Former Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka Raises $50 Million For His New AI Startup

Former Infosys CEO and artificial intelligence evangelist Vishal Sikka raised $50 million for his new startup Vian Systems. News reports have cited regulatory filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as the primary source for this information. According to a report in a financial daily, the undisclosed equity offered for the fundraising of Vian System also includes contribution of certain intellectual property assets. Reportedly, the filing added that two investors already have invested in the offering to Vian Systems that has revenues in the range of $1-$1 million. Sikka, who stepped down as Infosys CEO in August 2017, has always championed AI and analytics. He had once said, “Technology, especially computing technology will provide a halo, a great context around our humanity, which will empower us." However, he had quit the tech behemoth, following a clash with the company’s other top leaders citing “the distractions, the very public noise around us” in his personal blog post. Under Sikka's leadership, Infosys had witnessed a fast development in the social, mobility, AI and analytics space. AI was a key part of his strategy at Infosys, and platform Nia was created under his watch. He had also led a team in the direction of autonomous vehicles, where he showcased automated golf car developed by the Infosys Mysore team. He had also built a Center of Excellence for AI at Pune. Vian Systems, which only has a basic website with "building a world full of life and intelligence" as a message, is now based in California, and will focus on AI-based products and solutions.