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Wipro Secretly Acquired a US Based Cloud Service Company Appirio

21Oct By PriyankaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Wipro Secretly Acquired a US Based Cloud Service Company Appirio

Wipro Limited, India's leading information technology, consulting and business process services company announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquired Appirio, for USD 500 Million. Established in 2006, Appirio, a global cloud services company that creates next generation worker and customer experiences. Appirio is headquartered in Indianapolis with offices in San Francisco, Dublin, London, Jaipur, and Tokyo and has 1250 employees worldwide. The US based company is a trusted partner to some of the world’s leading brands, including Stryker, Robert Half, Johnson Controls, Cardinal Health, Coca-Cola, eBay, Facebook, Home Depot, and Sony PlayStation. Once completed, Wipro’s acquisition of Appirio will create one of the world’s largest cloud transformation practices, a game...

ITC to Sell Entire Stake in US Subsidiary For $24 Million

10Oct By NitishNo Comments

BUSINESS

ITC to Sell Entire Stake in US Subsidiary For $24 Million

Diversified group ITC will sell its entire stake in US-based wholly owned subsidiary 'King Maker Marketing' for USD 24 million (about Rs 160 crore). King Maker Marketing, registered in the state of New Jersey, USA, is engaged in the distribution of ITC manufactured cigarette products in the US market. The Corporate Management Committee has approved divestment of company's entire shareholding in King Maker Marketing, Inc, USA, a wholly owned subsidiary, along with assignment of certain trademarks owned by the company," ITC said in a BSE filing. It further said: "An agreement for this purpose has been entered into on October 8, 2016... The consideration to be received is estimated around USD 24 million in terms of the share purchase agreement and subject to regulatory approvals and ...

Bengaluru Based Bitcoin Startup Unocoin Raises $1.5 million From U.S., Indian Investors

30Sep By AnkitaNo Comments

FUNDING

Bengaluru Based Bitcoin Startup Unocoin Raises $1.5 million From U.S., Indian Investors

Bangalore-based bitcoin startup, Unocoin has raised $1.5 million in funding from a mix of Indian and U.S. investors, the company announced on Thursday. The company, which runs a trading platform to buy, sell, and store bitcoins for Indian customers, said the money raised was the largest for an Indian bitcoin startup. Unocoin, which has 100,000 users and more than 30 employees, has been in operation since December 2013. Unocoin describes itself as the Coinbase of India. San Francisco-based Coinbase is the largest U.S. bitcoin company and runs an exchange and a wallet service, among other businesses. Funding came from Indian entities such as Blume Ventures, Mumbai Angels and ah! Ventures along with U.S. investors such as Digital Currency Group, Boost VC, Bank to the Future, and Fund...

Testing Firm Applause Raises $35 Million in Series F

15Sep By NitishNo Comments

FUNDING

Testing Firm Applause Raises $35 Million in Series F

Applause, the in-the-wild digital testing leader, announced it has raised $35 Million in a Series F financing round. The largest new investor in this financing round was Credit Suisse, and the round also included an investment by strategic partner, Accenture. The funding will increase the company’s investment in its strategy as the go-to source for improving customers’ digital experiences. This round brings Applause’s total funding-to-date to more than $115 Million. As the company formally launches its expanded Digital Experience solutions in the coming months, this funding enables Applause to: Further expand its in-the-wild digital testing services. The company will invest heavily in its real-world testing services that enable omni-channel testing – from web to mobile to IoT to bric...

HP to Acquire Samsungs Printer Business For $1.05 Billion

12Sep By PriyankaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

HP to Acquire Samsungs Printer Business For $1.05 Billion

IT major HP today said it will acquire Samsung Electronics printer business in a deal valued at USD 1.05 billion, a move that will allow the US-based company further consolidate its position in the USD 55 billion A3 copier industry. The acquisition will bring an intellectual property portfolio of more than 6,500 printing patents and a workforce of about 6,000 employees globally, including nearly 1,300 researchers and engineers. Samsung has key engineering centre in South Korea with operations in the US, India, China, Japan, Russia, Canada, Brazil and other countries. HP, created as part of the breakup of Hewlett-Packard Co. last year, sells personal computers. However, it gets a significant chunk of its profit from supplying ink and toner for the printers it sells. However, HPs printi...

Tata Group Tie-up With Yale University For Research & Development and Funding

29Aug By AnkitaNo Comments

BUSINESS

Tata Group Tie-up With Yale University For Research & Development and Funding

Indian conglomerate Tata Group and US prestigious Yale University have launched a collaboration that will focus on promoting research and its application in fields like network science, data science, healthcare and microbiome research. Tata has committed to fund the alliance over five years. However, the company did not disclose the financial details. The project would foster an intellectual exchange between the university and Tata Sons, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Chemicals. "The initial aim of the alliance is to expand research and its application in fields ranging from network science to data science to healthcare. During each year of the agreement, Yale will also host visiting Tata scholars, who will actively participate in the research projects," Yale said in a statement is...

Facebook Changes ‘Trending’ Feature to Rely Less on Human Editors

27Aug By AnkitaNo Comments

USA

Facebook Changes ‘Trending’ Feature to Rely Less on Human Editors

Facebook Inc changed its popular "Trending" feature, which shows users the most-talked about topics of the day, to make it more automated and further eliminate the potential for human bias, the company wrote in a blog post on Friday. The update is Facebook's latest attempt in recent months to stress its neutrality as its influence grows. The feature came under scrutiny in May after a news report alleged it suppressed conservative news, which prompted a demand from Republican members of the U.S. Congress for more transparency. Facebook said an internal probe found no evidence of bias. The Trending feature shows users the most-talked about stories and topics on the top right-hand corner of Facebook's home page with one-sentence descriptions. To eliminate the potential for bias, Facebook...

Cognizant Acquired US-Based Idea Couture

28Jul By AnkitaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Cognizant Acquired US-Based Idea Couture

Software services major Cognizant has acquired US-based Idea Couture for an undisclosed amount to boost its digital technologies offering. Idea Couture, which specialises in designing and prototyping products, services and business models, will become part of Cognizant Digital Works, Cognizant said in a statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Cognizant Digital Works combines human insight, strategy, design, technology and industry expertise to create innovative solutions at enterprise scale. Based in Toronto, the privately-held Idea Couture has offices in the US, Europe and Latin America. It has over 170 social scientists, strategists, anthropologists, user experience experts, designers and connected product developers. Its customers include companies like Samsung, Pe...

Airbnb Seeks For $30 Billion Valuation in New Funding Round: Source

29Jun By reutersNo Comments

News

Airbnb Seeks For $30 Billion Valuation in New Funding Round: Source

Apartment-sharing startup Airbnb is in talks for a new round of funding that would value the company at $30 billion, a source close to the company said on Tuesday. Airbnb intends to use the financing to support new investments and growth opportunities, the source added. Airbnb, which expects to achieve profitability in 2016, raised over $100 million in a round of funding late last year that valued the company at $25.5 billion. The San Francisco-based startup, which operates in nearly 200 countries, also secured a $1 billion debt facility in June from some big U.S. banks to finance its expansion plans. The rise of Airbnb and other such startups have increased the pressure on the hotel bookings business of established travel companies such as Priceline Group Inc and Expedia Inc.

Mahindra Group Invested in US Based Scoot Networks

28Jun By PriyankaNo Comments

FUNDING

Mahindra Group Invested in US Based Scoot Networks

Mahindra Partners, an entity of USD 900 million Mahindra groups private equity arm, today announced closing of a new round of funding in Scoot Networks, an urban mobility solutions provider based in San Francisco. With this deal, Mahindra Partners has now joined other investors including Vision Ridge Capital. This financing round closes simultaneously with Scoots significant network expansion supported by a brand new fleet of 500 Mahindra GenZe electric scooters, Mahindra Group said in a statement. Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said, the partnership will provide a sustainable solution to the growing challenges associated with urban commuting like parking, congestion and pollution. "The GenZe 2.0 is designed to intelligently address these challenges by offering relevant and...

Tata Starbucks Will Now Offer Indian Coffee in The US Market

27Jun By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Tata Starbucks Will Now Offer Indian Coffee in The US Market

Tata Sons and Starbucks have finalised multiple new joint initiatives to expand their collaboration at a global level, apart from building the iconic American coffee chains brand and business here. The initiatives include sourcing Indian coffee for the US market, introducing the Teavana brand of specialty teas in Indian stores, expanding the market of the Tata-owned mineral water brand Himalayan and skilling over 3,000 youths, the companies said. Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry met Starbucks Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz last week in Seattle and finalised these initiatives, which will be rolled out by the year-end, the companies said in a joint statement today. The two groups have been running Tata Starbucks coffee chain in the country since October 2012 as part of a joi...

Doubts Surrounding Over Investors Backing Both Uber and Didi in China

17Jun By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Doubts Surrounding Over Investors Backing Both Uber and Didi in China

Ride-hailing companies Uber and Didi have brought many new dimensions to the startup industry, such as making billion-dollar-plus funding rounds routine. Now, they have added another to the list: sharing big investors who are backing both companies, even though they are fierce rivals. Uber, the leading ride service in the United States and much of the world, and Didi Chuxing, which claims 87 percent of the Chinese market for private vehicle ride-hailing, now share at least four investors: asset manager BlackRock, Chinese investment manager Hillhouse Capital Group, hedge fund Tiger Global and insurer China Life, according to investment records and sources familiar with the deals. "It's very unusual to allow the same parties to invest and get information rights of sworn mortal enemies. ...