TECHNOLOGY
Tame that wonderful beast and make it an assistive tool: Narayana Murthy dispels AI fears
"I am a confirmed optimist regarding the role of technology in general and specifically in AI. All of this will happen only if we are smart enough to tame that beast and make it an assistive tool," says Murthy
TECHNOLOGY
Porter quietly turns unicorn, closes internal round at $1 billion valuation
This is Porter's second friends and family round in a span of about a year. In the January-March quarter of 2023, the company sold shares worth Rs 7-8 crore to friends and family at a valuation of $700 million.
TECHNOLOGY
SoftBank plans to invest in Indian data centres, industrial robotics as part of AI play
The Japanese technology major is evaluating deals in data centre and industrial robotics and could look at investing $75-150 million per deal once these discussions fructify
BUSINESS
What's in a name? Cognizant India becomes Innovate amid trademark dispute
A Cognizant spokesperson said the company is temporarily using ‘innovate’ as a header in its social media channels to commemorate one-year anniversary of its Bluebolt innovation initiative
TECHNOLOGY
There are not enough consumer brands, we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg: Accel’s Prashanth Prakash and Fireside Ventures’ Kanwaljit Singh
Be it cookies, ketchup, snacks or personal care and beauty products, most people can recall just 5-6 names but are unable to think of companies beyond that, the two investors said.
BUSINESS
Counsel, don't sell, Byju's Raveendran tells staff; does away with sales call targets, slashes course prices
Byju’s CEO urged employees to ask their 'friends' to join the company to sell courses while they act as their managers, sharing a desire to build a 50,000-strong sales force again within the next year
BUSINESS
Why Paytm President and COO Bhavesh Gupta resigned
Sharma is likely to be more hands-on and will closely monitor every single business division of Paytm until things go back to where they were during Q2 of the last financial year
TECHNOLOGY
Licious hits $100 million in annual revenue run rate
For its next phase of growth, Licious will focus on the ready-to-eat category and open more offline stores. It plans to open 40 stores by the end of the current fiscal.
TECHNOLOGY
FirstCry may refile draft IPO papers by midnight with additional KPIs, December financials
SEBI had sought 25 KPIs, of which FirstCry provided only 5-6 in its first set of filings. The refilling will reflect FirstCry's updated performance, until December 2023, instead of September 2023, as was the case earlier.
BUSINESS
The lack of growth is more market dynamics rather than leadership churn: LTIMindtree CEO Debashis Chatterjee
Many deal wins that were delayed are expected to ramp up in Q1, and revenue will start kicking in, Chatterjee said, adding that the upcoming quarter will be better than Q4.
TECHNOLOGY
Swiggy files draft IPO papers via SEBI’s confidential filing route
This comes a day after Swiggy’s shareholders approved its $1.25-billion IPO, as reported by Moneycontrol earlier.
TECHNOLOGY
Firstcry to refile IPO next week with December financials
Sources told Moneycontrol that SEBI had sought 25 KPIs of which Firstcry only provided 5-6.
BUSINESS
Prosus elevates Ashutosh Sharma to drive growth in India, adjacent markets
Prosus is owned by South African consumer internet group Naspers, one of the biggest technology investors in the world. It has invested $7 billion in India so far.
TECHNOLOGY
Gukesh win historic, India will dominate chess for many years like Russia: WestBridge Capital’s Sandeep Singhal
Sandeep Singhal and Viswanathan Anand together set up the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy four years ago, which is today a fountainhead of chess talent in India. WestBridge is also Gukesh’s sponsor.
BUSINESS
Meetup at Lonavala: RBI holds discussions with banks and fintechs on ways to popularise CBDC
The meeting happens against the backdrop of declining usage of CBDC at the wholesale level and retail level. Despite a push from some banks and the regulator and interoperability with UPI, CBDC has been losing popularity
TECHNOLOGY
Meesho gets investor interest for larger round size
Meesho and Accel had also engaged with each other in the past months but those talks have not fructified. This is the second instance where an early backer of Flipkart has shown interest in Meesho. Tiger Global is the other.
TECHNOLOGY
TCS targets to hire around 40,000 freshers in FY25; will honour all offers made
In terms of hiring experienced professionals, TCS will be taking a call on a quarterly basis depending on immediate demand and requirement, CEO and MD K Krithivasan said.
TECHNOLOGY
There is a greater opportunity to increase pricing: TCS CEO K Krithivasan
In an interview with Moneycontrol, TCS CEO K Krithivasan said he believes the new fiscal will be better than the previous one and that they will step up focus on regional markets.
TECHNOLOGY
IIT Bombay Prof's startup Sedemac Mechatronics in talks to raise $100 million from A91, Xponentia, 360 ONE Asset
The startup is talking to A91 partners, Xponentia Capital Partners and 360 ONE Asset. The round is likely to close at a valuation of $250 million
TECHNOLOGY
Premji Invest eyes $50-$70 million investment in Canva
Premji Invest is stepping up bets in US tech firms, as it looks to capitalise on the generative AI boom. It recently invested in AI firm Hippocratic AI.
BUSINESS
Qualities as hiker will guide me as a leader: Wipro CEO Srini Pallia's first email to employees
Pallia said be will be meeting associates and clients in the weeks ahead and underscored the importance of work life balance
BUSINESS
Wipro ex-CEO Delaporte to employees: My main goal is complete with transformation in place
Delaporte said that he’s handing over the reins to his successor, 'who will drive excellence on the back of this transformation, and move towards execution all the investments the company has made.'
TECHNOLOGY
Thierry Delaported: A litmus test for Wipro and Rishad Premji
Apart from performance and senior-level churn, the board was also concerned about high costs linked to acquisitions and expat hires.
BUSINESS
Byju’s’ Aakash selects former Pearson India MD Deepak Mehrotra as CEO
The new appointment comes months after reports said that Aakash Chaudhry, the promoter of Aakash Educational Services won't be returning as CEO of the coaching company.
