Wipro Ventures sets up $150 mn Fund ll to invest in enterprise software cos

Wipro Ventures, the strategic investment arm of Wipro Limited, on Thursday said it has closed USD 150 million (about Rs 1,063 crore) Fund ll that will invest in enterprise software companies.

"Buoyed by the success of its first USD 100 million fund launched in 2015, Wipro Ventures will continue to invest in early to mid-stage companies building innovative enterprise software solutions across key areas, including cybersecurity, application development, analytics, cloud infrastructure, test automation, and artificial intelligence," Wipro said in a regulatory filing.

Wipro Ventures, managed by Biplab Adhya and Venu Pemmaraju, has invested in 16 early to mid-stage start-ups so far, including 11 in the US, 4 in Israel and 1 in India.

ln addition to making direct equity investments, Wipro Ventures has also invested in five early-stage enterprise focused venture funds in Israel, New York and Los Angeles.

The strategy has been to invest in promising enterprise software start-ups, establish strategic partnerships with them and bring their leading-edge solutions to customers, Wipro CEO and Managing Director Abidali Z Neemuchwala said.

"By doing this, we differentiate our customer services, generate revenue for our portfolio companies and deliver strategic as well as financial returns to Wipro. Wipro Ventures' Fund ll demonstrates our continued commitment to this strategy," he added.

More than 100 of Wipro's global customers have benefited by deploying solutions from these portfolio companies.

Companies within the portfolio have seen successful exits, including Demisto, a cybersecurity company that was acquired by Palo Alto Networks.