Infosys invests Rs.14.5 crore in AI start-up
Indian software giant Infosys announced investments amounting to Rs.14.5 crore in UNSILO, a Danish start-up that targets text intelligence. This is pitched to be the eleventh investment across the start-up space for the software company this year. The investment is part of Infosys' $500 million innovation fund. The deal will help UNSILO expand its operations globally and enter newer markets.
Infosys
Infosys is an Indian software services provider with prime focus on information technology and outsourcing operations. The company is pitched to be the third largest IT services company in terms of revenues. After venturing into exporting software services in 1981, the company grew to clock market capitalization of $43 billion last year. This year, Infosys' revenues crossed $9.5 billion.
Infosys' boost to start-ups
In early 2013, Infosys set up the Innovation Fund, targeting start-ups and newer technologies such as AI to be developed by enabling ample financing. Last year, the fund size was increased five times to a value of $500 million.
Infosys' start-up extravaganza
With high pressure on the software industry to revamp and restructure their core businesses, many companies are targeting artificial intelligence and innovative technologies. Last week, Infosys invested $4 million in a US-based big data company, after investing $4 million last year in a cloud technology firm. Last year, it acquired US-based Panaya for $200 million, Kallidus Inc for $120 million, amongst many others.
Unsilo
Unsilo is a Danish online service company that helps researchers and intellectual property professionals search for academic papers and patents. The company aims to provide search results for related documents online. Unsilo was started in 2012 by Thomas Laursen, Mads Rydahl and Fransisco Roque. The company has raised nearly $3 million in funds from three investors till date.
UNSILO venture: How will it benefit Infosys?
"UNSILO has built an impressive semantic search engine with best-in-class text intelligence, which powers a range of advanced business processes. We will partner with UNSILO to bring their artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to our global clients," Ritika Suri, Infosys.
