250,000) of a start-up's seed round to launch a two-year technology plan, and the product team to help execute it.

"We intend to invest in 12 US-based start-ups by March 2017 and scale it up to 50 investments in the next three years. The idea is to stay on cutting-edge technology, capture financial upside, and help build repeat future clients," Aashish Kalra, chairman and director of Cambridge Technology, told Business Standard.

CI will help entrepreneurs obtain Series A funding faster, focus their time on sales and marketing, accelerate their product roadmap and collaborate with a scalable and redundant technology team, CTE said in a regulatory filing to the BSE on Wednesday.

As a part of the investment, CTE will enter into a strategic master contract with bite-sized statements of work to become the ongoing preferred technology vendor for start-ups. Besides providing a strong pipeline of future clients for CTE, Cambridge Innovations will help CTE stay ahead of the rapidly-evolving industry and access the explosive growth of the global big data and cloud market, the company said.

Cambridge Technology Enterprises' scrip is currently trading at Rs 122.90 on the BSE, up 1.99%, over the previous close of Rs 120.50 a share.