One Thing Today in Tech

Infosys turned 40 this year, and the journey has seen many firsts for India—from listing in the US to the distribution of wealth across the rank and file of the enterprise. The story of the company, widely seen as the bellwether of India’s IT services industry, includes chapters in which the founders came back from retirement—not once, but twice. In this extended edition of the tech brief, we bring you excerpts of comments from chairman Nandan Nilekani and founder NR Narayana Murthy—looking back and looking ahead.

Tata Consultancy Services, India's biggest IT services company, is facing a class-action lawsuit in the US, the company’s biggest market. TCS has been sued by Shawn Katz, a former employee, who alleges that the IT giant discriminates against non-South Asian and non-Indian applicants and employees, Money Control reports. Also in this episode, Vivo’s latest Switch Off report shows smartphone addiction is hurting marriages, and NotCo, backed by Jeff Bezos, has raised $70 million in series D1 funding, led by Princeville Capital.

Notes:

Tata Consultancy Services, India's biggest IT services company, is facing a class-action lawsuit in the US, the company’s biggest market. TCS has been sued by Shawn Katz, a former employee, who alleges that the IT giant discriminates against non-South Asian and non-Indian applicants and employees, Money Control reports.

The lawsuit alleges that TCS has a systematic pattern of discriminating against non-South Asian and non-Indian applicants and employees “with respect to hiring, staffing, benching, termination, and promotion decisions,” and that this policy is implemented top-down at the company.

Katz worked at the company for more than nine years before being let go. This case was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on Dec. 7, according to Money Control.

Marketers at Vivo have released the results of the latest edition of an intelligent campaign they started four years ago to draw attention to their products. The fourth edition of the Vivo switch-off campaign – which the Chinese smartphone maker started in 2019 – focuses on spousal relationships and the harmful effects of excessive smartphone use.

A survey of 1,000 smartphone users, conducted by Cybermedia Research – commissioned by Vivo – found that 88 percent of the respondents feel that their addiction to their smartphones is hurting their relationship and 84 percent want to spend more quality time with their spouse, according to a press release.

The survey polled smartphone users in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune. 69 percent of couples feel being occasionally distracted by their smartphone, or not attentive enough to their spouse.

70 percent confess to getting irritated sometimes when their spouse asks something while they are immersed in their smartphones, and 90 percent of the respondents say that the smartphone is the most preferred way to relax.

NotCo, a Santiago, Chile-based food tech unicorn known for its plant-based dairy and meat alternatives, has closed $70 million in new funding as a Series D1 round. The company will use the money to expand its new B2B unit to offer its proprietary AI software to other CPG brands, ingredient suppliers and technology providers, according to a press release.

The latest funding round – which retained NotCo’s $1.5 billion valuation – was led by Princeville Capital.

In-Med Prognostics, an AI startup, with expertise in multi-modal data and image processing has raised $2.13 led by Exxora with participation from prominent angels, the company said in a press release.

In-Med uses deep learning algorithms and machine learning to provide time-saving accurate Neuro analysis which aids in the assessment and early detection of neurological disorders such as Dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s at affordable prices, according to the press release.

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Google, last week, followed Apple, in releasing its version of what’s called a passkey, which if widely adopted could take us closer to a passwordless future. Air India is close to placing historic orders for as many as 500 jetliners worth tens of billions of dollars from both Airbus and Boeing, Reuters reported yesterday, citing industry sources. Also in this episode, opposition to Blackrock’s ESG investments in the US is spotlighting the travails of climate finance.

Notes:

Google, last week, joined Apple, in releasing its version of what’s called a passkey, which if widely adopted could take us closer to a passwordless future. Passkeys are built on industry standards, can work across different operating systems and browser ecosystems, and can be used with both websites and apps.

You can use passkeys to sign into sites and apps that support them, Google said in a blog post last week. Signing in with a passkey will require you to authenticate yourself in the same way that you unlock a device.

With the latest version of Chrome, Google supports passkeys on Windows 11, macOS, and Android.

Air India is close to placing landmark orders for as many as 500 jetliners worth tens of billions of dollars from both Airbus and Boeing, Reuters reported yesterday, citing industry sources.

The orders include as many as 400 narrow-body jets and 100 or more wide-bodies, including dozens of Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s and 777s, according to Reuters, and finishing touches are being put on the mammoth deal in coming days.

The recent COP27 talks showed that the fight against climate change boils down to money and that the rich countries didn’t want to keep their promises.

Now, opposition in the US to ESG investments by Blackrock, the world’s biggest money manager, and other investment firms, will likely cause another setback to climate finance. Larry Fink, the CEO of the $8-trillion asset manager, is in the crosshairs of those opposed to the ESG investments, some of which have declined more than the S&P 500 index, Bloomberg reports.

The battle over sustainable investing comes as the 10 largest ESG funds by assets have posted double-digit losses this year, Bloomberg notes, some even more than the S&P 500’s 17.5 percent decline.

BlackRock’s $20 billion iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA exchange-traded fund is down about 19 percent and Vanguard Group’s $5.8 billion ESG US Stock ETF has dropped 22 percent. Meanwhile, stocks of US oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron have soared 69.8 percent and 44.2 percent respectively.

Some investors, including US states and pension funds, plan to withdraw their money from Blackrock’s management, and some politicians and officials have also called for Fink’s removal from his position, according to Bloomberg.

Cropin, an agritech venture in Bengaluru, is raising a new round of funding and has garnered $14 million or Rs 113.4 crore from Google, Singapore-based Impact Assets, and existing investors, Entrackr reported on Dec. 9, citing the company’s filings with the government’s Registrar of Companies.

Fintrackr estimates the company has been valued at around Rs 740 crore or $91.3 million after the latest investment. That compares with $67.5 million in April, according to private markets insights provider Tracxn. Cropin has raised $50.5 million in funding so far.

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Einride, a freight mobility technology company, said yesterday it has raised $500 million in financing, comprising $200 million in Series C equity investment and a $300 million debt facility. Blume Ventures has announced the close of its Fund IV at more than $250 million, bringing its assets under management to more than $600 million. Apple has delayed the launch of its EV, and separately, is being sued over AirTags. And Microsoft offers a 10-year deal to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo.

Notes:

Einride, a freight mobility technology company, said yesterday it has raised $500 million in financing, comprising $200 million in Series C equity investment and a $300 million debt facility.

The debt financing, which is the largest asset-backed facility to date for heavy-duty electric vehicles, will provide transformative funding for Einride’s fleet of electric vehicles across the world, the Sweden-headquartered company said in a press release.

The Series C provides the next step in the funding of new developments and deployments across Einride’s autonomous and digital products, as well as expansion to new markets and clients.

Meanwhile, Apple has scaled back its ambitious self-driving electric vehicle plans and postponed the target launch date for what is being widely called Apple Car by about a year to 2026, according to a Bloomberg report that is behind a paywall but was widely syndicated.

The car project, called Titan inside the company, has been in limbo, according to the Bloomberg report, for the past several months as Apple executives grappled with the reality that its vision for a fully autonomous vehicle — without a steering wheel or pedals — isn’t feasible with current technology.

The company is now planning a less-ambitious design that will include a steering wheel and pedals and only support fully autonomous capabilities on highways, according to Bloomberg.

In more disturbing Apple news, the iPhone maker has been sued by two women who said its AirTag devices have made it easier for their former partners and other stalkers to track down victims, Reuters reports.

In a proposed class action filed on Dec. 4 in a San Francisco federal court, the women said Apple has been unable to protect people from unwanted trafficking through AirTag since launching what it called the “stalker proof” device in April 2021.

In gaming news, Microsoft has entered a 10-year agreement with Japanese gaming giant Nintendo to bring Call Of Duty games to Nintendo consoles if the Activision Blizzard acquisition closes, India Abroad News Service reports.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer announced on Twitter yesterday. “Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people, however, they choose to play,” he said.

Blume Ventures has announced the close of its Fund IV at more than $250 million, bringing its assets under management to more than $600 million, the well-known Indian VC firm, said in a press release yesterday.

Blume focuses on early-stage, innovative technology-led startups. Its areas of interest include edtech, fintech, health, commerce and consumer internet, robotics, AI and SaaS and enterprise software, the 12-year-old firm said.

The latest fund has investors including family offices in India and overseas, sovereign wealth funds, and emerging market Fund of Funds.

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Sorrento Therapeutics has received clearance from the US FDA to initiate clinical trials with its new mRNA vaccine against Omicron variants of the Coronavirus. One Peak, an investor in growth-stage B2B software companies in Europe and Israel, has closed its latest fund at $1 billion, Private Equity Wire reported yesterday. Israeli AI inference chip venture NeuReality has raised $35 million in series A funding. Apple added 700 new price points to the App Store. And Amazon may be close to launching Prime Gaming in India.

Notes:

Apple yesterday announced an upgrade to pricing tiers, adding 700 more price points, and new pricing tools that developers can use to set prices per App Store country or region and manage foreign exchange rate changes. Apple didn’t say anything about the commission it charges, which currently can be up to 30 percent on in-app sales.

These new features will be available for apps offering auto-renewable subscriptions starting Dec. 6.

Amazon may be close to launching Prime Gaming, its subscription service that offers free access to game titles bundled with Amazon Prime and Video plans, in India, TechCrunch reports.

A support page on the Prime Gaming website also mentions India as an operational market for the service, TechCrunch notes. However, users who’re currently attempting to access Prime Gaming will find a message that says they are in a country where the gaming service is not available.

Sorrento Therapeutics has received clearance from the US FDA to initiate clinical trials with STI-1557, its next-generation mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants, the Silicon Valley biopharma company said in a press release yesterday.

This mRNA vaccine incorporates a modification that prevents certain unwanted side effects in vital organ tissues following the administration of the current FDA-approved mRNA vaccines. The mRNA is encapsulated in a Sorrento proprietary lipid nanoparticle formulation to protect mRNAs from degradation, which helps the vaccine retain its effectiveness, the company said in the release.

In biotech venture capital news, Avalon BioVentures, a venture capital firm dedicated to early-stage biomedical innovation, yesterday announced the closing of its first venture fund, ABV1, with $135 million in funding from new and existing institutional investors.

One Peak, an investor in growth stage B2B software companies in Europe and Israel, has closed the One Peak Growth III fund at its hard cap of $1 billion, Private Equity Wire reported yesterday.

One Peak, which was founded by David Klein and Humbert de Liedekerke Beaufort, is the largest fund in Europe dedicated to backing fast-growing B2B software companies in the $15 million to $100 million investment range, according to the report.

NeuReality, an AI hardware startup, which specializes in the next generation of AI inferencing platforms, has raised $35 million in Series A funding, the Israeli company said in a post on its website.

The round was led by Samsung Ventures, Cardumen Capital, Varana Capital, OurCrowd and XT Hitech. The round brings NeuReality’s total funding to $48 million.

The money will support NeuReality’s plans to start deploying its Inference solutions in 2023, the company said.

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Apple may bring some of its iPad production to India from China if talks with the Indian government are successful, CNBC reported yesterday, citing two sources close to the government. Microsoft has hiked prices in India by up to 11 percent to match prevailing dollar-based pricing in Asia, the company said in a post. And nutritional supplements seller HealthKart has raised more money in a funding round led by Singapore’s Temasek, TechCrunch reports.

Notes:

Apple may bring some of its iPad production to India from China if talks with the Indian government are successful, CNBC reported yesterday, citing two sources close to the government.

The tech giant is said to be holding ongoing discussions with officials. No concrete plans have been made, but if the effort is successful, it will expand Apple’s footprint in the country.

Apple announced earlier this year it had begun assembling its flagship iPhone 14 in India, where it was already producing its older models.

Microsoft has announced a price hike for its software in India. Due to currency fluctuations, Microsoft India is announcing Indian rupee pricelist changes to harmonize its prices for commercial on-premises software and online services between India and the Asian region, effective February 1, 2023, the company said in a post on its website.

Starting Feb. 1, 2023, Indian rupee prices for commercial on-premises software will increase by 4.5 percent, online services will increase by 9 percent, and Windows GGWA (get genuine windows agreement) will increase by 11 percent to match prevailing prices in US dollar terms in Asia, the company said.

The new prices will show up starting Feb. 1, 2023, if you’re looking to buy a Microsoft 365 subscription, for example.

This announcement does not cover Microsoft’s hardware products, according to the company.

Salesforce is seeing some top-level exits. Yesterday, the company announced the departure of Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield, who joined Salesforce last year as part of its biggest acquisition.

The company’s co-CEO Bret Taylor, who orchestrated the Slack deal, is also leaving, a year after getting promoted to share the top job with founder Marc Benioff, CNBC reports.

In the three trading days since Taylor announced his departure, alongside Salesforce’s third-quarter earnings report, the company’s stock has had two of its three worst days of the year, losing 8.3 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively, CNBC notes.

Salesforce has now lost 47 percent of its value for the year, compared with the Nasdaq’s 28 percent drop, and is trading at its lowest since March 2020, the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to CNBC.

HealthKart, a nutrition supplements provider, has raised $135 million in series H funding, to expand overseas and for acquisitions, TechCrunch reports.

The funding was concluded last month and took the 11-year-old Gurugram company’s total funding to $224 million, according to private markets intelligence provider Tracxn, and investors include Temasek, A91 Partners and Kae Capital. The investment valued the company at $350 million, according to TechCrunch.

HealthKart is currently on track to generate about $122 million in annual revenue, according to TechCrunch.

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India’s Department of Telecommunications has told the country’s top telcos to stop setting up 5G networks close to airports, over concerns that they could interfere with airplane instruments, Press Trust of India reports. India’s EV scooter sales continue to grow as established players raise their game. And in agri tech, DeHaat, one of the biggest startups in the sector, has raised series E funding from Temasek, Sofina and existing investors.

Notes

Apple has rolled out an incremental update to its iPhone software, fixing some security issues and improving crash detection in iPhone 14 and 14 Pro models. The update also improves compatibility with network providers, according to Apple.

Germany's federal and state data protection authorities have raised concerns about the compatibility of Microsoft 365 with data protection laws in Germany and the wider European Union, The Register reports.

According to the German watchdog's report, which was written after two years of negotiations with Microsoft, the body says that the product “remains in breach” of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Hundreds of CNN employees were notified of layoffs yesterday as part of CEO Chris Licht’s efforts to cut costs, CNBC reports.

CNN had about 4,400 employees. The layoffs affected hundreds of staffers but amounted to a “single-digit percentage” of staff, according to CNBC, which cited a person familiar with the matter. That would mean no more than about 400 staffers were let go.

The layoffs are part of a broader effort at Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN, to cut costs heading into 2023, according to CNBC.

India’s Department of Telecommunications has told the country’s top telcos to stop setting up 5G networks close to airports, over concerns that they could interfere with airplane instruments, according to Times of India which cites a Press Trust of India report.

The telecom department has said that there should be no 5G wireless 2,100 metres (2.1 km) from both ends of the runway and 910 metres from the centre line of the runway of Indian Airports. Specifically, 5G gears that operate in the frequency range of 3300-3670 MHz have been barred from near the airports, according to the report.

While startups led India’s EV foray, to begin with, established two-wheeler makers are raising their game. TVS Motors, with 7,735 registrations of electric scooters in November, and Bajaj Auto with more than 2,800 scooters, now account for 15 percent of registrations for the month, Business Standard reports, citing data from Vahan, the website of the ministry of road transport and highways.

Hero MotoCorp is expected to ramp up its efforts, with its Vida range of electric scooters, according to Business Standard.

DeHaat, one of India’s biggest agritech startups, has raised $60 million in series E funding, from investors including Temasek and Sofina, and existing investors RTP Global, Prosus and Lightrock, according to private markets intelligence provider Tracxn.

This brings the company’s total funding to $265 million, according to Tracxn. This investment privately valued DeHaat at between $700 million and $800 million, TechCrunch reported yesterday, citing a person aware of the terms. In November 2021, the company was valued at $520 million, according to Tracxn.

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Google will face damages claims for up to 25 billion euros ($25.4 billion) over its digital advertising practices in two lawsuits to be filed in British and Dutch courts in the coming weeks by a law firm on behalf of publishers, Reuters reports. Tata Group is looking to buy a facility in Bangalore, from Apple contract manufacturer Wistron, Economic Times reports. And San Francisco’s board of supervisors voted in an 8-3 majority in favour of a proposal to allow the city’s police to use robots to kill, in extreme circumstances, TechCrunch reports

India will conduct the first pilot of the e-rupee for retail digital currency on December 1, Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank said yesterday in a statement. Meanwhile, the central bank has rejected the NBFC licence applications of some well-known fintech startups, The Hindu Businessline reports. And Vikram Kirloskar, the well-known industrialist, widely seen as being responsible for bringing Toyota to India, died yesterday, reportedly of a heart attack. He was 64.

Notes:

India will conduct the first pilot of the e-rupee for retail digital currency on December 1, Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank said yesterday in a statement.

Four banks — State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC — will participate in the initial phase of the pilot in four cities (Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar). Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank will join the pilot subsequently, the Reserve Bank of India said.

In more digital finance news, the Reserve Bank has rejected the NBFC licence applications of some well-known fintech companies in India, The Hindu Businessline reports, citing “highly placed sources” that the paper didn’t name.

Among the companies that have had their applications turned down are PhonePe, Razorpay, BharatPe, OkCredit and NiYo which operates as a neo-bank, according to Businessline.

The central bank is concerned about the sources of the money flowing into these startups, seen as coming in through tax havens, according to Businessline. The likelihood of fintech companies charging high-interest rates on their loans is also a concern for the central bank, according to the paper.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding is looking to sell a three percent stake in food delivery services provider Zomato as part of a $200 million block deal today CNBC-TV18 reports.

Shares of the loss-making Indian company ended yesterday’s trading in Mumbai at Rs. 63.35, down more than 55 percent from the beginning of this year. The company went public in July last year with a listing price of Rs. 76.

Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Bengaluru’s biopharma company Biocon, said yesterday it has successfully completed its multi-billion-dollar acquisition of the global biosimilars business of its partner Viatris.

Biocon Biologics and Viatris have obtained all applicable approvals from key global regulators and investors.

The acquisition provides Biocon Biologics with direct commercial capabilities and supporting infrastructure in the advanced markets and several emerging markets, the company said.

Vikram S. Kirloskar, Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, died yesterday, according to a brief company statement. He was 64, and multiple media reports state the cause of death as a heart attack.

Vikram Kirloskar was a pioneer of India's automotive industry and played a key role in bringing Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp to India in the late 1990s, according to Business Standard. He had a degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the US.

Kirloskar is survived by his wife Geetanjali and daughter Manasi, according to Business Standard.

Last respects can be paid today at the Hebbal crematorium in Bengaluru at 1 pm, according to the company’s statement.

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Amazon Web Services at its annual re:Invent conference, which began yesterday, said it will be water positive by 2030, returning more water to communities than it uses in its direct operations, according to a press release. Table Space, a co-working space provider, has raised $300 million in fresh funding, Economic Times reports. And the high-end versions of next year’s iPhones may not have physical buttons and use haptic tech, according to some of the latest rumours.

Notes:

Amazon Web Services at its annual re:Invent conference, which began yesterday, said it will be water positive by 2030, returning more water to communities than it uses in its direct operations, according to a press release.

In India, AWS supports water replenishment projects with the non-profit organisation WaterAid that include rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, and piped water installations in communities in Andhra Pradesh and Hyderabad, Telangana.

In more AWS news, Tata Consultancy Services has opened a quantum computing lab on AWS to help customers explore, develop, and test business solutions and accelerate the adoption of quantum computing, considered one of the most promising technologies of the decade, the Indian IT services company said in a press release.

The new TCS Quantum Computing Lab on AWS will offer a virtual research and development environment using Amazon Braket, a fully managed quantum computing service from AWS.

On the ecommerce front, Amazon is shutting down its wholesale distribution business in India, the latest in a series of closures as a tough 2023 is anticipated with a global economic slowdown.

Amazon said Monday that it is discontinuing Amazon Distribution, its wholesale ecommerce website available in small neighbourhood stores in Bengaluru, Mysore and Hubli, TechCrunch reports.

Amazon Distribution was designed to help kiranas, the neighbourhood stores in India, pharmacies and department stores secure inventory from the e-commerce giant, according to TechCrunch.

Table Space, a co-working space provider, has secured nearly $300 million from private equity fund Hill House Capital to expand its operations across India, Economic Times reports.

The deal was closed in October this year and the funding will be received in two tranches, according to the report.

Simplilearn, an up-skilling edtech platform provider, has acquired US-based bootcamp education company Fullstack Academy, as it looks to expand into the US, Economic Times reports.

Simplilearn acquired Fullstack from publicly traded US edtech company Zovio, which has over the past few months been taking steps to dissolve the company, according to ET.

The latest rumours about Apple’s next iPhones have the company ditching physical buttons in favour of haptic feedback. The iPhone 15 will also likely have USB-C charging ports.

There could be a periscope zoom camera for at least one iPhone 15 model, Dynamic Island for all four 2023 iPhones, and a new 3nm chip for the Pro models, Phone Arena reports.

And Tom’s Guide, a popular tech news and analysis site, pointed out that the well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s prediction last month that Apple would abandon physical buttons for two high-end iPhones seems to have been validated by an investor note from analysts at investment bank Barclays.

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