阿齐姆·普雷姆吉的家族办公室领投了商业贷款初创公司维加芬资本私人有限公司（Vegafin Capital Pvt.）的100亿卢比（1.06亿美元）投资，加大对人工智能聚焦型公司的押注。
Azim Premji’s family office led a 10-billion-rupee ($106 million) investment in business lending startup Vegafin Capital Pvt., ramping up its bets on artificial intelligence-focused firms.
维加芬将使用这笔资金，为该国所谓的微型、小型和中型企业构建一个人工智能贷款平台，该公司周三的一份声明称。这笔交易包括收购位于古尔冈的金融科技公司Bizloan，该公司在全国拥有超过35家分支机构，贷款账面达2500万美元，声明称。
Vegafin will use the funds to build an AI-based lending platform for the nation’s so-called micro, small, and medium enterprises, according to a statement on Wednesday. The deal includes the acquisition of Gurugram-based fintech Bizloan, which has over 35 branches across the country and a loan book of $25 million, it said.
位于加利福尼亚州门洛帕克的风险投资公司诺威斯特（Norwest）和印度的洛克资本（Lok Capital）也参与了本轮融资。
Menlo Park, California-based venture firm Norwest and India’s Lok Capital also participated in the round.
这笔资金是普雷姆吉投资公司（Premji Invest）150亿美元投资组合的最新补充，该组合包括人工智能和金融服务公司。这反映出该国家族办公室和天使投资人越来越有信心支持新一代本土人工智能聚焦型企业，尽管该国在人工智能基础设施投资方面远远落后于美国和中国。
The funding is the latest addition to Premji Invest’s $15-billion portfolio, which includes AI and financial services companies. It reflects growing confidence among the country’s family offices and angel investors to back a new generation of homegrown AI-focused ventures even as the nation significantly lags the US and China in investments into AI buildout.
亿万富翁家族办公室支持印度企业参与人工智能竞赛 维加芬创始人比吉特·巴斯卡（Bijith Bhaskar）曾是普雷姆吉投资公司的合伙人，在印度第二大私人银行ICICI银行有限公司（ICICI Bank Ltd.）的零售和数字银行业务领域工作了二十多年。
Billionaire Family Offices Back India Firms in AI Race Vegafin founder Bijith Bhaskar, a former partner at Premji Invest, spent over two decades at India’s second-largest private lender ICICI Bank Ltd. across retail and digital-banking verticals.
巴斯卡在声明中表示，目标是利用人工智能，整合多方数据，对小企业信用风险进行更快速、更精细、更准确的评估。
The ambition is to leverage AI and harness data from multiple sources for faster, granular and accurate assessment of small-business credit risk, Bhaskar said in the statement.
普雷姆吉创办了软件服务公司威卓有限公司（Wipro Ltd.），根据彭博亿万富翁指数，其净资产为251亿美元。6月，他的家族办公室支持了人工智能验证平台普拉马纳实验室（Pramaana Labs）的2700万美元融资轮。根据Tracxn Technologies Ltd.，普雷姆吉投资公司的全球人工智能投资包括Databricks、Canva、Spotdraft和Writer。
Premji, who founded software services firm Wipro Ltd., has a net worth of $25.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In June, his family office backed a $27-million round in AI verification platform Pramaana Labs. Premji Invest’s global AI bets include Databricks, Canva, Spotdraft and Writer, according to Tracxn Technologies Ltd.
该公司还投资了当地金融服务提供商，包括财富管理公司Dezerv、金融科技贷款机构KreditBee、投资平台Smallcase以及印度国家证券交易所（National Stock Exchange of India Ltd.）。
The firm has also invested in local financial providers including wealth management firm Dezerv, fintech lender KreditBee, investment platform Smallcase and the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd.