Wipro Ventures, the $100-million venture capital arm of Wipro, has invested an undisclosed amount in US-based fraud prevention solution startup Emailage Corp for a minority stake, marking India’s third largest software exporter’s seventh such investment in early-stage ventures over the past two years.

“Wipro Ltd has informed BSE that the company has made a strategic investment in and signed a partnership with Emailage Corporation, a fast growing risk assessment and fraud prevention solution company. This investment is in line with Wipro’s strategy to participate in the external innovation ecosystem, for which the company has set up Wipro Ventures,” Wipro said in a filing to stock exchanges.

Over the past two years since setting up Wipro Ventures, Wipro has invested in a bunch of startups as part of a broader company strategy to leverage disruptive ideas from new-age early-stage ventures, even as top customers such as Citigroup and BP ask for newer solutions amid a rapid shift across the technology landscape.

Wipro has so far invested in startups such as Silicon Valley-based artificial intelligence startup Vicarious, data analytics startup Opera Solutions, cloud computing venture Drivestream and Pune-based internet-of-things startup Altizon.

“Wipro Ltd has made a minority investment in Emailage as part of our Wipro Ventures initiative. Our investment is small, currently less than 5 per cent of Emailage’s equity. We have not shared any additional details,” Wipro spokesperson said.

Wipro is not the only Indian IT services firm that has leveraged startup solutions in recent years. Crosstown rival Infosys under CEO Vishal Sikka last year set aside a $500-million war-chest to go after startup investments and acquisitions.

Other rivals such as TCS and US-based Cognizant also work with startups and help clients make use of new-age technology solutions from early-stage ventures, but they do not have dedicated startup investment programs so far.

Source: The Economic Times