Wipro Commits $200 Million in Fresh Investment to Wipro Ventures

Wipro Limited, (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading technology services and consulting company, today announced that it will be committing $200 million to its venture arm, Wipro Ventures, in its latest round of funding. This is the fourth round of funding raised by Wipro Ventures since its inception 10 years ago and is aimed at accelerating the company’s investments in early- to mid-stage startups.

“Wipro Ventures is strategically positioned to participate in and contribute to technological innovation across startup hubs globally,” said Srini Pallia, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Wipro Limited. “This latest investment reaffirms our commitment to helping startups grow faster, innovate, and collaborate with the IT services industry to support large enterprises. We envision a collaborative ecosystem where these emerging technologies can be deployed globally, drive progress, and create sustainable value for all stakeholders involved.”

Wipro Ventures was founded in 2015 to identify and invest in high-potential early-stage startups that are at the forefront of technological innovation and that allow Wipro to deliver differentiated value to clients. The Wipro Ventures team connects Wipro and its clients to a global ecosystem of startups working on disruptive technologies, enabling Wipro’s clients to access latest innovations, while providing startups with access to a global network of enterprise customers.

Jay Leek, Co-Founder & General Partner, SYN Ventures, said, “We are delighted to have worked with Wipro Ventures as co-investors over the years. They are well positioned to capitalize on emerging trends in the industry. We strongly believe that the value-add that Wipro brings will enable startups to maintain their competitive edge and enjoy long-term success.”

In its 10 years of operation, Wipro Ventures has invested in 37 startups in areas such as artificial intelligence, data & analytics, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure, deployed solutions across 250+ Wipro customers globally and had 12 successful exits.

In addition to making direct equity investments, Wipro Ventures has also invested in several early-stage, enterprise-focused and cybersecurity-themed venture funds in India, the US, and Israel.

About Wipro Limited

Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading technology services and consulting company focused on building innovative solutions that address clients’ most complex digital transformation needs. Leveraging our holistic portfolio of capabilities in consulting, design, engineering, and operations, we help clients realize their boldest ambitions and build future-ready, sustainable businesses. With over 230,000 employees and business partners across 65 countries, we deliver on the promise of helping our clients, colleagues, and communities thrive in an ever-changing world. For additional information, visit us at www.wipro.com.

About Wipro Ventures

Wipro Ventures is the strategic investment arm of Wipro Ltd. (NYSE: WIT) and focuses on investing in early-to mid-stage startups. The venture arm leverages Wipro’s global reach and market knowledge to accelerate the growth of its portfolio companies. Wipro’s broad customer base of Global 1000 clients provides a comprehensive understanding of customer needs and market trends, which in turn provides valuable guidance to portfolio companies. For more information, please visit https://www.wipro.com/ventures/.

Wipro Ventures Picks Minority Stake in Silicon Valley Based Cybersecurity Startup Vectra Networks

Wipro Ventures which has so far invested in at least half a dozen early stage startups, has now picked up a minority stake in Silicon Valley-based cyber security startup Vectra Networks for an undisclosed amount of investment. Wipro Ventures is the $100-million venture capital arm of Indian software exporter Wipro, that invests in a range from anywhere between $1 million - $10 million.

Founded in 2011, Vectra is the leader in automated threat management solutions for real-time detection of in-progress cyber attacks. The company’s solution automatically correlates threats against hosts that are under attack and provides unique context about what attackers are doing so organizations can quickly prevent or mitigate loss. Vectra prioritizes attacks that pose the greatest business risk, enabling organizations to make rapid decisions on where to focus time and resources. In 2015, Gartner named Vectra a Cool Vendor in Security Intelligence for addressing the challenges of post-breach threat detection. The company’s headquarters are in San Jose, California. It is backed by investors likes Khosla Ventures, Accel Partners, Intel Capital and DAG Ventures. 

Wipro Ventures has previously invested in startups including big data startup Talena, artificial intelligence startup Vicarious and Pune-based Altizon, which has built a new-age Internet-of-Things powered platform.

Just yesterday, Infosys has also invested in Silicon Valley based Trifacta, a leading provider of data wrangling software that enables non-technical users to easily transform data for analysis.

Wipro Ventures Picks Minority Stake in Silicon Valley Based Cybersecurity Startup Vectra Networks

Wipro Ventures which has so far invested in at least half a dozen early stage startups, has now picked up a minority stake in Silicon Valley-based cyber security startup Vectra Networks for an undisclosed amount of investment. Wipro Ventures is the $100-million venture capital arm of Indian software exporter Wipro, that invests in a range from anywhere between $1 million - $10 million.

Founded in 2011, Vectra is the leader in automated threat management solutions for real-time detection of in-progress cyber attacks. The company’s solution automatically correlates threats against hosts that are under attack and provides unique context about what attackers are doing so organizations can quickly prevent or mitigate loss. Vectra prioritizes attacks that pose the greatest business risk, enabling organizations to make rapid decisions on where to focus time and resources. In 2015, Gartner named Vectra a Cool Vendor in Security Intelligence for addressing the challenges of post-breach threat detection. The company’s headquarters are in San Jose, California. It is backed by investors likes Khosla Ventures, Accel Partners, Intel Capital and DAG Ventures. 

Wipro Ventures has previously invested in startups including big data startup Talena, artificial intelligence startup Vicarious and Pune-based Altizon, which has built a new-age Internet-of-Things powered platform.

Just yesterday, Infosys has also invested in Silicon Valley based Trifacta, a leading provider of data wrangling software that enables non-technical users to easily transform data for analysis.

Pune-Based IoT Startup Altizon Raises $4Mn In A Round Led By Wipro Ventures

[caption id="attachment_103421" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Left to Right : COO – Yogesh Kulkarni, CTO – Ranjit Nair and CEO – Vinay Nathan[/caption]

Pune-based big data startup Altizon Systems Pvt Ltd has raised USD 4 million as part of a Series A funding round led by Wipro Ventures, the $100-million venture capital arm of India's third largest software exporter Wipro.

Other investors who also participated in this round include Lumis Partners, The Hive and Infuse Ventures.

The round is led by Wipro ventures with its investment of Rs.9.78 crore (around USD 1.43 million) in Altizon. This is Wipro Venture's first investment in an India-based startup in two years. Until now, it has taken stakes in four US-based start-ups.

Altizon plans to use the funds to scale up sales and marketing functions both in India and internationally.

Post this funding Altizon's big data platform will align with Wipro's IoT platform, Altizon said.

Altizon, which had a revenue of Rs.30 lakh in the financial year 2014-15, has developed a big data platform called Datonis that "allows organizations to build connected devices" and gain insights from device data.

Another Pune-based software product and technology company Persistent Systems Ltd took a 4% stake in Altizon in 2014.

Altizon claims to be the world's first Industrial Internet Platform company focussed on making Enterprises Internet of Things(IoT) ready. Altizon’s flagship product, the Datonis™ IoT Platform, helps enterprises build IoT products and solutions in weeks by providing device connectivity kits, a device management layer, a highly scalable, real-time, big-data analytics engine and alerting and monitoring services.

Wipro's $100 million corporate venture arm, overseen by Rishad Premji (son of chairman Azim Premji), now has a minority stakes in five start-ups. These include its $30 million investment in Opera Solutions, a New Jersey-based data analytics company, and a $5 million investment in Drivestream Inc., a Virginia, US-based cloud solutions start-up.

Pune-Based IoT Startup Altizon Raises $4Mn In A Round Led By Wipro Ventures

[caption id="attachment_103421" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Left to Right : COO – Yogesh Kulkarni, CTO – Ranjit Nair and CEO – Vinay Nathan[/caption]

Pune-based big data startup Altizon Systems Pvt Ltd has raised USD 4 million as part of a Series A funding round led by Wipro Ventures, the $100-million venture capital arm of India's third largest software exporter Wipro.

Other investors who also participated in this round include Lumis Partners, The Hive and Infuse Ventures.

The round is led by Wipro ventures with its investment of Rs.9.78 crore (around USD 1.43 million) in Altizon. This is Wipro Venture's first investment in an India-based startup in two years. Until now, it has taken stakes in four US-based start-ups.

Altizon plans to use the funds to scale up sales and marketing functions both in India and internationally.

Post this funding Altizon's big data platform will align with Wipro's IoT platform, Altizon said.

Altizon, which had a revenue of Rs.30 lakh in the financial year 2014-15, has developed a big data platform called Datonis that "allows organizations to build connected devices" and gain insights from device data.

Another Pune-based software product and technology company Persistent Systems Ltd took a 4% stake in Altizon in 2014.

Altizon claims to be the world's first Industrial Internet Platform company focussed on making Enterprises Internet of Things(IoT) ready. Altizon’s flagship product, the Datonis™ IoT Platform, helps enterprises build IoT products and solutions in weeks by providing device connectivity kits, a device management layer, a highly scalable, real-time, big-data analytics engine and alerting and monitoring services.

Wipro's $100 million corporate venture arm, overseen by Rishad Premji (son of chairman Azim Premji), now has a minority stakes in five start-ups. These include its $30 million investment in Opera Solutions, a New Jersey-based data analytics company, and a $5 million investment in Drivestream Inc., a Virginia, US-based cloud solutions start-up.