Bengaluru: IT major Infosys co-founder and non-executive vice chairman S. Gopalakrishnan on Monday said that he is looking at becoming an angel investor for technology start-ups in his personal capacity after retiring from the board in October.
“I am looking at that (angel investing). Obviously, what I know well is technology; within technology, the whole area of digital, marketing, e-retailing seem to be very hot. So that’s an area where I would look at; and may be some other,” he told reporters in response to a question on whether he is looking at angel investing post retirement.
Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference to announce CII’s 10th India Innovation Summit here, he said, “Yes, there is an opportunity to look at products, but the boundary between products and services will get blurred in the future. Many of the products probably will be delivered as services. So I wouldn’t distinguish between products and services.”
“But definitely, innovations in the area of IT is what I would focus on,” he added.
Kris (as Mr Gopalakrishnan is popularly known) along with with Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy and five others founded Infosys in 1981.
Both Mr Murthy and Mr Gopalakrishnan voluntarily stepped down as executive chairman and executive vice- chairman, respectively, on June 14, 2014 but the company had said that in order to facilitate a smooth transition of responsibilities, they will continue on the board till October 10, 2014 as the non-executive chairman and non-executive vice-chairman.
The Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII’s) 10th India Innovation Summit-2014 will be held on August 8 and 9 in the city with a theme ‘Innovation for Inclusive Growth’. Mr Gopalakrishnan, who is the immediate past president of CII, is the chairman of the summit.
To a question whether a team will be set up or any one from family office will look into such engagements, he said, “That’s something I’m debating, I’m still a non-executive member of the board at Infosys. So that’s some thing I have not looked at.”
