Wipro Started With Vegetable Oil? The Surprising Story Behind India’s IT Giant

In this episode of Before They Were Giants, we trace the remarkable transformation of Wipro — from a pre-independence vegetable oil and vanaspati business to one of India’s best-known global technology companies. Founded in 1945 as Western India Vegetable Products Limited, Wipro began its journey in consumer products before Azim Premji took charge in 1966 and began diversifying the business. From soaps and lighting to computers, keyboards and IT services, Wipro steadily entered entirely new industries. The company’s launch of Santoor in 1985 became another major chapter in its consumer story, while its move into information technology in the late 1970s laid the foundation for its global expansion. As Wipro grew its software and IT services business, its consumer operations continued to evolve, eventually becoming Wipro Enterprises. Today, Wipro Limited is a global IT services and consulting company, while Wipro Enterprises continues to operate across consumer-focused categories and brands including Santoor, Chandrika and Yardley. This is the story of how one Indian business evolved from vanaspati and soap to software, cloud, cybersecurity and AI — and ultimately created two very different businesses from the same starting point.