Ankita | Pixr8 News

HDFC Bank Launches Chatbot Eva For Customer Services

7Mar By AnkitaNo Comments

News

HDFC Bank Launches Chatbot Eva For Customer Services

HDFC Bank announced the launch of an electronic virtual assistant (EVA), an artificial intelligence-driven chatbot, for customer services. Eva is India's first AI-based banking chatbot and can answer millions of customer queries across multiple channels instantly, HDFC Bank said in a statement. Eva can assimilate knowledge from thousands of sources and provide answers in simple language in less than 0.4 seconds, it said. "Within the first few days of its launch, Eva has answered over 1 lakh queries from thousands of customers from 17 countries across the globe," it claimed. With the launch of Eva, it said, bank's customers can get information on its products and services instantaneously and it also becomes smarter as it learns through its customer interactions. Going forward, E...

6Mar By AnkitaNo Comments

INDIA

Indian Services Sector Returns to Growth After 3 Month Contraction

The services sector returned to the growth zone in February after three months of demonetisation- driven contraction but recovery was 'mild' and business confidence remained subdued, a monthly survey showed today. Besides, higher input costs forced companies to hike prices and the rising inflationary pressure may result in the Reserve Bank keeping away from any interest rate easing in the immediate future. The Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which tracks services sector output on a monthly basis, stood at 50.3 in February, up from 48.7 registered in January. After slipping to a near three-year low last November, which was the first monthly drop in output since June 2015, the headline index edged has now edged back above the 50.0 mark, which separates expansion...

Alibaba, SAIF Partners to Invest $200 Million in Paytm E-commerce Platform

3Mar By AnkitaNo Comments

FUNDING

Alibaba, SAIF Partners to Invest $200 Million in Paytm E-commerce Platform

Chinese e-commerce major Alibaba, along with investment firm SAIF Partners, will pump in USD 200 million in Paytm's online marketplace unit. Alibaba Singapore E-Commerce Pvt Ltd will invest USD 177 million in Paytm E-Commerce Pvt Ltd, the demerged unit of digital payments company, One 97 Communications that operates under Paytm brand. The remaining amount will come from SAIF, an early investor in One 97, according to a filing with the Registrar of Companies. Post the investment, Alibaba Singapore E-Commerce will have a shareholding of 36.31 percent, while SAIF Partners India will own 4.66 percent in Paytm E-Commerce. Paytm declined to comment on the matter. This deal is expected to pave the way for the much-awaited entry of Alibaba into India, where the Chinese firm will go head-to-h...

Snapdeal, Truecaller Partner to Make Your Shopping Experience Frictionless

2Mar By AnkitaNo Comments

BUSINESS

Snapdeal, Truecaller Partner to Make Your Shopping Experience Frictionless

New Delhi, ANI: India's largest online marketplace Snapdeal has partnered with Truecaller, one of the leading communication apps in the world to enhance consumer experience by integrating Truecaller Priority in the company's IVR and order confirmation numbers. Customers with Truecaller app installed on their mobiles will be able to easily identify and filter IVR or delivery verification calls when shopping on Snapdeal. Any calls received by users who have placed an order on Snapdeal, while be clearly marked as 'Snapdeal Order Team' or 'Snapdeal Delivery Team', and color coded in purple; thus, assuring the users that the call is important and from a reliable source, not spam. "We are very pleased to bring the Truecaller Priority feature to our platform. It will help reduce a key fricti...

1Mar By AnkitaNo Comments

FUNDING

Inter-city Cab Rental Platform MyTaxiIndia Raises Funding

Inter-city cab rental platform MyTaxiIndia has raised an undisclosed amount from ZGC Global, a Dubai-based investor to expand its operations. MyTaxiIndia, which claims to be present in 200 cities, is looking at rolling out its offerings in the North-East as well as tier I and II cities in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. However, no financial details of the investment were divulged. The company plans to raise its next round of funding of about USD 5 million in the next four months. Stating that the Dubai-based company will also participate in the Series A round, MyTaxiIndia Co-Founder Anshuman Mihir said: "We are discussing the valuation with several venture capital firms... We would be raising up to USD 5 million". In July 2016, MyTaxiIndia ha...

Hyperloop One and Indian Government Officials Lead First-Ever Summit on Hyperloop Technologies

1Mar By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Hyperloop One and Indian Government Officials Lead First-Ever Summit on Hyperloop Technologies

Hyperloop One, the global leader in developing the world's first operational Hyperloop, convened a landmark innovation summit – The Hyperloop One Vision For India in New Delhi today. The summit, which was graced by Shri Suresh Prabhu, Hon'ble Minister of Railways and Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, discussed how Hyperloop One can integrate with and augment India's vast transport network with reliable, clean, and on-demand autonomous transport, connecting India's major cities at faster-than-airline speeds. Hyperloop can reinvent and transform transportation in India, making the nation a global leader in innovation, efficiency, and regional economic growth. The Hyperloop concept has generated excitement and interest from start-ups around the world since it was first proposed in 20...

2017 to Be a Better Year For Indian Startups: Qualcomm Ventures

27Feb By AnkitaNo Comments

News

2017 to Be a Better Year For Indian Startups: Qualcomm Ventures

Qualcomm Ventures, the venture investment arm of US-based chip maker Qualcomm Inc which has a USD 150 million India-focused fund, expects 2017 to be a better year for the startup ecosystem, especially early stage companies. "2016 was the hardest year, and that is behind us. 2017 will be a better year. There was a crunch in investment dollars, especially Series C and Series D investments," Varsha Tagare, senior director, Qualcomm Ventures India told Pixr8. "Funding in early stage is not gone down, but there is more selective funding. What is needed is more well-defined companies after the early stage," she said. The USD 150 million fund will be our only funding vehicle for the venture firm, she said. She pointed out that the ecosystem in India is quite mature, as there are several ...

IIM Bangalore Selects 15 Women Entrepreneurs For 1 Year Incubation Programme

26Feb By AnkitaNo Comments

News

IIM Bangalore Selects 15 Women Entrepreneurs For 1 Year Incubation Programme

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and Goldman Sachs today selected 15 women entrepreneurs and their ideas for incubation over next year as the final phase of its Women Startup Programme. his is a Goldman Sachs-backed customised online and classroom training programme designed to grow next generation of female entrepreneurs, Goldman Sachs said in a statement. The 15 women selected to incubate (their ideas) at IIMB will receive a fellowship of Rs 40,000 per month, while they further develop their business ideas. "Since 2008, through our 10,000 women initiatives, Goldman Sachs has been investing globally and in India in the economic empowerment of women through education and access to capital," Goldman Sachs (India) Chairman and co-CEO Sonjoy Chatterjee said. "The innovat...

Google Rolls Out AI Tool Perspective to Combat Online Trolls

25Feb By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Google Rolls Out AI Tool Perspective to Combat Online Trolls

Google said it will begin offering media groups an artificial intelligence tool designed to stamp out incendiary comments on their websites. The programming tool called Perspective, aims to assist editors trying to moderate discussions by filtering out abusive "troll" comments, which Google says can stymie smart online discussions. "Seventy-two per cent of American internet users have witnessed harassment online and nearly half have personally experienced it," said Jared Cohen, president of Google's Jigsaw technology incubator. "Almost a third self-censor what they post online for fear of retribution," he added in a blog post yesterday titled "When computers learn to swear". Perspective is an application programming interface (API), or set of methods for facilitating communication...

Reliance Jio Key Announcements- 100 Million Users, Jio Prime Membership

21Feb By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Reliance Jio Key Announcements- 100 Million Users, Jio Prime Membership

Mumbai, February 21, 2017: Reliance Jio announced today that the Jio family of subscribers is a 100 million strong! Jio’s offering saw record additions of 7 new members per second, every single day for the last 170 days, enabling it to cross the 100 million mark within six months of commencement of services. This is the fastest achieved by any start-up technology company in the world including the likes of Facebook, WhatsApp and Skype. Facilitated by a revolutionary on-boarding process through an Aadhar based eKYC solution, a Jio SIM today resides in the SIM slot of a majority of 4G smartphones in India. In additiion, Jio’s proprietory app ‘Jio4GVoice’ and its utilitarian Jiofy Wifi devices are enabling lacs of 3G and 2G smartphone owners to enjoy a 4G voice and data environment withou...

TRAI Examining BSNL’s New App-Based Calling Service

19Feb By AnkitaNo Comments

INDIA

TRAI Examining BSNL’s New App-Based Calling Service

Telecom regulator TRAI is examining the limited fixed mobile telephony services of Bharat Sanchar Nigam following objections raised by the cellular operators, and a decision is expected soon. "Our team is working with BSNL...we have asked them for certain clarifications with a view to understand the entire architecture of the limited FMT service. And then we will take a view quickly," TRAI Chairman, RS Sharma told Pixr8. Cellular operators under industry body COAI approached the telecom regulator against the limited fixed mobile telephony services announced by BSNL. BSNL's limited fixed mobile telephony is an app-based calling service that virtually turns mobiles into cordless phones working in sync with landlines to make and receive calls within home premises. When contacted,...

Samsung India Launches Solar-Powered Refrigerators

18Feb By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Samsung India Launches Solar-Powered Refrigerators

Consumer electronics major Samsung India has launched a range of solar powered smart convertible frost-free and direct cool refrigerators, targeting the semi urban and rural customers. Smart convertible refrigerator, which is the first of its kind in frost-free category, will have prices starting at Rs 27,250 and its mid-segment range begins from 253-litre and has multiple sizes up to 670-litre. On the other hand, smart digital inverter direct cool refrigerators' price will start at Rs 14,900, and the products range from 192 litre to 230 litre and will be available across key markets, the company said in a statement. Refrigerators in both the segments can be run on solar power as well as on home inverter. Besides, Samsung has also strengthened its AC portfolio on the onslaught of ...