Being setup with an initial start-up equity of $2 million, the company willbe called Satyam Venture Engineering Services and will specialise inservices to automotive OEMs, tier-1 and other suppliers, senior companyofficials said.

The expertise offered by the new company includes CAD/CAM/CAE simulation andtool design apart from providing software development and customisation forengineering design, manufacturing automation and manufacturingprocesses-related activity, a statement by Satyam adds.

While the technical operations of the new company are to be based inHyderabad, an independent organisation to handle international marketing forit is proposed to be set up.

``We are extremely pleased with our association with venture. This jointventure reaffirms the global recognition Satyam already has for itsengineering services capability,'' Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju said inthe statement.

``This is the first time that any Indian software company has ventured intothe highly specialised niche market and we can leverage a lot of low costIndian expertise to tap the global markets,'' a Satyam official told TheFinancial Express.

The necessary applications to RBI and other Government agencies are beingmade for establishing the joint venture, it said.

The $2 billion Venture Industries employs 15,000 people and operates out of50 locations worldwide with the customer base including several automotivegiants.