Murthy says VC fund for life after retirement

To announce ‘anchor’ person for the fund ‘at the right time’

Narayana Murthy, chairman and chief mentor of India’s second-largest information technology services provider Infosys Technologies, has asserted that he has set up the Catamaran Venture Fund to occupy himself once he retires from Infosys in 2011.

Asked whether he is setting up the fund as a business option once he retires from the company, Murthy said: “Yes .. very much .. very much ... I feel this is the best way to help youngsters and create jobs for the country.”

Murthy is set to retire in August 2011 from the Infosys board when he turns 65 and is expected to abdicate the chief mentorship of the company. After 2011, he will continue to be the largest shareholder in the company in his personal capacity.

Murthy, who till date has raised around Rs 600 crore by selling part of his as well as his wife Sudha Murthy’s stake in the company to support his venture capital interest, qualified his remarks by saying he will not invest in companies which compete with Infosys. Murthy said the fund will start investing from March next year, not only in early-stage companies which require angel funding, but also in late-stage companies.

He has hired an ‘anchor’ person from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to help him in this initiative and is setting up a team for this fund.

“We will announce the name of the ‘anchor’ at the right time, but he is an extremely bright young man,” he said. The fund will also invest in companies outside India.

To a query whether Sudha Murthy will be active in this fund, Murthy said he could not comment on that.

On being asked if the current Infosys management perceives any threat from Murthy once he retires, Infosys CEO and MD S Gopalakrishnan said: “All of us take our responsibilities very, very seriously, and of all the people, we can rest assured that Murthy will take his responsibilities very, very seriously. We all owe all that we have today to Infosys, and we will make sure that Infosys’ interests are protected always.”