Wipro was incorporated in 1945 as Western India Vegetable Products Limited. By October 2000 it was one of India's leading IT services companies, selling software design and development to firms around the world. It still sold soaps, toiletries, lighting and cooking oils at home. That fall it listed American depositary shares on the New York Stock Exchange at $41.375 each. Its chairman, Azim Premji, controlled the company.

Western India Vegetable Products

The company became Wipro Products in 1977 and Wipro Limited in 1984. Its consumer care business had run since 1945, and its lighting business since 1992. The big bet was software. Through its Wipro Technologies division, Wipro did research and development for hardware and telecom makers and built applications for large companies. A separate unit sold IT services and products inside India. Consumer care and lighting made up 14 percent of revenue.

Bangalore on the Big Board

Wipro sold 2,750,000 American depositary shares at $41.375 each in October 2000, with each share backed by one equity share in India. They listed on the New York Stock Exchange as WIT, months after the dot-com peak. The offering gave American investors a direct way to own one of India's software exporters. Wipro still trades on the NYSE as WIT and files its reports with the SEC from Bengaluru.

Cover: Sunflowers, Georges Lemmen. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for sunflowers (vegetable oil roots, the Wipro sunflower).