PremjiInvest, the private equity fund owned by Azim Premji and entrusted with managing his personal portfolio worth over $10 billion, has revealed that the firm will ramp up investments in artificial intelligence (AI) companies, while simultaneously fine-tuning their proprietary AI investment tools.
TK Kurien, the managing partner and chief investment officer of the firm, revealed that the company is extending its use of AI tools beyond private equity into the space of public market investments. As per a report by Bloomberg, the company is planning to increase its investments in AI technologies.
Investment firms around the world, including big names like BlackRock Inc. and SoftBank Group Corp, are diving into the AI space to sift through real-time data streams for market insights. Companies are eager to pour more investments into this sector. PremjiInvest had started the development of AI tech three years back, bringing in a team of 14 skilled AI engineers. Alongside this, they've been backing firms venturing into the AI space.
PremjiInvest has backed companies like Cohesity Inc., Holistic AI, Ikigai, and Pixis in the data management and enterprise software sectors.
Kurien is planning to make some of its AI tools accessible to open-source developers. The fund's engineers are creating platforms to assist India's courts in handling cases more efficiently and to support governments in delivering services more effectively.
After spending over 16 years to building his operational expertise at Wipro, Kurien is now focused on finding investment prospects in the US. He's also interested in companies with top technologies that can be introduced in India.
