PremjiInvest's AI-powered Investment Strategy
PremjiInvest, the family office of Indian software tycoon Azim Premji, is doubling down on its use of artificial intelligence (AI) to identify and invest in promising companies. The firm, which manages over $10 billion for Premji, is already one of the first large Indian asset managers to use AI tools in the private equity space. Now, it is developing an AI quant model for its public market bets as well.
TK Kurien, PremjiInvest's managing partner and chief investment officer, believes that AI can give the firm a significant edge in the market. "AI is helping us scour more than 10,000 companies globally on 600 parameters to identify investment opportunities," he said. "We expect this to give us a bird's eye view of emerging technologies and trends that could help us stay ahead of our peers."
PremjiInvest has already invested in several AI-powered companies, including data-management software company Cohesity Inc. and enterprise software business Holistic AI. Kurien plans to allow open-source developers to access some of the firm's AI tools, and the fund's engineers are also developing platforms to help India's courts and governments operate more efficiently.
Technology and financial services will be the top sectors for PremjiInvest's future investments. In private markets in India, the firm will also focus on consumer and healthcare, while its US investments will be concentrated in healthcare and technology.
PremjiInvest is a patient investor with no set exit timeframe. The firm returns about 5% of its capital to Premji's philanthropic foundation every year. Its assets are allocated across private investments, publicly traded equities, and investments into other funds. In the last eight years, PremjiInvest has seen its assets under management quadruple.