One Thing Today in Tech
-
Apple to make AirPods in India too; After TCS, Wipro calls staff back to office; NetSPI raises $410 mln from KKR
Apple is asking suppliers to move some AirPods and Beats headphone production to India for the first time, as it attempts to step up the diversification of its global supply chain that is currently almost entirely dependent on China, Nikkei reports. Wipro has asked staff to turn up for work at the office at least three times a week, Business Standard reports. NetSPI, with $410 million from KKR, plans to set up a base in India
-
Prosus terminates $4.7 bln BillDesk deal; Google names 20 women founders to India accelerator; Svante Pääbo wins Nobel for medicine
Prosus, the Dutch-listed global consumer and technology investor, has terminated its agreement to buy India's BillDesk, ending a deal worth $4.7 billion. Google yesterday announced a list of 20 startups with women founders or co-founders for the first batch of an accelerator programme in India, specifically aimed at encouraging women entrepreneurs. And Svante Pääbo, a Swedish geneticist is this year's winner of the Nobel Prize for medicine
-
Reliance Jio to launch affordable laptop — report; Suzlon founder Tulsi Tanti, renewable energy champion, dies
Reliance Jio will launch a budget laptop, called JioBook, priced at Rs. 15,000 (about $184) with an embedded 4G sim card, Reuters reports. The Indian conglomerate has partnered with Qualcomm and Microsoft for this project. Tesla CEO Elon Musk showed off the latest version of the company's humanoid robot, named Optimus, last week. And Tulsi Tanti, an Indian entrepreneur best known for his wind energy company Suzlon Energy, passed away on Saturday, Business Standard reports
-
Apple plans 25 pct iPhones from India — report; Wipro fires 300 for moonlighting; KPIT buys Technica Engineering
Apple is gearing up to make India and Vietnam global manufacturing hubs for its products, with India contributing 25 percent of all iPhones by 2025, according to analysts at JP Morgan, TechCrunch reports. Wipro terminated the services of 300 staff members who were found to be working for its competitors while still being on the company's payroll, Economic Times reports. And KPIT Technologies takes a big stride in software-defined vehicles with a German acquisition
-
KKR, Hero Group to invest $450 mln in Hero Future Energies; ISRO to launch 36 OneWeb satellites
KKR, a global investment firm, and Hero Future Energies, the renewable energy arm of the Hero Group, yesterday announced the signing of definitive agreements under which KKR and the Hero Group will invest $450 million in the Company. OneWeb, the Bharti Enterprises-backed UK company building a LEO satellite constellation, yesterday announced the arrival of 36 satellites at an ISRO launch facility. And Nandan Nilekani says offline UPI can touch half a billion people
-
IT services deals taking longer in Europe — report; Starlink now covers every continent
European customers of India's IT services providers in multiple sectors are taking longer to finalise outsourcing contracts because of the energy crisis in the region and the global economic slowdown, Economic Times reports. Starlink now covers every continent, billionaire Elon Musk, who is building the LEO satellite constellation-based internet service, said in a tweet yesterday. And Ola has fired another 200 staff, ET reports
-
Adobe shares plunge on $20 bln Figma deal; A Microsoft bug sends users to 1930; DotPe raises funding
Adobe shares fell 17 percent yesterday, its biggest fall in 12 years, after it said it will buy design software rival Figma for $20 billion in cash and stock, CNBC reports. Investors are concerned that Adobe is paying too much, according to CNBC. DotPe, a payments service provider and commerce platform backed by Google, has raised about $54.5 million in a new funding round led by Temasek, Inc42 reports
-
Apple iPhones: 12 percent could be made in India by FY26 — report; Byju's losses skyrocket
By fiscal year 2026, at least 12 percent of the free-on-board value of Apple's global iPhone shipments could be made in India, Inc42 reports, citing a report by Business Standard that is behind a paywall. Byju's, India's most-valued startup, yesterday, reported losses of Rs. 4,589 crore for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2021, which is close to a 20-fold increase over the Rs. 231.69 crore adjusted loss for the previous fiscal year, Moneycontrol reports. And SoftBank Group could be planning another Vision Fund, Wall Street Journal reports
-
M Damodaran named to lead a panel to boost VC, PE investments; Thoughspot to invest $150 mln in India
India's finance ministry has formed an expert panel, led by former SEBI boss M Damodaran, to suggest ways to increase the inflow of venture capital and private equity investments into the country. Apple plans to sell more ads. And data analytics cloud company Thoughtspot plans to invest $150 million in expanding its Indian operations over the next five years
-
Google to move some Pixel production to India — report; MeitY partners Meta on XR; Navi gets IPO go-ahead
Google is looking to move some Pixel phone production out of China and into India, The Information reports. The company is seeking bids from contract manufacturers for production in India. Apple has already stepped up its efforts to make more of its iPhones in India as geopolitical tensions between the US and China rise. Sachin Bansal's Navi Technologies gets its IPO go-ahead. And Peer Robotics, a Delhi startup, raises $2.3 milllion
-
India to mandate 'whitelist' of loan apps; Bessemer raises $4.6 bln; ToneTag expands VoiceSe payments service
India's finance ministry has decided that loan apps need to get government approval to be listed on online app stores, predominantly those operated by Google and Apple. The ministry's officials and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met last week to discuss rising concerns over loan apps running rampant and the illegal practices adopted by some of the outfits providing loans. Central banker Reserve Bank of India will now make a list of legal apps that are permitted on the stores