The money manager of Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy will hire professionals and double its 1 billion USD investments in the next five years, betting India will emerge as a high-quality manufacturing hub.
Catamaran Ventures LLP, which started operations in 2009, will increase its assets under management to as much as 2 billion USD and is exploring strategic partnerships in three new areas deep tech, precision engineering and manufacturing, and renewables, according to Chairman MD Ranganath. It marks a shift from the firm's prior focus on services.
Murthy built Infosys into one of India's national champions, pioneering a novel strategy of outsourcing technology services.
Akshata Murthy, Narayan's daughter and the first lady of the UK, is a director at the British branch of the clan's investment firm, a separate entity.
Catamaran Ventures, a Bangaluru-based firm, employs about 15 staff in India, overseeing holdings, spanning e-sports, insurance, and Elon Musk's Space Explorations Technologies Corp.
To back this growth, Catamaran Ventures will actively seek partners to build businesses in the sub-sectors it selects and add four specialists to its team of investment professionals, Ranganath said.
The firm is looking to close at least one partnership in the next few months, he added.
Previously, the company partnered with Amazon Inc to build up Prione Business Services, which began by helping merchants get online to sell their wares before becoming a dominant vendor itself.
Catamaran Ventures' stake was then bought by Amazon.
The firm will continue to back early and late-stage companies, according to Ranganath. Catamaran Ventures has also invested in the social network Reddit and the National Stock Exchange, India's largest bourse, according to its website.
A third of the firm's investments are in early-stage companies, and the rest is evenly split between late-stage and growth enterprises, according to President Deepak Padaki.
