One Thing Today in Tech

Multiple oil transport and storage companies across Europe are dealing with cyber-attacks, BBC reports. IT systems have been disrupted in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. In total, dozens of terminals with oil storage and transport around the world have been affected. TCS will add close to 1,000 jobs in New Jersey. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s mega-yacht needs a historic bridge in Rotterdam partially dismantled so it can sail out to the ocean.

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Multiple European oil transport companies hit with cyberattacks

Multiple oil transport and storage companies across Europe are dealing with cyber-attacks, BBC reports. IT systems have been disrupted at Oiltanking in Germany, SEA-Invest in Belgium and Evos in the Netherlands.

In total, dozens of terminals with oil storage and transport around the world have been affected, with companies reporting that the attacks occurred over the weekend.

But cyber experts say that this may not necessarily be a coordinated attack, and there could be less sinister reasons, BBC reports.

Apple and Google app store dominance focus of latest US bill

Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play store are a small, but significant, step closer to being opened up. The US Senate Judiciary Committee passed its second tech competition bill of the year targeting the two biggest mobile app stores and their restrictions on developers, CNBC reports.

The committee voted to advance the bipartisan Open App Markets Act. If the bill becomes law, app stores with more than 50 million US users will be banned from forcing developers to exclusively use their own payment systems. They also can’t prevent or punish developers for offering their apps at different price points elsewhere. The law would also require the app stores to allow developers to directly reach their users for legitimate business purposes, according to CNBC.

TCS to add 1000 jobs in New Jersey by 2023

Tata Consultancy Services, yesterday, announced plans to expand its operations in New Jersey by hiring nearly 1,000 additional employees by the end of 2023 to support customers in the US. To nurture a pipeline of local IT talent, TCS will also expand the reach of its STEM and computer science education teacher training and student programmes in New Jersey by 25 percent, the company said in a press release.

Jeff Bezos’s mega-yacht needs a Rotterdam bridge dismantled for passage

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is expected to become the owner of the largest sailing yacht in the world this year. But first, the Dutch maritime city of Rotterdam will have to dismantle part of a historic, 100-year old, bridge to let the mega-yacht sail out into the ocean, Washington Post reports.

The 417-foot yacht’s masts are so tall that even the 131-foot clearance beneath the Koningshaven bridge in Rotterdam, according to Insider. The massive vessel — currently known only as Y721 — is estimated to cost $500 million. Its existence was first reported by journalist Brad Stone in his second book on Amazon and Bezos, titled ‘Amazon Unbound.’

Bezos, whose wealth is worth about $176 billion, has also commissioned a smaller, ‘support yacht’ which will have its own helipad, Insider reports.

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Facebook saw its first-ever quarterly decline of daily users globally. Parent company Meta warned of a slowdown in the growth of ad sales that sent its shares plunging by 20 percent on Wednesday. US IT services giant Cognizant joined its rivals in posting strong December quarter numbers. Chargebee, a SaaS company raised a quarter of a billion dollars with a big jump in valuation.

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Facebook daily users fell for the first time in the company’s history

Facebook saw its first-ever quarterly decline of daily users globally and parent company Meta warned of a slowdown in the growth of ad sales that sent its shares plunging by 20 percent on Wednesday.

Overall, Meta’s family of apps—including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp—were used by an average of 2.82 billion people daily around the world in the three months ended December 31, the company’s fourth quarter of 2021, compared with 2.81 billion people in the previous quarter.

The Facebook app itself, however, saw a decline in daily active users to 1.929 billion in Q4, from 1.93 billion in Q3. This was the first such decline in the company’s history, as confirmed by a company spokesperson, The Verge reported.

Cognizant posts strong Q4 numbers

Cognizant Technology Solutions reported fiscal Q4 revenue of $4.8 billion, up 14.5 percent, and full-year revenue of $18.5 billion, a 10 percent increase. Digital services revenue increased 20 percent and 19 percent year-over-year in Q4 and full-year, respectively.

Order bookings in Q4 increased 22 percent year-over-year and the total contract value signed in 2021 was $23.1 billion, Cognizant said in a press release. Cognizant projects revenue for 2022 to increase by 8.5 percent to 11.5 percent to be in the range of $20 billion to $20.5 billion.

Chargebee raises $250 million at a valuation of $3.5 billion

Chargebee, which sells billing and subscription management software to business customers, has raised $250 million in a new funding round co-led by Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, Economic Times reports. The investment values Chargebee at $3.5 billion. Existing investors including Insight Partners, Sapphire and Steadview Capital also participated.

Park Place acquires Storfirst software platform

Park Place Technologies, a data centre and networking optimisation provider, has purchased Congruity360’s Storfirst software platform. Storfirst is the industry’s most secure, OEM and platform-agnostic file system migration and information management software, the company said in a press release.

FourKites acquires NIC-place to expand operations in Europe

FourKites, a real-time supply chain visibility platform provider, has acquired NIC-place, a similar company in Europe. FourKites and NIC-place’s combined over-the-road, rail and ocean carrier networks create the largest multimodal carrier network in Europe, the company said in a press release.

OneTo11 has raised $2.5 million in seed funding

OneTo11, which is developing a blockchain gaming ecosystem, has recently raised $2.5 million in its private and seed funding from a wide selection of investment and capital groups and global blockchain investors, the company said in a press release. The company was founded in 2020.

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India will introduce a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to “give a big boost to the digital economy,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her speech yesterday outlining the government’s budget proposals for the coming fiscal year that starts April 1. India will also tax crypto transactions at the rate of 30 percent, she said. And Google’s parent Alphabet reported record revenues for 2021, as ads and cloud sales surged.

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India to introduce CBDC, tax virtual digital assets at 30 percent

India will introduce a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to “give a big boost to a digital economy,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her speech yesterday outlining the government’s budget proposals for the coming fiscal year that starts April 1.

“Digital currency will also lead to a more efficient and cheaper currency management system. It is, therefore, proposed to introduce Digital Rupee, using blockchain and other technologies, to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India starting 2022-23,” Sitharaman said.

The finance minister also noted that “there has been a phenomenal increase in transactions in virtual digital assets and the magnitude and frequency of these transactions have made it imperative to provide for a specific tax regime.” Therefore, the government will tax virtual digital assets (read cryptos, NFTs), at the rate of 30 percent.

In a push to accelerate the energy transition and climate action in the country, the government will release a policy on battery swapping and standards for interoperability of electric vehicles infrastructure, the minister announced.

The government will also broadly encourage everyone to use public transport, while in parallel developing multi-modal transport options. Over time, cities will be developed as centres of sustainable living, the minister said.

“The union budget has magnified the digital India vision and importance of technology in all focus areas,” Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO and MD of Tata Consultancy Services, India’s biggest technology company, said in a statement. This budget provides many opportunities for growth for the technology industry, he added.

You can find our full budget coverage on forbesindia.com

Forbes India Budget 2022 coverage

https://www.forbesindia.com/budget-2022/2013/1

Alphabet reports record revenue as Google’s ad and cloud sales surge

Google’s parent company Alphabet reported record annual revenue for 2021, as businesses around the world stepped up their online and digital investments. They bought more ads online and spent more money on Google Cloud as well.

Revenue for 2021 was $257.6 billion, a 41 percent jump over 2020, Alphabet said in an investor release. For its fiscal fourth quarter of 2021, which ended Dec. 31, Alphabet said revenue was $75.3 billion, up 32 percent from the year earlier.

“Q4 saw ongoing strong growth in our advertising business, which helped millions of businesses thrive and find new customers, a quarterly sales record for our Pixel phones despite supply constraints, and our Cloud business continuing to grow strongly,” Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in the release.

The company also announced a 20-for-1 stock split that will take effect in July.

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Wordle, the super hit online web-only word game, has been bought by The New York Times, according to a tweet by the game’s creator Josh Wardle. New York Times will integrate the daily word puzzle into its suite of word games, Wardle said. Sony has bought video game maker Bungie for $3.6 billion. Plus, IT sector M&A and PE deals saw strong interest in 2021.

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New York Times buys online word game Wordle

Wordle, the super hit online web-only word game, has been bought by The New York Times, according to a tweet by the game’s creator Josh Wardle. New York Times will integrate the daily word puzzle into its Games suite of word games, Wardle said.

Wordle will “initially remain free to new and existing players” once it moves to the Times’ website, and Wardle says that he’s working with The New York Times to preserve players’ existing wins and streak data once the game is taken over by the newspaper.

Sony strikes deal to buy Halo maker Bungie for $3.6 billion

Sony Interactive Entertainment said yesterday that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire Bungie, a premier independent videogame developer best known as the creator of Halo and Destiny, in a deal worth $3.6 billion. This acquisition will give Sony access to Bungie’s world-class approach to live game services and technology expertise, furthering Sony’s ambition to reach billions of players.

Bungie will continue to operate independently, maintaining the ability to self-publish and reach players wherever they choose to play. Its 900 employees are currently focused on the long-term development of the hugely successful Destiny 2, expanding the Destiny universe, and creating entirely new worlds in future intellectual property, according to the press release.

Google’s integrated Gmail view will roll out from next week

Google is introducing a new, integrated view for Gmail, making it easy to move between applications like Gmail, Chat and Meet in one place, the company said in a blogpost yesterday.

Beginning February 8, users can opt-in to test the new experience and get used to it. By April, users who have not opted-in will begin seeing the new layout by default but can revert to classic Gmail via settings.

By the end of Q2, meaning by June 30, the new layout will become the standard experience for Gmail, with no option to revert.

IT M&A and PE deals in 2021 added up to more than $297 billion

Mergers and acquisitions in the IT industry saw a strong increase last year as demand for cloud and digital technologies accelerated due to the Covid pandemic, Nasscom, India’s IT industry lobby, said in a press release yesterday.

Overall, the IT industry saw 1,200 M&A and private equity deals worth $297 billion in 2021, with deals typically in the $20 million to $50 million range. There were also some very large deals worth over $1 billion, according to Nasscom.

LoadShare Networks raises $40 million in funding led by Tiger Global

LoadShare Networks, one of India’s fastest growing asset-lite logistics platforms, said today that it has raised a Series C investment of Rs. 300 crore ($40 million), led by Tiger Global and with participation from Filter Capital, 57 Stars and existing investors CDC Group Plc and Matrix Partners India. A few prominent family offices also participated in the round.

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The vast majority of mobile apps aimed at children in India ask for dangerous permissions, according to the latest annual survey by Arrka, a company that offers a privacy management platform to businesses. Overall, Google—no surprise—by far is the biggest tracker of personal data in India, according to Arrka. Separately, Google is investing $1 billion in Bharti Airtel for an equity stake and joint go-to-market strategies.

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Most children’s apps in India seek dangerous permissions

The vast majority of mobile apps aimed at children in India ask for dangerous permissions, according to the latest annual survey by Arrka, a company that offers a privacy management platform to businesses. The report, State of Data Privacy of Indian Mobile Apps and Websites, finds that 87 percent of all children’s apps ask for at least one dangerous permission.

Of the apps that Arrka reviewed, 21 percent had access to the smartphone’s camera, 28 percent had access to phone details and 55 percent had in-app ads.

Arrka says it has been studying apps and websites from 100 organisations worldwide for the last five years. In its latest report it says, Google is the single largest third-party that is collecting our personal data on mobile apps as well as websites.

Google to invest $1 in Bharti Airtel

In more Google news, the company will invest up to $1 billion in Bharti Airtel as part of its Google for India Digitization Fund, which includes $700 million in equity investment and up to $300 million towards implementing commercial agreements in the coming years.

These investments will include expanding the reach of Android devices on Airtel’s network, and co-creating India-specific applications on 5G. Airtel is already using Google’s 5G-ready Evolved Packet Core and Software Defined Network platforms, according to the press release.

Stakeholders agree on a plan for 5Gi’s merger with 5G

Telecom and wireless industry stakeholders around the globe agreed to a plan of action that will allow the merger of 5Gi into 5G, at the Radio Access Network plenary meeting of global standards development body 3GPP, according to a press release by Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India, an industry-academia standards development organisation.

According to TSDSI, 5Gi is an extension of the 3GPP 5G standards to meet the rural (extended) coverage requirements of India. It is under deliberations with the industry ecosystem in India under the consultative process of the Telecom Engineering Centre and TSDSI.

Moglix, Dealshare raise more money from Tiger Global

Moglix, an ecommerce marketplace for businesses in Bangalore, has raised $250 million in series F funding at a valuation of $2.6 billion. The investment was led by Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Incubation, an India-focused fund from US VC firm Falcon Edge, with Hong Kong-based Ward Ferry joining in, the company said in a press release on Jan 28.

In another transaction, Dealshare, a social ecommerce startup in Bangalore, has raised $165 million in the first close of its series E funding. Investors include Dragoneer Investments Group, Kora Capital and Unilever Ventures, and existing investors Tiger Global and Alpha Wave.

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Indian IT-BPM sector has concerns about exemptions in the Data bill

India’s IT services and business process management companies will petition the government over concerns that the broad exemptions sought by lawmakers in the proposed Data Protection Bill will adversely impact the $190 billion sector in the European Union, Economic Times reports.

In addition to opposing wide-ranging access to personal data being sought by the government, the industry representation will also highlight the inclusion of non-personal data in the bill, absence of timelines by when government agencies need to be compliant with the provisions as well as lack of applicability to personal data in the physical format, according to ET.

Apple posts record revenues, says supply chain is improving

Apple posted an all-time revenue record of $123.9 billion, up 11 percent year over year, for its fiscal first quarter that ended Dec. 31, the iPhone maker said yesterday in a press release. That compared with analysts expectations of $118.66 billion according to Refinitiv, CNBC reported.

CEO Tim Cook said on an earnings call that supply chains, which had been disrupted by the Covid pandemic, were improving.

The latest earnings numbers come within days of news about additional features Apple is introducing on its devices — such as universal control, now available in beta — and the ability to use iPhones as point-of-sale terminals for payments.

AMD’s deal to buy Xilinx gets go-ahead from China’s regulators

AMD, the US chipmaker that is buying Xilinx, which makes field programmable logic array devices, has got approval for the $35 billion deal from Chinese authorities, Wall Street Journal reports. The go-ahead clears the last major regulatory hurdle for one of the biggest deals in recent years in the semiconductor industry, according to the Journal.

Atlassian buys Percept.AI

Atlassian, a Nasdaq-listed Australian company that makes collaboration software, has acquired Percept.AI, a startup that offers an AI chatbot for natural language understanding, TechCrunch reports. Atlassian plans to integrate this virtual agent technology into Jira Service Management, its tool for helping IT teams provide better service to employees and customers.

SuperOps.ai raises $14 million in funding led by Fixel’s Addition

SuperOps.ai, a Silicon Valley and Chennai startup that provides a SaaS platform for unified professional services automation and remote monitoring and management, has raised $14 million in Series A funding. The money will help SuperOps expand the reach for its modern, AI-powered platform that is aimed at managed services providers.

The investment was led by Lee Fixel’s Addition and Tanglin Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Matrix Partners India and Elevation Capital, and several angel investors.

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Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys have overtaken IBM to become the second and third most valuable IT services brands in the world, in the annual Brand Finance survey. Only Accenture remains ahead, retaining its top spot for the fourth consecutive year. Infosys made strong gains, jumping from 214 in 2021’s global rankings to 158 in 2022, which also put it among the 25 fastest growing brands of 2022.

A fall in IBM’s value, following the spinoff of the Kyndryl unit, also helped the Indian IT companies claim higher rankings.

Accenture has retained the sector’s most valuable brand title for the fourth consecutive year, with its brand value increasing by 39 percent over the past year to $36.2 billion. Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, the tech giant’s brand value has seen a 43 percent increase—standing out from among other brands in the US, according to Brand Finance’s press release.

Tata Consultancy Services has risen to 2nd position in the Brand Finance IT Services 25 2022 ranking, behind Accenture, following a 12 percent growth year on year and 24 percent since 2020 to a brand value of $16.8 billion.

TCS has not only successfully managed the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic to continue developing its business operations around the world but also maintained momentum with brand partnerships and sports sponsorships, Brand Finance said in its press release.

Infosys has seen the fastest increase in brand value from among all the IT brands in the ranking this year. Infosys’s brand value has increased by 52 percent to $12.8 billion from last year, and 80 percent over the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Brand Finance.

Infosys’s strong business results can be attributed to the brand’s ability to credibly adapt its services to the fast-evolving needs of today’s economy as well as to its continued investment into innovative solutions that help clients securely accelerate their journey to the cloud.

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran is the lone Indian among the top 25 global brand custodians as ranked by Brand Finance for 2022 in its Brand Guardianship Index. He is also the top CEO in India. Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella is the number one CEO on the Index.

There are six Indian brands in the Brand Finance IT Services 25 2022 ranking among the top 10 fastest-growing IT Services brands throughout 2020-2022. Following TCS and Infosys, are Wipro (7th), HCL (8th), Tech Mahindra (15th), and LTI (22nd).

Overall, Apple remains the number one global brand in 2022, followed by Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Walmart is the lone non-tech brand in the top five global brands. Facebook is ranked 7th, and TikTok is the fastest growing global brand.

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Google tracks you even when your location is turned off, US states allege

Google tracks people’s movements using information from its search engine, Maps app, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth services even after users turn off location tracking, three US states allege in a lawsuit, Reuters reports.

Texas, Indiana, Washington State, and the District of Columbia sued Google on Monday over what they called deceptive location-tracking practices that invade users’ privacy, according to Reuters.

“Google falsely led consumers to believe that changing their account and device settings would allow customers to protect their privacy and control what personal data the company could access,” Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine's office said in a statement.

Yet Google “continues to systematically surveil customers and profit from customer data," which was "a clear violation of consumers’ privacy,” the statement added.

Boeing adds $450 mln to air taxis venture with Google co-founder Page

Boeing is investing a further $450 million in Wisk Aero, its joint venture with Kitty Hawk, a company backed by Google co-founder Larry Page to develop small, pilotless aircraft for short passenger hops in and around cities, The Verge reports.

Wisk says it will use the new funds to undertake a period of rapid growth, adding new employees to its current workforce of approximately 350 people, and kicking off a manufacturing process that it says will result in a full-scale, commercially operational air taxi business within the next five years. Once that happens, the company predicts that it will conduct 14 million flights annually in around 20 major markets around the globe.

Delhi releases draft regulation on e-mobility for food tech, ecommerce

The Delhi government has released a draft regulation for the transportation activities of various tech companies, including food delivery, ride-hailing apps and e-commerce in the National Capital Region, Economic Times reports.

The draft focuses on electrification, bringing transparency in pricing and access to data—like the number of drivers on the road, the quality of vehicles, drivers’ ratings, movement—and ensuring adequate customer care service is in place.

The state government has given three weeks for public feedback.

DarwinBox turns unicorn after $72 million series D funding from TCV

Darwinbox, a cloud software provider for human resources management, has become India’s latest unicorn, being valued at $1 billion after raising $72 million in a new round of funding, the Hyderabad startup said in a post on its website.

The investment was led by Technology Crossover Ventures, known for its investments in Netflix, Facebook, Spotify and Airbnb, with participation from existing investors—Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia, Lightspeed, SCB 10X, JGDEV, Endiya Partners, and 3One4Capital.

This brings DarwinBox’s total funding to more than $110 million, the company said.

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Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and other activists have urged the social networking giant to release a long-awaited report on its impact in India, alleging the company is purposely obscuring human rights concerns, The Guardian reports. Meanwhile, a US Senate panel backed a bill that proposes some curbs on Big Tech. And in startup news, blockchain venture Stader has raised more money, at a hefty valuation.

Facebook urged to release the report on its impact in India

Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen and other prominent whistleblowers have renewed calls for Facebook to release a long-awaited report on its impact in India, alleging the company is purposely obscuring human rights concerns, The Guardian reports.

More than 20 organisations on Wednesday joined whistleblowers Frances Haugen and Sophie Zhang, as well as former Facebook vice-president Brian Boland, to demand the company, now called Meta, release its findings.

Meta had commissioned law firm Foley Hoag in 2020 to carry out an independent review of its impact in India—the company’s largest market at 340 million users—but its release has repeatedly been delayed, activists allege.

US Senate panel votes in favour of bill curbing Big Tech

A Senate panel approved antitrust legislation forbidding the largest tech platforms from favouring their own products and services over competitors’, Wall Street Journal reports. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act moves next to the Senate floor.

A second bill, which was held over, would bar big app stores, like Apple's, from forcing app providers to use their payment system, and prohibit them from punishing apps that offer different prices through another app store or payment system, Reuters reported.

Stader Labs, blockchain and crypto startup, valued at $450 million

Stader Labs, a blockchain crypto startup in Bangalore, has raised $12.5 million in a strategic private sale that values the company at up to $450 million, the company said in a press release.

The sale was led by Three Arrow Capital with several other VC firms, including Accel, and angel investors joining in. Stader had previously raised $4 million from Pantera, Coinbase Ventures and others.

Tom Cruise movie producers in a deal to put a studio in space

Producers of a Tom Cruise film, set in space, are planning to launch the world's first movie studio connected to the International Space Station, Business Insider reports.

Elena and Dmitry Lesnevsky, the movie producers, announced on Thursday that they’ve signed a deal to build a fully operational movie studio connected to the International Space Station. The studio, Space Entertainment Enterprise-1 (SEE-1), is slated to launch in December 2024 and will be the world's first functional entertainment and content studio in space, according to Business Insider.

SEE-1 will be developed in partnership with Axiom Space, a Huston-based space infrastructure developer and the company behind the world's first commercial space station, Axiom Station. Once it's ready for launch, the studio will dock with Axiom Station, which is currently attached to the ISS.

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Parallel Systems, a company founded by former SpaceX engineers to reimagine the railroad system, has raised $49.55 million in Series A funds to build autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles that move freight, the company said in a press release yesterday; Meanwhile GM said it is expanding its hydrogen fuel cells beyond vehicles to power homes, offices and malls.

Former SpaceX engineers’ startup out of stealth with electric rail

Parallel Systems, a company founded by former SpaceX engineers to reimagine the railroad system, has raised $49.55 million in Series A funds to build autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles that move freight, the company said in a press release yesterday. The round is led by Anthos Capital and includes investments from Congruent Ventures, Riot Ventures, Embark Ventures, and others.

The funds will be used to build a fleet of rail vehicles, execute advanced testing programmes and grow the team. The company, which came out of stealth mode yesterday, has raised $53.15 million to date, including $3.6 million in seed funds.

“We founded Parallel to allow railroads to open new markets, increase infrastructure utilisation, and improve service to accelerate freight decarbonisation,” said Matt Soule, Co-founder and CEO, Parallel Systems. His co-founders are John Howard and Ben Stabler.

GM to expand hydrogen tech beyond EVs

General Motors, yesterday, announced new commercial applications of its HYDROTEC fuel cell technology. HYDROTEC projects, which are currently in development, from heavy-duty trucks to aerospace and locomotives, are being planned for use beyond vehicles, for power generation, the company said in a press release.

GM is planning multiple HYDROTEC-based power generators, all powered by GM’s Generation 2 HYDROTEC fuel cell ‘power cubes,’ including a mobile power generator to provide a fast-charge capability for EVs without installing permanent charge points; a rapid charger, brand named EMPOWER, to help retail fuel stations add affordable DC fast charging without expanding the grid; and a palletised mobile power generator to quietly and efficiently power military camps and installations.

These generators could ultimately replace gas and diesel-burning generators with fewer emissions at locations such as worksites, buildings, movie sets, data centres, outdoor concerts and festivals.

They could also back up or temporarily replace grid-sourced electricity for residential and small commercial enterprises at times of power disruption, the company said.

SaaS Labs, Rocketlane raise funding

SaaS Labs, which builds business automation tools for sales and support teams, has raised $42 million in Series B funding led by Sequoia Capital India with participation from existing investors, Base 10 Partners and Eight Roads Ventures, the company said in a press release.

The company plans to use the funds raised on R&D, to develop new products for its global users, as well as to scale newly-launched products.

Rocketlane, a purpose-built customer onboarding platform, has closed an $18 million Series A funding round, the startup said in a press release. The investment is being led by previous Asana investors, 8VC, with participation from Nexus Venture Partners, Matrix Partners India, and prominent angel investor, Gokul Rajaram.

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