Friday, March 29

Author: Priyanka

Modi led Indian Government saved $9 billion after Aadhar implementation: Nandan Nilekani, Infosys Co-founder
INDIA

Modi led Indian Government saved $9 billion after Aadhar implementation: Nandan Nilekani, Infosys Co-founder

Nandan Nilekani, the co-founder and former CEO of Infosys said, the Indian government's Aadhaar card scheme, which has enrolled more than 1 billion people, has helped the exchequer save about USD 9 billion by eliminating fraud in beneficiary lists". The Aadhar card is a biometric identification obtained by residents of India. The program was launched by the previous UPA government under former PM Manmohan Singh and now supported by the current Narendra Modi led Government. It has really been a bipartisan thing, Nilekani said while participating in a World Bank panel discussion on Digital Economy for Development yesterday. He said that it is easier for the developing countries to leapfrog by building a right digital infrastructure. Aadhaar now has more than a billion people re...
Foxconn boss Willing to Run for Taiwan presidency
INSPIRATIONAL

Foxconn boss Willing to Run for Taiwan presidency

World's leading iPhones manufacturing company Foxconn founder announced that his intention to run for the presidency of Taiwan on a ticket from the Beijing-friendly opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party. "I am willing to join the party's primary. If I win I will represent the KMT in the 2020 elections," Terry Gou said at a KMT meeting in Taipei in comments broadcast live on local TV. Recently, Foxconn makes a large footprint in Asian including manufacturing Xiaomi and iPhones in India. Foxconn invests $356 million to expand the Indian plant, including investment in iPhone production. The investment may create as many as 25,000 jobs. Another source also stated that Foxconn planned to assemble iPhones in India, in a move that could help both it and Apple to limit the impact o...
Indian Messenger App Hike Expects 4x growth in 2019
BUSINESS

Indian Messenger App Hike Expects 4x growth in 2019

India's leading messaging app Hike expects four-fold growth in per day customer acquisition rate by the end of 2019 with the launch of its new sticker-based chat app. "There is so much happening in the company that Hike Sticker chat will become one of the two or three products that we have. Today we are adding 50,000 users per day. My goal is to get to a place where we are adding 3-4 times of that (by end of 2019)," Hike founder and CEO Kavin Bharti Mittal said. As part of its strategy to launch multiple apps, Hike on Tuesday unveiled new mobile messaging platform that will be majorly based on chat in the form of stickers. "We have 30,000 stickers. Challenge was to give right stickers to users at right time. We have integrated machine learning in the core of the app which will gi...
Facebook spends $22.6 million on Mark Zuckerberg’s security
News

Facebook spends $22.6 million on Mark Zuckerberg’s security

Facebook Inc in a regulatory filing revealed that it spent $22.6 million on Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's security in 2018. Nearly $20 million went toward security for Zuckerberg and his family, up from about $9 million the year prior. Zuckerberg also received $2.6 million for personal use of private jets, which the company said was part of his overall security program. Zuckerberg has drawn a base salary of $1 for the past three years, and his "other" compensation was listed at $22.6 million, most of which was for his personal security. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg took home $23.7 million in 2018 compared to $25.2 million last year. Facebook has in the past few years faced public outcry over its role in Russia's alleged influence on the 2016 U.S. presi...
CleverTap raises $26 Million Funding Led by Sequoia India & Tiger Global
FUNDING

CleverTap raises $26 Million Funding Led by Sequoia India & Tiger Global

SAN FRANCISCO-- Customer lifecycle management platform, CleverTap, today announced a $26 million Series B funding round, led by Sequoia India with participation from new investor, Tiger Global Management, and existing investor Accel. The funds will be used to accelerate CleverTap's data science-driven product capabilities and scale to meet fast-growing demand for its customer lifecycle management platform. The new funding brings the company's valuation to more than $150 million. CleverTap's platform enables businesses to deliver omnichannel experiences to millions of their customers in real time. Using CleverTap's proprietary big data and artificial intelligence engine, businesses can analyze billions of user actions, providing marketing and growth teams with immediate customer...
BPEA Acquires 30% Shares of NIIT Tech
ACQUISITION

BPEA Acquires 30% Shares of NIIT Tech

Baring Private Equity Asia ("BPEA") acquires 30% Stakes (18.85 million shares) of NIIT Technologies Limited from NIIT Limited. The cost of this deal is INR 1394 per share. The deal size is around $381 million. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Board of India Regulations, BPEA will also make an offer to other shareholders of NIIT Technologies to purchase 26% additional shareholding at a price of INR 1394 per share value up to approximately $709 million based on ownership of approximately 56% stake(controlling stake). This transaction is conditional upon customary conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals, including anti-trust and competition clearances from Competition Commission of India. Rajendra Pawar, Chairman, NIIT Technologies Limited, s...
NIIT Technologies Acquires 53% Stakes of WHISHWORKS
ACQUISITION

NIIT Technologies Acquires 53% Stakes of WHISHWORKS

NEW DELHI, April 7, 2019--  NIIT Technologies Limited, a leading global IT solutions organization, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with WHISHWORKS IT Consulting, an IT services and consulting company specializing in MuleSoft and Big Data technologies, to acquire a 53% stake initially, with the remaining equity to be acquired over the next two years through pay-outs linked to financial performance. The transaction closure is subject to fulfillment of certain government/regulatory approvals. A fast-growing company with a robust operating profile, WHISHWORKS currently has around 250 employees. Incorporated in 2010 and headquartered in Hyderabad, WHISHWORKS works with an ecosystem of global innovators, including MuleSoft, Salesforce, MapR, and Cloudera. It enjoys ...
1000 km in a single recharge, Swiss Startup developing an Electric Car rechargeable battery
Automobile

1000 km in a single recharge, Swiss Startup developing an Electric Car rechargeable battery

Switzerland based Innolith AG, the world leader in rechargeable Battery Technology announces that it is developing the world’s first 1000 Wh/kg rechargeable battery. Under development in the company’s German laboratory, the new Innolith Energy Battery would be capable of powering an Electric Vehicle (EV) for over 1000km on a single charge. The Innolith Energy Battery would also radically reduce costs due to the avoidance of exotic and expensive materials combined with the very high energy density of the system. The Innolith battery uses a non-flammable inorganic electrolyte, unlike conventional EV batteries that use a flammable organic electrolyte. The switch to non-flammable batteries removes the primary cause of battery fires that have beset the manufacturers of EVs.  “Th...
MacKenzie Bezos surrender 75% Amazon couple shares
News

MacKenzie Bezos surrender 75% Amazon couple shares

MacKenzie Bezos, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced Thursday the couple had finalised their divorce, and that she would surrender 75 per cent of the couple's shares in the tech giant. Bezos also said she would surrender all of her stake in The Washington Post and the space exploration firm Blue Origin to her ex-husband, as well as voting control of her remaining Amazon shares. But Mackenzie will still retains 25% of Amazon stock which is equal to $35 billion dollars. MacKenzie Bezos will become Fourth-Richest Woman After Divorce. "Grateful to have finished the process of dissolving my marriage with Jeff with support from each other and everyone who reached out to us in kindness," MacKenzie Bezos wrote on Twitter. https://pixr8.com/news/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-and-w...
230 Crore Deal: Reliance Jio Acquires Haptik
ACQUISITION

230 Crore Deal: Reliance Jio Acquires Haptik

Reliance Jio a subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries acquires AI based platform Haptik in 230 crores. After the acquisition Reliance jio will invest 470 crores in the further operation. The Haptik team will continue to drive growth of the business, including the enterprise platform as well as digital consumer assistants. On a fully diluted basis Reliance will hold about 87% of the business with the rest being held by Haptik founders and employees through stock option grants. This transaction enables Reliance Jio to leverage Haptik’s capabilities across various devices and touch points in the consumer’s journey. The investment focus is on enhancement and expansion of the platform, with an addressable market opportunity of over 1 billion users in India. This partnersh...
Google Acquires 51.2% Stakes of Burning Man Festival
ACQUISITION

Google Acquires 51.2% Stakes of Burning Man Festival

According to mixmag website, world's leading search giant Google has acquired the majority share of Burning Man festival. As per the report, Google proposes this offer on 31st March to take over majority stakes of the festival and organsers were agreed on it. Google now owns 51.2 per cent of the festival, meaning it now has the controlling share and will be taking over logistics and the annual running of the event. Though the amount of acquisition is still undisclosed, Pixr8 sources said the deal is around $1.2 billion. There is no secret that Google founders have had a presence at the festival since its inception for years and Sergey Brin, and Larry even hired its first CEO (Eric Schmidt) back in 2001 based on how he managed at the week-long pilgrimage. Marcus Fooly, Goo...
Box8 Raises $15 Mn from eWTP Ecosystem Fund & Others
FUNDING

Box8 Raises $15 Mn from eWTP Ecosystem Fund & Others

Box8, one of India’s largest cloud kitchen startups has raised $15 million led by eWTP Ecosystem Fund. Existing investors Mayfield and IIFL Seed Ventures fund have also participated in this round. Started by two IIT graduates Amit Raj and Anshul Gupta, Box8 is a technology first, full stack cloud kitchen company that is known for its All-in-1 meals, Desi Boxes & more. They own the entire value chain, from procurement of high-quality ingredients to food preparation to the last mile delivery, hence ensuring superior customer experience every time. Box8 has a presence in 4 cities: Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and NCR delivering over 1 million meals every month from the company-owned 110+ cloud kitchens. Its network of cloud kitchens negates the high rental & operations costs incurre...