Infosys writes off investment in Waterline as third startup bet turns sour

India-based multinational information technology services provider Infosys Ltd. has written off its investment in a United States startup that offers data discovery and governance software.

The California-based startup called Waterline Data Inc., founded in 2013, will be acquired by a subsidiary of Japan’s Hitachi by the end of this month.

This is the third startup bet that has turned sour for Infosys. The IT major had invested in Waterline through its $500 million Innovation Fund, launched in 2015.

It first invested $4 million in January 2016. In March 2018, it bet a further $1.5 million (around Rs 9.8 crore).

The fund targets companies that develop innovative products and services for automation, Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence.

In January 2020, the Innovation Fund offloaded its stake in another portfolio company, Danish AI firm UNSILO.

In a market disclosure at the time, Infosys said that the fund had sold its minority stake in the company for $800,000 (around Rs 5.7 crore).

This was far lower than the $2 million it had originally invested in the company in 2016.

In December 2017, Infosys said it is selling its entire stake in Delaware, US-based ANSR Consulting Holdings Inc., which helps multinational companies to bring global in-house or captive units to India.

The company would offload its entire stake in ANSR for $1 million (Rs 6.4 crore), it said in a stock market disclosure.

The IT services giant had bought a stake of around 5% in ANSR two years ago for $1.4 million (then Rs 9 crore).

Other companies that Infosys has invested in through the Innovation Fund include TidalScale, ideaForge and Whoop.

It has also committed money to venture capital firms including India’s Stellaris Venture Partners and the United States-based The House Fund.