Sgi Eyes Investments In Digital Graphic Industry

US-based $2.7-billion technical computing major Silicon Graphics Inc (SGI) is looking at investing in Indian technology companies in the digital graphic industry.

Investments will come from the $100-million kitty earmarked for acquiring strategic stakes in such short-listed companies.

"We, as part of the corporate strategy, are actively looking at this option," said Jansen B Ek, SGI vice-president, Asia-Pacific, yesterday.

"These investments will be in companies having synergy with our business strategy," he added.

The company is eyeing companies having expertise in Lynx platform, digital graphic technology, application service providers and broadband Internet technology companies.

SGI also plans to work with educational institutions.

 

The Regional Engineering College, Trichi, and PSG Institute, Coimbatore, are such institutions where the company has helped set up research laboratories in the visual graphic area.

"Apart from these two, we are planing other similar laboratories across India," he said.

He, however, did not specify the institutes the company will work with.

Plans are also afoot to set up graphic research centres in India.

"We have about 600 such centres world-wide. This will be actively extended to India too," he said.

This apart, SGI is also looking at options to spruce up its Indian operations, including one of a value added service centre, support centre and added research oriented activities.

The company has already invested $5 million from the announced $15 million three-year investment path.

"Of the announced $15-million fund announced, we have already invested $5 million in Indian operations. Similar such investments will follow this year too," he added.

The company's turnover from the Indian operations for the year ending June stood at Rs 83 crore and is expected to grow at 35 per cent rate for the coming year too.

"We are looking at 35 per cent growth in India," Ek said.

SGI sells its products in India through distributors and value added resellers like Tata Elxsi, CMC, Discreet Logic, Crompton Greaves Informatics and Summit Data Products.