Swiss industrial giant ABB Group is exploring the possibility of investing in Indian start-ups, which will complement with its line of business. Globally, it has investments of over $150 million in high-potential industrial technology and energy companies.

Managing Director of ABB India Ltd, Sanjeev Sharma, in an interview to BusinessLine said that he had reviewed a number of Indian start-ups. It is amazing to see the amount of motivation Indian youngsters have for further developing their start-ups”.

The investments are made by ABB Technology Ventures (ATV), a strategic venture capital investment arm of ABB. So far ATV has not invested in Indian start-ups, but globally it has done it in technology companies, which are complimentary to ABB businesses,” Sharma said.

ABB has taken a long-term view of start-ups. The company may not buy the technology developed by a start-up in the nascent stages, but it will encourage it in the early cycle of development. Later, ABB may use the technology in its ecosystem, he said.

ATV invests in companies focused on improving efficiency, productivity and quality of ABB customers operations. The solutions devised by the companies should also be able to minimise the environmental impact. ABB helps companies in rapidly accelerating their paths to the commercialisation of products and services through their access to ABB’s R&D manpower and labs, global sales channels and wide-ranging partnerships.

Sharma said that recently it invested in Canada-based Enbala Power Networks for developing a new distributed energy resource management system. ABB does not own Enbala, but it will get guidance in the developing the solution. The ABB Group has been in India for the last 60 years and offers 39 product lines. It offers solutions to industries, utilities and transportation companies.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW