The Conversation KRIS GOPALAKRISHNAN

Infosys co-founder Senapathy ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan is a very private person behind a public face. The 65-year-old billionaire entrepreneur, who has channelled his passion for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship by backing projects at academic institutions and funding startups, says his investments are not just for returns, but to create an innovation-led economy.

- DEBOJYOTI GHOSH

SECOND INNINGS

After leaving Infosys, you have become a big backer of research and innovation, whether it’s at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras or at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, among others. How did it start?

When I stepped out of Infosys, I had to think about a second career. After 36 years, I wanted to try my hand at something different. I always had a passion for innovation and wanted to take that forward. I chose brain sciences and decided to explore two areas: brain-inspired computing, 1 and understanding how the brain ages and disorders that arise due to ageing, such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, and other neurological disorders. I have been working on various projects with IIT Madras, my alma mater, for the past 25 years, so it was an obvious choice. [I also chose] IISc because it is the No. 1 research institute in the country and it’s in Bengaluru, so it was quite accessible to me. I strongly believe that if India needs to grow fast, it has to be [through] innovation-led economic development. This will happen through startups and by building innovative products. Research, innovation, and entrepreneurship—that is the complete chain I decided to support.

What are your focus areas and how do you decide on funding these?

The areas that I chose were primarily in healthcare because the space can be transformed using technology. If India needs to provide affordable, quality, and accessible healthcare to 1.3 billion people, it has to be built on technology and a new model of the healthcare system. So from areas of the ageing brain, I also looked at the other aspects of healthcare, including preventive, curative, and palliative care.