The Weekly Dispatch

Freshworks acquires Device42 for $230 million to boost capabilities in advanced IT asset management

Freshworks has acquired the US-based startup Device42 for $230 million. This is the first acquisition it has made post the company’s IPO in September 2021 that will boost its capabilities in advanced IT asset management. Girish Mathrubootham, Founder, in a call with analysts, while discussing the company’s Q1 financial results, said with more than 800 customers around the world, Device42 provides enterprise-grade IT asset management capabilities, which the company believes can further strengthen Freshservice offering.

American Express opens its largest campus worldwide in Gurugram, India

American Express has opened its largest campus globally in India, spanning around one million sqft. demonstrating its commitment to the country.??According to a release by the company, the new campus will serve as a hub for American Express operations in India and will be the largest campus opened by the company to date. According to the company, employees will begin moving to the new facility, located in sector 74A Gurugram, in phases, starting at the end of May 2024. The new office will be an addition to its existing facilities in Gurugram, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Pune.

Japan's Fumio Kishida unveils a framework for global regulation of generative AI

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled an international framework for the regulation and use of Gen AI, adding to global efforts to govern rapidly advancing technology. Nearly 49 countries and regions have signed up for the voluntary framework called the Hiroshima AI Process Friends Group, Kishida said. They will work on implementing principles and code of conduct to address the risks of generative AI and "promote cooperation to ensure that people all over the world can benefit from the use of safe, secure, and trustworthy AI," he said.

Israeli cyber startup Apex gets initial investment from OpenAI's Sam Altman

Israeli cyber security start-up Apex, which focuses on protecting the rapid use of AI tools, said it received an undisclosed investment from OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman. In all, Apex raised $7 million in a seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures, with participation from Altman and others, it said. Apex said it had been running trials with a number of Fortune 500 companies and investment firms and was close to finalising paid contracts. Altman did not immediately comment.

Apple to extend new core technology fee to iPadOS apps

Apple will extend a newly introduced core technology fee to iPadOS apps downloaded on its App Store after the operating system for iPads was added to a list of key services subject to EU tech rules, the iPhone maker said. Apple in March announced a core technology fee (CTF) of 50€ cents per user account per year for major app developers even if they do not use any of its payment services or its App Store, with the first 1 million user accounts exempted from the fee.

Data streaming company Confluent to boost India headcount by 25%

Data streaming company Confluent will boost its workforce in India by 25% this year to support growing demand, the company's official said. Jay Kreps, CEO of Confluent, said India has become the company’s biggest workforce based outside of the US. “To support the growing demand in India, Confluent plans to increase the local headcount by 25% in 2024,” he said at a media briefing. Confluent’s global headcount is 2,744, of which over 400 are in Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai, who mostly work remotely.

Zero-day vulnerabilities becoming major source of cyberattacks: Verizon

Cyberattacks stemming from exploitation of vulnerabilities for accessing data have shot up by a staggering 180% in 2023 and almost tripled over the past year, a new study has revealed. The growth is majorly fuelled by the MOVEit vulnerability, where hackers exploited a zero-day vulnerability in the MOVEit file-transfer software to steal sensitive medical and health information data of nearly 4 million Americans. This also marks a decline in dependency on stolen credentials as a percentage of initial actions in data breaches, although it remains the top category.

Wipro promotes Hari Shetty as chief strategist and sales officer

Wipro elevated Hari Shetty as its Chief Strategist and Sales Excellence Officer from immediate effect, the company informed in an exchange filing. This is the first CXO-level appointment made by the firm after the new CEO, Srinivas Pallia, took charge on April 6 following the resignation of former CEO Thierry Delaporte. Based in the US, Shetty was, until today, the SVP & Sector Head for technology platforms, products & gaming at Wipro.

Wipro bags multi-million dollar deal to transform Nokia's digital workplace services

Wipro announced that it has been selected by Nokia to overhaul its employee service desk and offer real-time IT support to a global network of employees in a multi-million dollar deal. Wipro team will build a bespoke AI-powered, cloud-based solution for Nokia's workforce, which comprises around 86,700 users globally in 130 countries of operation. The solution aims to enhance the employee experience by providing modular, secure, and automated services, Wipro said in a release.

AWS collaborates with ShellKode to train 1 lakh women developers in GenAI

Shellkode has launched “EmpowerHer” in collaboration with AWS to train and empower 1 lakh women developers in the future with Gen AI technology. This initiative prioritizes on elevating women developers in the Indian tech community. As per the company’s statement, the partnership will pair aspiring women developers with experienced Gen AI mentors, who will provide them with personalized guidance, career advice, and a supportive network.

Microsoft to invest $2.2 billion in cloud and AI services in Malaysia

Microsoft Corp. will invest $2.2 billion to build digital infrastructure in Malaysia, the latest in a series of big-ticket bets on Asia’s rising prominence as a technology market. The company plans to spend the money over four years, constructing infrastructure for its cloud computing and AI services, CEO Satya Nadella said during a visit to Kuala Lumpur. It’ll also give AI training to 2,00,000 people in Malaysia and work with the government to boost the nation’s cybersecurity capabilities.

Dennis Woodside to lead Freshworks as CEO, Mathrubootham shifts to Chairman role

Freshworks Inc. has appointed Dennis Woodside as its CEO and President. Woodside, currently Freshworks’ President, will succeed Girish Mathrubootham, the company’s Founder, as CEO. Mathrubootham will transition to a new role of Executive Chairman. He will remain the chairman of the Board of Directors, and Woodside will also remain a member of the Board of Directors, says a company statement. The announcement led to a 21% decline in the share price to $13.71 in the extended trading.

Cognizant to pay hikes to eligible employees in August: CEO

Cognizant will pay hikes to eligible employees in August. The company’s CEO, S Ravi Kumar, said earlier it was announced that the pay hikes will be done in August. It stays so, he informed the media while discussing the company’s March quarter financial results. The company deferred the hike by nearly 4 months compared to the previous April 2023 cycle. Total headcount at the end of the first quarter was 3,44,400, a decrease of 3,300 from Q4 2023 and a decrease of 7,100 from Q1 2023.

Coforge to acquire 54% stake in Cigniti Technologies at ?1,415 per share

Coforge's board of directors have approved the acquisition of a 54% stake in Cigniti Technologies at a per share price of ?1,415, the company said in an exchange filing. The acquisition process is expected to be completed by Q2FY25. The acquisition of Cigniti will not only help Coforge grow into a $2 billion firm by FY27, but the ensuing synergies will help the latter improve its operating margins by 150 – 250 bps in this timeframe, the company claimed.

LTTS wins $48 million deal with European auto parts supplier Forvia

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) has signed an approximately €45 million contract with European automotive parts manufacturer and supplier Forvia for engineering development activities for its clean mobility division. As part of this 5-year partnership, approximately 300 engineers from Forvia’s Augsburg (Germany) and Bangalore (India) sites have transferred to LTTS. This represents a 95% transfer success rate securing, the skills of these teams who will develop internal combustion engine-related engineering activities from within LTTS.

Google lays off at least 200 employees from its ‘Core’ teams: report

Google has laid off at least 200 employees from its 'Core' teams and will be moving some of the roles to India and Mexico in a bid to cut costs. Google's Core unit is tasked with building the technical base for its flagship products and ensuring the safety of its users online. Asim Husain, VP of Google Developer Ecosystem, informed employees about the layoffs in an email last week, saying that this was the biggest planned reduction for his team this year. The firm announced layoffs in its Flutter, Dart and Python teams earlier this week.

MODIFI to open office in Hyderabad

MODIFI, a FinTech platform specialising in B2B cross-border financing and payment solutions, is planning to step up its focus on southern markets by opening up offices in Hyderabad and some other locations soon. “We are committed to redefining what competitiveness means for South Indian SMEs in the global manufacturing landscape,” Sachin Nigam, Country Head, MODIFI India, said. MODIFI now has offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.

WhatsApp tightens security, bans 22.3 million accounts in India in Q1 2024

WhatsApp took action against a record 22,310,000 accounts in India during the first quarter of 2024, almost doubling the number of bans compared to the same period in 2023. This surge in bans points to the escalating challenge of online scams and user safety issues in India. WhatsApp indicated that these accounts were banned for violating its platform policies and compromising user privacy through activities such as scams and spam.