One Thing Today in Tech
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Google Cloud turns first profits; Microsoft tops estimates; Capria marks first close of new $100 mln fund
Microsoft and Google both surprised the street yesterday, beating analysts' estimates. Google also saw its cloud business turn a profit for the first time since the unit's launch. Also in this brief, Microsoft's Anant Maheshwari is named Nasscom chair; WhatsApp can now be used on multiple phones; Xerox to donate PARC to SRI; and Capria Ventures announced the first close of its second fund, which has a target of $100 million, to continue to invest in tech-led startups in the "global south," the VC firm said in a press release
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Apple opens second India store today; committed to growth in the country, CEO Tim Cook says
Apple opens its second company-owned retail store in India today, in New Delhi. CEO Tim Cook who's visiting India after seven years, shared a picture on Twitter from a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday and said the company is committed to the country's tech vision. Also in this brief, JLR is to invest $15.7 billion more in its EV plan over the next five years. Wipro follows LTIMindtree in asking freshers to take additional assessments. And Cognizant is rolling out its third pay hike to eligible staff in 18 months, Times of India reports
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Elon Musk starting an AI venture — reports; SpaceX Super Heavy rocket test as early as today
Elon Musk, once a large backer of OpenAI, is planning to launch an artificial intelligence startup of his own, CNBC reports, citing an article in the Financial Times from Friday last that is behind a paywall. The company is called X.ai, according to the Wall Street Journal, which also reported the news, citing a filing in the US state of Nevada. Musk is listed as a director of the new company, according to the journal. Also in this brief, Vivo plans to expand smartphone manufacturing in India, and PC sales are headed for a slump in the country
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TCS Q4 growth hit by negative sentiment among US customers; CEO Rajesh Gopinathan to exit June 1
Tata Consultancy Services kicked off the Indian IT services sector's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings yesterday, reporting that clients in the US, the sector's biggest market, were holding back on discretionary spending and that an expected pickup from the previous quarter didn't materialise. Growth was led by a strong performance in the UK, and the company ended the fiscal year 2023 with 6,14,795 employees. Also in this brief, pi Ventures gets a commitment from SIDBI for its next early-stage tech startup fund
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China releases draft rules on generative AI products; Apple, finally, sets dates for stores in India
Apple, after years of anticipation, is finally ready to open its own stores in India. The first two are coming up in Mumbai and New Delhi. They are set to open on April 18 and April 20, respectively. China's powerful Cyberspace Administration has released draft rules to regulate generative AI products as companies such as Alibaba and Baidu launched their rival products to OpenAI's ChatGPT, CNBC reports. Also in this brief, CapitalG invests AlphaSense, and HARMAN will open a Chennai software centre soon
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Gartner raises IT services forecast for 2023 ahead of TCS, Infosys earnings results this week
Worldwide IT spending is projected to touch $4.6 trillion in 2023, increasing by 5.5 percent over 2022, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, widely seen as the top IT market forecaster advising enterprise CIOs. While the devices segment is expected to contract the most among the various categories, the IT services segment is now expected to grow faster. Gartner forecasts IT services spending in 2023 to increase by 9.1 percent, compared with its January forecast of 5.5 percent. Capital markets analysts in India are hoping for "front-ended" guidance from Infosys
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India notifies IT rules to establish fact checker for 'government business' content; Startup funding continues to fall
India yesterday notified changes to its information technology rules that now require all intermediaries — such as social media platform providers and internet services providers — to rely on a government-backed fact check unit concerning any content related to "government business," according to an official statement. Also in this brief, Q1 of calendar 2023 saw startup funding continue to fall, according to data from Tracxn
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Capillary makes second US acquisition; Speciale raises new growth fund; Infosys wins LexisNexis order
Capillary Technologies, one of India's first-generation software-as-a-service companies, earlier this week, announced its second US acquisition as part of a strategy to step up its operations in the world's biggest technology market. Speciale Invest, a Chennai VC firm known for backing deep-tech startups, has raised a fund aimed at series A or higher. And Infosys wins a contract that extends its 15-year relationship with LexisNexis. Also in this brief, Google reveals an AI supercomputer that it says is faster than competing systems from Nvidia, CNBC reports
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Skyroot Aerospace conducts successful long duration test of cryogenic engine and also advances green fuel tech
India's Skyroot Aerospace, yesterday announced it had conducted a long-duration test of a 3D-printed cryogenic engine, firing it for 200 seconds — an important milestone in developing the private space venture's higher payload capacity rockets. The test also yielded vital data for advancing the company's use of LNG — a greener alternative to the more widely used fuels today, the company said in a press release. Also in this brief, PhonePe, a Walmart group company in Bengaluru, yesterday launched Pincode, an app built on top of India's Open Network for Digital Co
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TCS announces surprise CEO change: Rajesh Gopinathan resigns, Krithivasan is the new boss
Tata Consultancy Services, India's biggest technology services and consulting company, announced a surprise change at the top yesterday. CEO Rajesh Gopinathan has resigned to "pursue his other interests," and K Krithivasan, another company veteran will take over in the coming months, the Mumbai-listed IT giant told the stock exchanges after the markets closed. Also in this brief, Xoriant, an engineering services provider in the US, gets a new chief executive; and the UK bans TikTok on government devices
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Early-stage startup funding shored up deal volume in India in 2022, but funding fell 33 pct — Bain-IVCA report
Venture capital funding for India's startups fell from $38.5 billion in 2021 to $25.7 billion in 2022, according to the latest report on the sector by Bain and Company, a consultancy, and Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association. However, more early-stage deals were struck in 2022, helping the overall deal volume to be marginally higher, according to the report, released yesterday. Also in this brief, the Indian IT services sector has become a less significant recruiter, according to a staffing company