The Weekly Dispatch

Chennai-based IT firm Prodapt appoints Manish Vyas as MD & CEO???

Prodapt said it has appointed Manish Vyas as MD and CEO. The company said Vyas joined Prodapt as executive director earlier this year, bringing over 23 years of experience at Tech Mahindra and a deep understanding of building scaled businesses in the CMT industry, having led multiple lines of global businesses. Manish has succeeded Harsha Kumar as MD and CEO who will be transitioning to an advisory role at Prodapt, continuing to support the Board.

Tech Mahindra Q1 profit up 23% to ?851 crore, revenue down????

Tech Mahindra posted a 23% year-on-year increase in 1st-quarter net profit, driven by healthy margins and segmental growth. Net profit for the quarter ended June 30 rose to ?851.5 crore from ?692.5 crore a year earlier. Sequentially, profit grew 28.8% from ?661 crore in the three months ended March 31. The firm's consolidated revenue from operations declined 1.2% on year to ?13,005.5 crore. Sequentially, revenue increased 1%.

Securonix appoints Kash Shaikh as president and CEO

Securonix, Inc. announced the appointment of Kash Shaikh as President and CEO and member of its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Kash succeeds Nayaki Nayyar, who, after leading Securonix on a path toward profitable growth and further advancing Securonix’s strong legacy of innovation by introducing Unified Defense SIEM and Securonix EON – AI-Reinforced CyberOps Platform, has decided to step down and focus the next phase of her career on public Board service.

Intel to lay off 15,000 employees as chipmaker tries to revive its business

Intel says it is cutting 15% of its huge workforce - about 15,000 jobs - as it tries to turn its business around to compete with more successful rivals like Nvidia and AMD. In a memo to staff, Intel Corp. CEO Pat Gelsinger said the company plans to save $10 billion in 2025. The job cuts come on the heels of a disappointing quarter and forecast for the iconic chip maker founded in 1968 at the start of the PC revolution.

AI firm Fractal eyes $400-500 million IPO at $3-billion valuation

AI and analytics unicorn Fractal Analytics has hired Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital, and Axis Capital as bankers for its IPO that could be worth $400-500 million and value the firm at close to $3 billion, executives close to the development said. The draft red herring prospectus is expected to be submitted to markets regulator SEBI by late September, they said. The offer will be a mix of primary and secondary share sales where some of the existing investors would partly sell their stake.

IIT Madras partners with IDBI Bank to launch Cybersecurity Lab

The IIT Madras announced a partnership with IDBI Bank to launch a cybersecurity lab to develop and deploy security solutions in crucial sectors such as healthcare, fintech, and aerospace. The ‘IDBI - IITM Secure Systems Lab’ (I2SSL) will focus on creating market-ready IPs in cybersecurity, productization, and commercialization of research work, especially for mobile technologies. The lab would focus on cybersecurity in systems deployed in industries such as banking, automotive, power, and telecommunications, and undertake experimental evaluation and assessment exercises.

Coinbase's second-quarter revenue surges on crypto trading revival

Coinbase reported a surge in 2nd-quarter revenue as trading volumes at the crypto exchange roared back to life thanks to market euphoria over easing regulatory roadblocks. Crypto markets have gotten a shot in the arm this year from the U.S. SEC's approval of an exchange-traded fund to track the spot price of bitcoin and more recently, ether, the 2nd-biggest crypto token. Shares in the crypto exchange rose 2.2% in extended trading after the results.

C R Srinivasan appointed as CEO of Sify Digital Services??

Sify Technologies announced the appointment of CR Srinivasan as the CEO of its subsidiary Sify Digital Services Ltd. Before this, Srinivasan led the cloud and cybersecurity businesses at Tata Communications. He comes into the new role with an over-three decade career in global telecom, IT, cybersecurity, and digital services. He was also a part of the early team that established Sify’s network services and developed its managed services capabilities.

OpenAI starts roll-out of advanced voice mode to some ChatGPT Plus users

OpenAI is starting to roll out an advanced voice mode to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users, the startup said in a post on X. The company had delayed the roll-out of the realistic voice conversation experience to July from late June, saying it needed time to reach its launch standard. The new audio capabilities will allow users to speak to ChatGPT and receive real-time responses without delay, as well as interrupt ChatGPT while it is speaking - both tenets of realistic conversations that have proven to be a challenge for AI assistants.

Infosys hit with ?32,403 crore GST demand: Karnataka GST and DGGI issue notices??

Infosys admitted that it has received pre-show cause notices for GST dues of over ?32,000 crore. The first notice was issued by the Karnataka state GST department, while the 2nd was issued by the Director General of GST Intelligence (DGGI). “Karnataka State GST authorities have issued a pre-show cause notice for payment of GST of ?32,403 crores for the period July 2017 to March 2022 towards the expenses incurred by overseas branch offices of Infosys Ltd,” the company said in a regulatory filing further, it said that it responded to the pre-show cause notice.

AI firm C5i acquires marketing analytics firm Analytic Edge??????

AI and analytics services provider C5i has acquired marketing analytics company Analytic Edge for an undisclosed sum, marking its second acquisition in 12 months. The transaction valued Analytic Edge at $30-40 million, sources close to C5i said. US-based C5i is aiming for a turnover of ?1,000 crore in the coming fiscal year and is looking for one more acquisition before deciding on a listing in India in 12-18 months, Chairman Ashwin Mittal said.

Prompt engineers wanted: tech companies hunt for people who speak the AI language

Top technology companies, including Accenture, IBM, and the Tata Group, are among those hiring AI specialists in the thousands as they integrate the sunrise technology with their core functions, creating demand for a new category of workers termed as prompt engineers, talent, and recruitment firms said. In the last 6 months alone, 18,000-22,000 new roles were created in the segment according to hiring firm TeamLease. At the entry-level, prompt engineers could be paid around ?4 lakh per annum, they added.

Kore.ai launches XO Express: Enabling small businesses to access advanced AI technology

Kore.ai has launched a new approach for its XO (Experience Optimisation) Platform. The new XO Express approach simplifies the process for non-technical users in smaller businesses to tap the full potential of XO Automation to create AI chatbots and deploy an affordable contact centre through XO Contact Center AI. Kore.ai founder and CEO Raj Koneru said XO Express turned the experience of building an AI Chatbot into an intuitive and fun-filled one, free of jargon.

Dell Technologies launches new Latitude 7455 Copilot+ AI PC in India

Dell Technologies has announced the launch of its new Latitude 7455 Copilot+ AI PC in India. Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Series processors, this PC is engineered to facilitate the transition of organizational and employee experience into an era propelled by AI. Dell Latitude 7455 price in India starts at ?1,49,990 and is currently available for purchase via the Dell India website. The laptop offers support for Copilot+ AI features and the neural processing unit (NPU) is said to increase the overall efficiency of the laptop which features AI-backed functionality.

TVS Mobility Group, Mitsubishi Corp signed a pact for an employee exchange programme

TVS Mobility has signed an agreement with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation to launch the TVS Mobility Mitsubishi Employee Exchange Programme. The two organizations will host employees for skill enhancement, mutual growth, and leadership training, among other benefits, according to a statement. Employees under 45 years of age with over 3 years of service with TVS Mobility Group and Mitsubishi Corporation will participate in this exchange programme.

Telecoms top target for cyberattacks in 2024: Kaspersky

Telecom, mass media, and construction development companies are the top cyberattack targets for hackers in the first half of 2024. According to a new report from cybersecurity solutions company Kaspersky, Telecoms faced the greatest number of incidents, likely due to attackers’ interest in sensitive data and exploitation of trusted relationships. Telecommunication companies also faced the highest average number of critical incidents, with 32 attacks per 10,000 systems.

Freshworks reports 20% revenue growth in Q2 at $174 million

Freshworks said it had pared losses in the 2nd quarter to $20.1 million as opposed to $35.6 million during the same period a year ago. This came as the firm's revenue jumped 20% y-on-y to touch $174 million in the 2nd quarter of calendar year 2024 owing to improved sales and rising demand for AI-enabled solutions from customers. This marks the first reporting period since Dennis Woodside succeeded Girish Mathrubootham as CEO. It also upped its revenue guidance. Freshworks has given a 2024 full-year guidance revenue of $707 -$713 million, which has gone up marginally by around 1-2%.

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