The holding firm, promoted by well known individual investors and investment firms in the US has drawn up plans to pump in close to $300 million over the next three years into the start-ups primarily operating in the Internet-based technology areas.

The company has thus far raised $125 million of capital for investments in the first phase.

e4e Inc has been founded by Mr KB Chandrasekhar (co-founder, Exodus) who will head the company as chairman, Mr Somshankar Das (ex-partner Walden International) as CEO and Dr Sridhar Mitta (ex-CTO Wipro Ltd) as the managing director for India.

Other individual and institutional investors in the company include Mr Frank Bonsal Jr, New Enterprise Associates. Mr Peter Howley, CEO IPWireless, William Melton (co-founder Verifone and Cyberchash), Mr Ashok Narasimhan (founder Prio), Mr Prabakar Sundarrajan (VP Technology-Exodus), Walden International, Global Internet Ventures and LNM Internet Ventures.

Speaking at the media briefing, Mr KB Chandrasekhar said the focus would be on leveraging technology, capital and people to build both product and service companies.

The specific technology areas include -- network management services, managed IT services, e-Business consulting and implementation services, wireless data services and customer relationship management services.

With India as the center piece of the whole network, investments would be focussed on nurturing ideas in the five key technology areas to build IP, expertise and companies, Mr Chandrasekhar added.

e4e Inc has also identified a key division -- e4e Labs -- based in Bangalore that will function as the research and technology building platform for the parent company.

``As a technology holding company we will be able to take a start-up right from concept stage to actual business realisation. The idea is to span all stages by being an incubator, venture capitalist, business accelerator, consultant and an investment bank all in one,'' Mr Somshankar Das said.

e4e Inc has also been identified as a class C corporation, which means that the company could continue to retain its holding in its investee companies post-IPO, Mr Das added.

12 start-ups targetedin first phase
e4e Inc is looking at investing in close to 10-12 start-up companies in the first phase of its operations. Close to four investments are likely to be anounced shortly. The company has also picked up a 40 per cent stake in the Bangalore-based Aztec Software.