Wipro: From Cooking Oil to Global IT Powerhouse Established in 1945 as Western India Vegetable Products Limited, Wipro's journey began as a cooking oil manufacturer under M H Hasham Premji. Following his death in 1966, his son Azim Premji took the helm at the young age of 21. The company's name evolved to Wipro Products Limited in 1977 and later to Wipro Limited in 1982. The 1980s marked a pivotal shift. Recognising the burgeoning IT sector, Wipro established Wipro Infotech and Wipro Systems, venturing into computer hardware and software. A significant milestone was the development of India's first Intel 8086-based minicomputer in 1981. The software division, initially focused on software suites, transitioned to offshore development by 1990. By the mid-1990s, Wipro was a leading player in PCs, peripherals, and medical equipment. Becoming a major software exporter by 1998, Wipro progressively concentrated on higher-margin software services. The dot-com boom propelled Wipro to become India's largest company by market capitalization in the early 2000s, surpassing Infosys. This success made Azim Premji India's wealthiest individual for five years. Wipro crossed US$1 billion in annual revenue in 2004, and by 2006, product engineering R&D accounted for 30% of its revenue. Further diversification included the launch of Wipro Supernova supercomputers in 2007 and collaboration with ISRO on the SAGA-220 supercomputer in 2011. In 2012, Wipro demerged its non-IT businesses, retaining its focus on the global information technology sector.