Monday, December 23

Author: Priyanka

US President Donald Trump suspends H-1B visas till year end
USA

US President Donald Trump suspends H-1B visas till year end

US President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation to suspend issuing of H-1B visas, which is popular among Indian and Chinese workers, along with other foreign work visas for the rest of the year. Trump said the step was essential to help millions of Americans who have lost their jobs due to the current economic crisis. Issuing the proclamation ahead of the November presidential elections, Trump has ignored the mounting opposition to the order by various business organisations, lawmakers and human rights bodies. The proclamation that comes into effect on June 24, is expected to impact a large number of Indian IT professionals and several American and Indian companies who were issued H-1B visas by the US government for the fiscal year 2021 beginning October 1. They would now have to...
ServiceNow to Acquire Belgium based Data Management Pioneer Sweagle
ACQUISITION

ServiceNow to Acquire Belgium based Data Management Pioneer Sweagle

SANTA CLARA, Calif., 23rd June 2020-- ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW), the leading digital workflow company making work better for people, has signed an agreement to acquire Sweagle, a Belgium-based configuration data management company. The transaction will extend ServiceNow’s DevOps and IT Operations Management (ITOM) capabilities, giving customers the ability to leverage machine learning to identify and help prevent potential misconfigurations from causing outages in production and speeding up remediation. COVID-19 has magnified the importance for organizations to quickly adapt technology to meet changing customer and employee needs. Sweagle provides a single source of truth for configuration data that is otherwise spread across many tools. With Sweagle, ServiceNow customers can identify ...
KillerLaunch.com ensures companies keep hiring during CoronaVirus
Story

KillerLaunch.com ensures companies keep hiring during CoronaVirus

The Coronavirus pandemic has upended the society's operations, and the market is under unprecedented stress. With over 3 Lakh cases in India and the loss of $250 billion after Lockdown 1.0, according to former Infosys CFO-V. Balakrishnan, India's financial state has taken a blow.  Industries like tourism, automotive, tourism, and aviation, have had to terminate their operations while other sectors, like healthcare, technology, and life sciences, have been saddled with overwhelming recruitment demand. Though the commonality across all industries, during COVID-19, is the disruption to HR and recruitment. Along with adjusting to layoffs and hiring freezes, recruiters and job seekers have had to transition to Working From Home. Nevertheless, Indians are resilient and are taking these c...
SoftBank led $19.5 million funding round in Splyt
FUNDING

SoftBank led $19.5 million funding round in Splyt

TOKYO, 19th June 2020: Softbank Corp led a $19.5 million funding round in startup Splyt, which helps app operators integrate mobility options with other services, as it seeks to build its own super app. Japanese tech firms have lagged peers such as Tencent Holdings, with its WeChat app, in creating super apps, which offer access to a range of services via a single interface. SoftBank will take a "significant stake" in Splyt, which has helped integrate ridehailing into apps such as Alibaba Group's Alipay and Grab, backed by SoftBank Group Corp, with the deal focused on using the technology with its own services. SoftBank is poised to control two top contenders for a local super app, the chat app from Line Corp, which will be brought under the SoftBank umbrella in October after stri...
California based Workforce Upskilling platform Degreed raises $32 million
FUNDING

California based Workforce Upskilling platform Degreed raises $32 million

PLEASANTON, Calif., June 18th, 2020 -- Upskilling platform, Degreed has raised $32 million in new funding in direct response to overwhelming demand for better skill insights, talent mobility, and a user-focused learning experience. Owl Ventures led this latest round, bringing Degreed’s total funding to $182 million. According to Human Resource Executive, 75% to 80% of workers don’t complete their HR system’s talent profile, leaving organizations without a critical data set needed to inform agile business decisions. Degreed helps companies overcome this gap by enabling employees to develop their skills and create skill profiles. Using that data, the platform can then promote career mobility by connecting users to project, gig, and job opportunities. This round of funding will acceler...
Amazon testing wearable device for Warehouse workers to maintain social distancing
Tech

Amazon testing wearable device for Warehouse workers to maintain social distancing

San Francisco, June 17: E-commerce player Amazon.com is testing a wearable device that will alert warehouse workers to maintain social distance at work during the Chinese Covid-19 epidemic. The wearable device will sound a loud beeping noise and flashes light when workers do not maintain the safe distance. According to a report in CNBC on Tuesday, the device comprises a clear plastic sleeve and a clip that has an LED light and audio system embedded in it. The device will be used by Amazon's facility in Kent, Washington, starting Wednesday, said the report, citing a private online group for warehouse workers. The report comes amid fierce criticism that Amazon has faced from its former and current employees regarding its safety measures for workers. Amazon is even being sued f...
Silicon Vally based AI Startup Drishti raises $25M in Series B round of funding
FUNDING

Silicon Vally based AI Startup Drishti raises $25M in Series B round of funding

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 16, 2020– AI-powered video analytics startup Drishti Technologies raises investment of $25M in Series B round. The round was led by Sozo Ventures, was raised upon demonstrated evidence that Drishti’s AI-powered video analytics, data, and insights bring significant benefits to manufacturers and the people they employ on the factory floor. As part of this round, Uday Sandhu from Alpha Intelligence Capital has joined Drishti’s board of directors. Alpha Intelligence Capital, Toyota AI Ventures, Micron Ventures, Presidio Ventures, HELLA Ventures, as well as current investors Emergence Capital, Benhamou Global Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, also participated in the round.  Drishti’s Series B financing will fuel its expansion into plants across North A...
TPG picks 0.93 pc stake in Jio Platforms for $600 Million
FUNDING

TPG picks 0.93 pc stake in Jio Platforms for $600 Million

New Delhi, Jun 13, 2020: Reliance Industries sold 0.93 percent stake in its digital unit Reliance Jio to global alternative asset firm TPG for $600 million (Rs 4,546.80 crore), taking the cumulative fundraising to over $13.49 billion (Rs 1.02 lakh crore) by selling nearly 22% stake that will help pare debt at the oil-to-telecom conglomerate. "TPG will invest $600 million (Rs 4,546.80 crore) in Jio Platforms at an enterprise value of $65 billion (Rs 5.16 lakh crore)," the company said in a statement. The investment will translate into a 0.93 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis for TPG. "With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised $13.49 billion (Rs 102,432.45 crore) from leading global technology investors including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity...
California based JIFFY.ai raises $18mn led by Nexus Venture Partners
FUNDING

California based JIFFY.ai raises $18mn led by Nexus Venture Partners

Palo Alto, Calif, Jun 12 2020: Enterprise automation platform JIFFY.ai raises USD 18 million (around Rs 136 crore) in Series A round funding led by Nexus Venture Partners. The funding round also saw participation from Rebright Partners, W250 Venture Fund (founded by alumni of the Stanford Executive Program), and corporate leaders led by Sri Viswanath, Richard Galanti, Charles Goldman, Tony Thomas, Jim Brady, and Bob Ward, a statement said. "Our goal is to set a new standard for business at the intersection of entrepreneurship and innovation. Across our entire team, we''re dedicated to tackling the effects of automation on the workforce, not just by accelerating the path to profit for businesses, but also through our foundation arm, we''ll invest in programmes to re-train and up-skill...
Infibeam Acquires Cardpay Technologies for $59k
ACQUISITION

Infibeam Acquires Cardpay Technologies for $59k

India's first listed eCommerce platform Infibeam registered as Infibeam Avenues Ltd has acquired Bengaluru-based Cardpay Technologies Ltd. Cardpay offers a unified spend management platform to corporates under ''GRIT'' brand name with physical and virtual credit cards, invoice processing and early payment discounting. The deal has taken place at an initial cash consideration of $59,613 (Rs 45 lakh). “There would be a reward incentive mechanism to the management of the target company (Cardpay) up to rupees equivalent to USD 1 million, based on performance parameters of the target company, as mutually agreed," Infibeam said in a statement. "The acquisition of Cardpay strengthens Infibeam's Payments credit services business with a comprehensive credit issuance portfolio including ...
Silver Lake & Co acquire additional 0.9% Stake in Reliance Jio
ACQUISITION

Silver Lake & Co acquire additional 0.9% Stake in Reliance Jio

New Delhi: Reliance Industries said private equity fund Silver Lake and its co-investors invest an additional $601.40 million (Rs 4,546 crore) in digital unit Jio Platforms. The investment comes on top of the $750 million Silver Lake committed to Jio Platforms earlier this month. With this investment, Silver Lake's stake in Reliance Jio raises 2.08 percent from earlier 1.15 percent. Reliance has now sold nearly 20 percent of Jio Platforms to investors, including Facebook, KKR, UAE based fund, etc. securing around $12 billion in less than six weeks. The deal controlled by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, including a $7 billion share sale, with plans to eliminate $21.4 billion of net debt by the end of the year. "The investment momentum behind Jio validates a compelling bu...
h2e Power acquires Swiss fuel cell company Hexis AG
ACQUISITION

h2e Power acquires Swiss fuel cell company Hexis AG

New Delhi, June 5: h2e Power Systems acquires Swiss-based hydrogen fuel cell company Hexis AG from Viessmann Group. However, the company did not disclose the deal size. The Swiss firm has been acquired by the company through its German subsidiary mPower GmbH, h2e Power Systems said in a statement. "In keeping with the group''s commitment to climate change and clean energy, the acquisition of Hexis is an important milestone. We will create a global footprint and locally produce zero-emission power generators in Pune," h2e Power Systems Chairman Adar Poonawalla said. The company is building large manufacturing capacity in Pune for Indian and global markets, he added. "We are delighted to have found the right investor for Hexis and we look forward to a successful partnership wi...