In the start-up world, hitting the $1-billion mark, which accords the "Unicorn" tag, is a milestone. Enterprises typically reach the milestone only by series C or series D, or three to four funding rounds later. Zeta achieved it at the first one. On May 25, the six-year-old banking tech firm raised $250 million from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, at a post-money valuation of $1.45 billion. "This is the first time we have raised institutional money," Zeta co-founder Bhavin Turakhia beamed on the conference call. This trajectory is uncommon in start-ups.
Everyday consumerables, such as grocery and order-in food items are the key buyout sector, analysts say, and a major reason for kirana stores' digitisation push.
Clients are seen realigning their tech strategy by moving works from own captives to third-party service providers which is mostly benefiting to large companies such as Infosys, TCS, Wipro or HCL Technologies.
While BlackRock is an existing investor in Byju's, T Rowe joined as a new investor.
Google is going ahead with a policy revision mandating 30% charge on in-app purchases across all apps on Play Store. This has left developers' community worried about tighter squeeze on their earnings, says Yuvraj Malik.
While for clients it has led to increased outsourcing, they are no more worried about which shore the service providers are executing the project in - offshore, onshore or near-shore - because remote working has become the standard norm in the industry, giving rise to a "no shore" kind of model.
Even though India has major strengths in chip design and in making the software that actually commands the processors to execute specific tasks, chip-manufacturing has never been the country's strength.
Indian firms selling SAAS products have got a bonanza as companies meet, manage and sell remotely. The top five firms - Zoho, Freshworks HighRadius, Druva, and Icertis - account for 33 per cent of the market share. Chennai, India's SAAS centre, alone generates $1 billion in annual revenue. Yuvraj Malik explains how these companies are planning their next phase of growth.
'We will continue to refine our operating model to drive more simplicity and nimbleness.'
Chinese mobile brands are deeply entrenched in the Indian market. A move to bar them may send a bold diplomatic message. But its cost for the local industry is anybody's guess. In the event that Chinese brands face curbs, two handset makers - Samsung and Apple - squarely stand to gain.
Infosys is on a much stronger wicket today than where it was a few years ago, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the business, says its CEO & MD Salil Parekh. In an interview to Bibhu Ranjan Mishra & Sai Ishwar, Parekh talks about the company's plans with regard to salary hike deferment, fresher hiring, acquisitions, and much more.
Murthy said moral weakness and incompetence of the chairman of the board are the main reasons behind corporate scams.
While other states are becoming competitive, Gujarat, say experts is not paying enough attention to maintaining its own position in terms of business reforms.
'In the case of Aadhaar, we were able to build and enrol 1 billion in five-and-a-half years.' 'For vaccination, it can be done even faster -- in just two years.' 'When everybody is coming for vaccination, they can be offered a choice -- to create a health record and a digital ID.'
The sector will see a minimum of 3-5 per cent of the weight being shed in almost every IT company - particularly the big 20 - because of Covid and not performance-related issues.
Exam centres will not only ensure social distancing among examinees -- there will also be a strong focus on avoiding malpractices and conducting the test with minimal human intervention.
'At any given point in time, we expect only 25 per cent of our workforce will need to be in office.' 'And any given person will only be required to spend only 25 per cent of their time in office.'
'One good thing that has come out of all this is that it shown people that online ordering is the way forward.'
Not just in the IT sector, Capgemini is probably the only company, in India, which has offered salary increments.
Already 15-20 per cent of the workforce, earlier used to be procured from staffing firms and subcontractors, are replaced by freelancers tapped from platforms like Topcoder, GitHub, and Upwork.