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Here’s how Meesho, Zepto, Pepperfry and Icertis cracked ‘hyperscaling’

<ul><li>Setting up a startup is just the first in many steps involved in making it successful. </li><li>Now, a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Times Bridge and TiE Delhi-NCR has decoded these learnings of <keyword id="6362513" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups" source="Orion">startups</keyword> from diverse sectors. </li><li>Of the 58,000 startups set up in India as of 2022, only 40,000 are still active, underscoring that turning a startup into a successful business is not as easy as setting one up. </li><li>Here are the lessons from some of India’s most successful startups on how to hyperscale successfully. </li></ul>Setting up a startup is just the first step in a long journey, and late-stage startups which have found their footing need to undertake several measures to make sure they can go from being just good to great. Now, a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Times Bridge and TiE Delhi-NCR has decoded these learnings of startups from diverse sectors. According to the report titled ‘Road to <keyword id="16830748" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hyperscaling" source="Orion">Hyperscaling</keyword> in India’, out of the 58,000 startups set up as of 2022, only 40,000 are still active, underscoring that turning a startup into a successful business is not as easy as setting one up. What comes after setting up a startup is hyperscaling, which is defined as a phase where startups grow fast to capture the market by ensuring an optimal product market fit, beating the competition by gaining sufficient market share, and achieving critical mass organically. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The startup explosion" comment="subhead" text="The startup explosion">The startup explosion</cmsannotation> India is home to nearly 58,000 startups as of 2022, with 11,000 of those startups having been launched in the last five years. Various factors like increasing digital adoption, a young population, an expanding middle class and conducive public policy has led to an explosion in the number of startups. The report adds that <keyword id="982553" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-startups" source="Orion">Indian startups</keyword> have raised over $130 billion between 2014 and 2022, growing at a faster clip than rival China. It’s not just startups that India is rich in – according to the report, India has the third most in the world unicorns at 106 as of 2022. Nearly 60% of these unicorns are concentrated across three categories, namely enterprise tech, fintech and ecommerce. “I recall how challenging it was back then to take the road less travelled, to raise funds to build and fuel growth with nascent digital penetration and a deep-rooted fear of online payments,” said Deep Kalra, founder and chairman, MakeMyTrip, and board member, TiE Delhi-NCR. While it helps that the Indian population is young at an average age of a little over 28 years, the surge in digital adoption, a conducive policy environment and a growing middle class make for a solid business case for setting up a startup. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Unlocking the hyperscaling magic" comment="subhead" text="Unlocking the hyperscaling magic">Unlocking the hyperscaling magic</cmsannotation> According to the report, Indian startups have adopted 8 key unlock themes to overcome challenges involved in hyperscaling. This includes focusing on customers, building the right teams and culture, identifying the right technologies, solving unit economics early, outpacing competitors and leveraging capital optimally. 1. Tailoring the business to customers’ nuances For instance, catering to the local nuances and understanding the deep-rooted behaviour of customers is visible in how Meesho hyperscaled itself – the ecommerce platform designed a unique reseller programme tailored for tier 2 and tier 3 cities. As a result, 70% of Meesho’s business comes from these tier 2/3 cities. “There's still a huge part of the population uncomfortable to purchase online unless someone helps them with it, and in our case that's our resellers. Micro influence matters,” said Sanjeev Barnwal, founder and CTO, Meesho. Pepperfry, an online marketplace for furniture, set up localised franchisee stores offline to cater to small town preferences where customers want to check products out in person before making a purchase. 2. Deepening moats for customer stickiness Given that startups spend a considerable amount in acquiring new users and customers, having good customer stickiness is critical to the long-term sustainability of the business. This can be achieved by deepening moats. “Indian unicorns have successfully moved from acquisition to retention and monetization through a "full-stack" approach,” the report said. For instance, jobs portal Naukri leveraged natural network effects and capitalised on its first-mover advantage to hyperscale, while discount broker Zerodha focused on its tech stack to build trust. 3. Solving unit economics early Growth is usually the focus of startups, which is also underlined by the fact that only 23% of Indian founders ranked profitability higher than growth, according to the report. However, startups like Delhivery have successfully balanced growth and profitability by ensuring gross margins are positive from Day 1, and maintaining discipline while taking decisions to expand the business. As a result, it took the logistics startup only four years to break-even in its core delivery business. 4. Building the right teams and culture A startup’s success also depends on its ability to attract good talent and retain it as well, apart from fostering a good team culture. One such instance is that of Zepto, which developed accelerated career pathways to attract and hold talent. 5. Identifying the right tech stack for growth Technology is at the core of almost everything, and more so, startups. As such, identifying the right technology stack is critical not only for launching startups, but also to hyperscale them. Using scalable technology also provides the flexibility that startups need in their early days as they try to find the best product market fit before teeing off. The report states that Indian startups have addressed this by designing a platform right from the start, instead of designing a product, and subsequently innovating and evolving their tech infrastructure to suit their needs. Uber India is a notable example of building a unified technology stack that provides for scalability. In the Indian context, Uber India built full-tech solutions locally, like Uber Bus and Uber Rentals which can be scaled to other markets as well. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Pitfalls of hyperscaling" comment="subhead" text="Pitfalls of hyperscaling">Pitfalls of hyperscaling</cmsannotation> Hyperscaling a startup involves several pitfalls, with the most common being the balance between growth and profitability. According to the report, only 18 out of 100 Indian unicorns are profitable, underlining just how difficult it is to turn a profit. On a related tangent, rapid expansion can also be a highly tempting path to take successful models of one market to another. Another issue that plagues startups while hyperscaling is retaining customers in a competitive and price-sensitive market. Access to ‘cheap capital’ also encourages poor discipline and governance issues, and leads to misreporting or fraud in some extreme cases, the report added. Lastly, the organisation's culture is also one of the victims of hyperscaling. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-is-an-integral-part-of-who-i-am-ill-be-a-part-of-tcs-too-as-it-soars-rajesh-gopinathan/articleshow/98722638.cms">TCS is an integral part of who I am, I’ll be a part of TCS too as it soars: Rajesh Gopinathan</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/reliance-shares-down-22-from-all-time-high-attractive-entry-opportunity-says-jp-morgan/articleshow/98725589.cms">Reliance shares down 22% from all-time high: Attractive entry opportunity, says JP Morgan</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/time-to-move-on-from-ceo-extension-debate-for-indusind-bank-and-focus-on-the-fundamentals/articleshow/98693999.cms">Time to move on from CEO extension debate for IndusInd Bank and focus on the fundamentals</a>

Customer stickiness to solving unit economics early: Lessons in hyperscaling startups, according to BCG-Times Bridge-TiE Delhi-NCR report

In collaboration with BCG and the Delhi Chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE Delhi-NCR), Times Bridge recently launched a report on <keyword id="16921617" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hyperscaling-In-India" source="Orion">hyperscaling in India</keyword>, which focused on the success stories of India’s <keyword id="16791661" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="late-stage-startups" source="Orion">late-stage startups</keyword>. To extract the key takeaways from the report, Business Insider India hosted a webinar featuring leaders from the three organisations, who discussed the crucial factors behind setting up a successful business model, expanding the target audience, and aligning unit economics with hypergrowth. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Covering the bases" comment="subhead2" text="Covering the bases">Covering the bases</cmsannotation> The route to hyperscaling starts with understanding what any enterprise should get right as a first step. Alok Mittal, Board Member, TiE Delhi-NCR, commented, “One of the things that have gotten re-emphasized over the last 12-18 months is the fact that there should be a viable business model.” According to him, startups must revisit their premise around profitability and gear up for growth. Nimisha Jain, Managing Director &amp; Senior Partner, BCG, agreed and said that solving for a core need and delivering a distinctive value proposition make up the most important foundational block. Team and talent stand out no matter which part of the hyperscaling journey a company is at according to Abhinav Bansal, Head of Strategy, Times Bridge. “Growth and profitability have to walk in harmony; they are not at loggerheads,” he adds. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The art of capital management" comment="subhead2" text="The art of capital management">The art of capital management</cmsannotation> While deploying capital, it is important to understand whether the time is right for hyperscaling or fine-tuning the current stage. “While there might be an instinct to go out and build a full stack, especially in a capital-rich environment, leveraging through partnerships has immense potential in creating a complete customer proposition,” said Alok Mittal. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Building a winning team" comment="subhead2" text="Building a winning team">Building a winning team</cmsannotation> The report also looked at hyperscalers who have been able to build positive unit economics and gauge how the Indian startup ecosystem was fairing in this regard. “The startups which have been successful have ensured distributed leadership, a strong sense of ownership and not having a blanket approach to expectations on performance,” said Abhinav Bansal. He also added that striking a balance between generalists and specialists is an important way to ensure hyperscaling success. It came to light that constructing career paths and engaging more strongly with the current teams is essential rather than only focusing on recruiting more talent. Thus, it is not just about getting the right talent, but retaining them, motivating them, helping grow them over time and building a level of dexterity where people are moving across roles. “To evade price wars with others, it becomes supercritical to be distinctive and create profitable modes,” said Nimisha. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Lessons learned and preparing for the future" comment="subhead2" text="Lessons learned and preparing for the future">Lessons learned and preparing for the future</cmsannotation> The report also tried to come up with a framework for emerging startups to help them align their priorities and hyperscaling aspirations to the new realities. Startups which have become unicorns do not stop with their first layer of advantage. “You need to keep refining the value proposition over time and coming up with ways to deliver it,” advises Nimisha Jain to startups in their early stages. Thus, not letting oneself become complacent is crucial. Abhinav Bansal has a different perspective and wonders whether becoming a unicorn is a milestone or a means to an end. He advises, “Creating products in India for India would help a startup distinguish themselves in the market. India is a very strong domestic consumption economy and thus, thinking in a localized and culturally sensitive manner would help set one apart.” Overall, the report emphasised the importance of stronger business models, unit economics, and focus on growth for startups to emerge as leaders in the hyperscaling journey. You can download the report <a href="https://timesbridge.com/blog/report-by-times-bridge-bcg-tie-delhi-ncr/">here </a>and gain insights on unlocking the hyperscaling potential in India.

What it takes to hyperscale in India: Experts share insights and strategies in a recent webinar

<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.bcg.com/__;!!JboVxjCXSME!LxsTTKGGzgv_iT2CbYmDMYScfgU4z-WY4Kadi8mhw8OL2wZZfBTQEIvBZhu43CL2uaXk11deO_w52LFXhFf7w2iR$">Boston Consulting Group (BCG)</a> in association with <keyword id="4519251" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Times-Bridge" source="Orion">Times Bridge</keyword> and the Delhi Chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE Delhi-NCR) today, unveiled a report titled, ‘Road to <keyword id="16830748" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hyperscaling" source="Orion">Hyperscaling</keyword> in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>’. The entrepreneurship and startup landscape in India has witnessed breakout growth over the last few years, transforming India into the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, just behind US and China. Last few years witnessed the rise of 100+ unicorns – a valuation milestone, which has often been celebrated by founders, investors, and media. The impact, however, has been much deeper and broader, with 40K+ active start-ups till FY22. In the last decade several late-stage companies managed to ride the coveted ‘hockey stick curve’, while many more failed, while trying to grow too fast too soon. The report shares learnings from hyperscaling journeys of successful late-stage startups in India. In the context of the evolving macroeconomic environment and the resulting funding winter, the report also provides a framework for emerging startups to align their priorities and hyperscaling aspirations to the new realities. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Key highlights from the successful late-stage start-up journeys" comment="subhead" text="Key highlights from the successful late-stage start-up journeys">Key highlights from the successful late-stage start-up journeys</cmsannotation> Leveraging conversations with leading startup founders and investors, the report shares stories of successful Indian and global late-stage startups along eight key themes that helped them hyperscale in India. While there is no one-size-fits-all pathway, the leading founders and investors have uncovered strategies and tactics from setting up the right business model to expanding the target customer groups and harmonizing the unit economics objectives with hypergrowth. For instance, some stories and examples covered in the report include: <ul><li>How Meesho deployed a creative customer acquisition strategy via their reseller business model to target the less trusting and less tech-savvy tier 2/3 city consumers. While many Indian startups struggled to replicate big city success in small towns and had to scale back, Meesho successfully rose with 70% share from Tier 2/3 towns.</li><li>For Policy Bazaar, finding and nurturing mini-founders within an organization was key to unlocking scale and creating leverage for the founders. This allowed them to not just set up and grow new businesses (e.g. Paisa Bazaar), but also build a culture of entrepreneurship, with different business unit owners driving growth and constructive experimentation within their own business scope. </li><li>For the SaaS startup - Icertis, strategic partnerships with top-tier software and professional services players unlock a rapid pace of growth, which they would have never been able to drive alone. Those relationships enabled the start-up to leverage well-established B2B sales ecosystems quickly and, at the same time, add immense value to their partners’ portfolios of offerings.</li><li>Many Indian start-ups have attempted but struggled to scale up businesses successfully in other major international markets. Report also shares inspirations from global leading startups – such as Uber and Airbnb, who managed to successfully adapt their business models to suit the specific local needs of Indian customers. While driving localization, they focused on not just leveraging existing strong global tech platforms, but also exported successful local innovations for India back into the global platforms and playbooks.</li><li>…and many more similar stories that emerging startup founders could learn from!</li></ul>The report not only highlights the success stories of these start-ups but also cautions against the potential pitfalls at the time of hyperscaling. In the euphoria of scaling up, one may attempt to grow too fast too soon, loosen governance and controls, and miss scaling critical tenets that helped them succeed in the first place. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The path forward" comment="subhead" text="The path forward">The path forward</cmsannotation> Overall, while picking up learnings from the good-to-great journey of startups in the last decade, one must adapt them to the new market realities and own context as well. Venture funding for startups suffered a 40% drop in 2022. No new unicorn emerged in the last 6 months. To add to that, only 18 out of 100 start-ups are profitable in India, as per 2021-22 estimates. Silicon Valley Bank failure and associated events have further added to the volatility and uncertainty in the near term. The tendency to ‘scale fast’ by burning cash always backfires, if done without clear sight of long-term customer value and unit economics. Survival and extension of the financial runway must be the top priority for startups in these times. There is however a silver lining. Many India focused funds are sitting on large amounts of unallocated dry powder to be deployed at an opportune moment. The younger promising start-ups will continue to attract capital, and so would the well-run late-stage start-ups. Founders may have to be more flexible on valuation in the near term though, as well as be open to alternative sources of funds, such as venture debt. As a leading venture capitalist expressed “This is the best time to build your business if you have sorted out your basics. The worst thing you can do is to want to keep to your old valuation because of ego and lose your market share.” Rohan Joseph, VP, Head of Global Investments and Corporate at Times Bridge, said, "India’s entrepreneurship and technology landscape has seen enormous growth in recent years, making it the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. This report showcases the innovative strategies deployed by leading startups and global companies as they scale up in India’s dynamic business climate. At Times Bridge, we enable purpose-driven companies to enter India, and this report reaffirms our conviction in the market’s potential for entrepreneurs across all sectors." Sidharth Madaan, a Partner at <keyword id="144900" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BCG" source="Orion">BCG</keyword>, opined, “Time and again, we have seen the well-run start-ups emerge significantly stronger with reduced competition out of a crisis. In the current volatile environment as well, start-ups with stronger business models, unit economics, customer retention, and sharper growth focus will not just be able to stay afloat, but also consolidate their lead and emerge as leaders on the other side of the crisis.” “How ephemeral can time be. When we started our interviews and research for this report late last year, funds were aplenty, valuations were skyrocketing, and growth was the only objective in one’s mind. And within a few months, while growth is still the holy grail, other parameters like strong business models, customer retention and above all, unit economics, have assumed centre stage. Those start-ups that will be able to juggle all of these without dropping any balls through this period of crisis are the ones that will come out stronger and as leaders from the current volatile environment,” says Rajiv Gupta, MD, Senior Partner and Leads Technology, Media and Telecom for BCG India. “The Indian Startups story has entered a new era with a focus on creating scalable yet sustainable startups with a clear path on profitability. Hyperscaling is integral to this journey. For over 2 decades at TiE Delhi-NCR we have witnessed the rise and rise of the startup ecosystem in India and have played a key role in its development. The report shows our commitment to fostering the spirit of entrepreneurship for the new economy," said Alok Mittal, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Indifi Tech and Board Member <keyword id="2555716" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="TiE-Delhi" source="Orion">TiE Delhi</keyword> – NCR. The founders and leaders need to ensure survival as well as keep one eye on the future. While managing burn will be critical on one end, one must capture opportunities smartly to invest and grow in the long term. <a href="https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/road-to-hyperscaling-in-india">A copy of the report can be downloaded here.</a>

Hyperscaling in turbulent times: A BCG - Times Bridge – TiE Delhi-NCR report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A data center somewhere is powering your online shopping and binge watching.</li><li>Data centers run 24/7 and consume vast amounts of energy and water.</li></ul>Sending emails. Shopping online. Scrolling social media. Streaming Netflix.These activities seem like innocuous ways to kill a few hours. Though we may never think about how much data we're using, or the cloud it's stored on, <a target="_blank" href="https://l.businessinsider.com/a/click?_t=c8e10479a20f45bba5aad6c5f6fbb009&amp;_m=08a31e55edbf46709f3ecf7b76cd4a22&amp;_e=AAWmNX6lvfNseQk9FArnnMcWwDWne3_6EExrx3b69h1Ery_kjQ6oisk61NlbFQow8FuGiQxpJ52ouGI94ugBrIc_fsPB35HfJk8v0RtzkTBCdhdTtb7RA3LQnNC7Lnpo7PnrIZ0bYzB0xinXNNCApp2TUhA9Kg6ICtSFRRctD-WcTaVzWW_Y1j1QjsAXlKHJDES_ZKrlWsG8RTZDy2S-XJjGIPyVF1f175xUg8SHlD-Xz1ljBkzPEUUMzHxDzhRYPXcEalLX7kfJKJvP_K5hVqAJMz8bXP5O-BX8A9PHjLkpfF_zAItYk45f64Zobr3K1---mdARaX5z4EGdjNZP5UcYai86ECXzdRs4aRrzWR2NpUbM4JJEs11lNn8Odq-2kleUn7jOZ8SWAQg2tLMS0LWYVBNlATPRHG2NHsafuw2O0sbszARLYaYqkXRmh8EFcwRMlxEbjvB9FNAHKV5-ow%3D%3D">there's an environmental toll</a>. Our cloud usage is powered by a growing network of data centers in buildings filled with rows and rows of routers and servers. Demand is only expected to grow as companies lean on data analytics to make decisions <a target="_blank" href="https://l.businessinsider.com/a/click?_t=c8e10479a20f45bba5aad6c5f6fbb009&amp;_m=08a31e55edbf46709f3ecf7b76cd4a22&amp;_e=AAWmNX6lvfNseQk9FArnnMcWwDWne3_6EExrx3b69h0AEFBpI-6azLICztnzcbzTu2Dntfxe44dJqskVhENDXpiywuoZtGccR40fh_zuG2KUZr9EUuwgyVkIY71fFG-0MF15f8q2HK9qZ5whPXRSWJjMlQs8bdN_3Q-QMsDni13Jo-_-H0JMgV-xMFlRPi49XrAjN89_B7rFiO3ZySaKwOxIuDSRifeO0g8uSzaQV3GrrKcCuLD9Es3MuT9f_2MgE8zubGVdg-sVzaCBMRDNu0rv7TDC-YrUBCX_hnvst7qCIJkPHHfpbdijk9oaiO322qOCFSrqTXVqd8rhOhgmRn5SyjrJb8QLCrAw4Ru3JbuxxUCIyoSebClQpmOG1qbONyGEVS4dZiA0DCI4j6RiLOtI7VUI3CjDkYEBISHzTdmccZr1O_b05sXzEa-dAL9pm4EsUTPoImNV6L-UFvXxQVQV51AJJsJWMVOsBXbkFHk%3D">and increasingly use AI</a>. Data centers run 24/7 and consume vast amounts of energy and water, partly because of the giant fans and evaporative cooling required to keep temperatures low. In states including Virginia, Arizona, and Nebraska, utilities <a target="_blank" href="https://l.businessinsider.com/a/click?_t=c8e10479a20f45bba5aad6c5f6fbb009&amp;_m=08a31e55edbf46709f3ecf7b76cd4a22&amp;_e=AAWmNX6lvfNseQk9FArnnMcWwDWne3_6EExrx3b69h3JG_qPXZrA3mZ8vn1mJPQADuUNJ5NUKwtfCv2hN11-Ilgsv12KmQd6appAOVoWKiSGsfEGXwjym0Ut2IrxJtJe6kOdK4W1Es9FaKpj8PmyCdPXbAfP51wIKNqzOkHKLJNz5UBHhc1Sdj4O3UPY1pLbvzccVyfBQOpTxctJGn1BhSIBoOCJ2oDje1tgWtfPuG-8DCorfJUg94IxzmDbg_eKgr38fksF_5Az5kPyqQ0-Ke54ADdBqUbWB4mb5LwfOhaNuOoELHsk0MbreE9etwNYuF3cEAKfMlCQxTQksUnUsKdm_CgAKhrw0xWljf85MZbsfdQWuSEdhSuGrQT2p8_ZQtBfbukrxPShujeS5VnqSgBK-6orMFeT3o8o4P7ZPg20L8j9Ffra9vxhUznhHBZz_qjr27fy2CT3VA7R4R12LQ%3D%3D">are considering or planning</a> more gas-fired power plants to keep up with the continuous electricity demand. Hyperscaling data centers puts tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google in a tough spot when it comes to their goals of drastically slashing greenhouse-gas emissions this decade.The problem has led to a hunt for greener data-center technologies. Among them is liquid cooling, which directly cools the tiny microchips central to electronic devices. <a target="_blank" href="https://l.businessinsider.com/u/click?_t=c8e10479a20f45bba5aad6c5f6fbb009&amp;_m=08a31e55edbf46709f3ecf7b76cd4a22&amp;_e=AAWmNX6lvfNseQk9FArnnM0UMdyJzQJfcsyo_KbzoKBprvStCIQbh2AeJKUXl5p1eLvkieymUlZCrY8d-aKYkIlvd137G5LHId_OOPIhJSBBXoFGUHN9eo7-CvyQOKRdOOfxtMrKy9B3ts0qGRcUe7LroDc6yxsSUhmo21wx7DXvsTt1tgegFEyZtdASQcJu4Ahs9xpygdVMIG7ybpvkmZ938wqXu_V2r0u18SLKcuE86y5BytWaonrcdVE7x5NrGweFT2XjZixrhrXkeTKWnE1CnogT5dky9GnWe1stduTUGM_clrd3p5KQrb83g-m8AUdtmix9N1lY3IVKx_DNX9yBf_X1M6Ev731GYUWo7xaB9PTdj6MT3_d9Jwbpq-a8b02xTN1sMQfVDhzWgXUhsVsrvOakCQvicNyKzguDj3KtA7VLraGfjXq5cEK4La_ZAVg3JPCLJb6pPOID_jgvMHfAzc0H0trrpSKssu1mwj3COuf6sAZ2d0aIa7gd7uzsLGUZWe3gPenmyJXlb90QtpHIw4NMieupbC6sYBHuBr8OTGhLZJYWcklrb2wjOsjK2npAe8dGqfjQFMhLFGYbySUJ7RVHOTgh0oc9swuC12kwIYn6bmI5j0FzoWpYH6r2HmbDYQ3iV6ZfuzmT99np-UrGCjQsSGvjwTTGgUTN0EPC3OIQ5ehNHOEKItZ69TndeePxE-xmr-YCWHxaRVWyjw%3D%3D">Persistence Market Research</a> has predicted that the industry's valuation — estimated at about $2 billion in 2021 — will surge to $31 billion by 2032."We think to solve the biggest problem, you have to focus on the smallest pieces," Bernie Malouin, the founder and CEO of the liquid-cooling startup JetCool, told Business Insider. Malouin spent eight years at MIT developing metal plates with hundreds of jets that push through a water-based coolant. These solutions, known as SmartPlates, sit on top of the microchips in computer servers to "surgically remove" the hot spots, he said. Water is a lot more efficient at absorbing heat than air.Data centers have thousands of servers — just imagine how hot a room with thousands of microwaves would get, Malouin said.JetCool's technology could save data centers up to 15% of their overall power consumption, based on internal tests, the company said. A partnership with Sabey Data Centers last year <a target="_blank" href="https://l.businessinsider.com/u/click?_t=c8e10479a20f45bba5aad6c5f6fbb009&amp;_m=08a31e55edbf46709f3ecf7b76cd4a22&amp;_e=AAWmNX6lvfNseQk9FArnnPl6bVAdMRiunCqnq8U4sQIWmshbkxhPebTUNaWACWtMeHkHcSuxo7OApKOPZVUUXyOJLeuI_ewUei9R50utdI46MH4wTz2-qo2AjbO50-pRRQYfhDfm6joHHWR-vSQTiEsgohFWFXcNQxsLCOJWDqSO0cls00R8-lUAHPi92Z38EfMpCzGZpFwxt5fXRYHmah5dpam3JXrEKRjqHWFAScoigFEYAbicBiT3B1T4eiVig3UClQiVkBFKY9QaG2cFZS1bdIi5QaiXzWjGDwh0PZCE9mbXcz7-TK1Vbtlv4CwfYkJImGdH6Id1yOX_wSr1W4GSZlN_ydoDXuqDRE8SpxikZpzFiGs_Xu9T22marzSzbFxExcn4mWEpXds6kPFKWHneH_ngHlpG8dx9x1Q09SqLYW5oQ996eGh8iGQDEhoMpjJYb8V9tMejYzI_f9JvUViMN5uL0V_LUlSfgLLfUCoKko41b7tbFewFo7bnhUkn5kFZy3idcQuvBOR0NcJAVrfU1X5hdVPga_3XCKqegViuEGX3FKKa7ifQugd9WzUV">demonstrated a 13.5% reduction</a> in power use. It'd be expensive for existing data centers to implement a new cooling strategy, and Malouin said JetCool's technology is better suited for new builds. <a target="_blank" href="https://l.businessinsider.com/u/click?_t=c8e10479a20f45bba5aad6c5f6fbb009&amp;_m=08a31e55edbf46709f3ecf7b76cd4a22&amp;_e=AAWmNX6lvfNseQk9FArnnC_5u2wOnNcmjMcTAsIYEgbyQbzWI0NmxF7osvxokyyQ_QEA4pROpKLxmulpgZCST273ReLWo0Ktrc9GX4P2-qH5FKXy47E2N5YazDTyhVGtFZ8jngBlMWcRmAWEGF5l7i_g6Gjd-pfHcFX135GBF8PMEBO77nsBXSHwPy06UXc4_RQ749Q4Q5rfmfcwc0_5YA4ZL85LmkHz0eFKd9xVLWmLH4AvuGyGkO99xxnDooaI9oM3qkEK3pjLMLGW7Br2I2-4RUCCoZ1adtlngzu_C3hGCBs3NbtpR7tOJbWKQwWqCBchhwx1iAupzPonXdNYKWx81ALCOMhU_RFoKBr_mk4dySUhcsLkLxOZPvd_8lGsoXG85XLgzwOQo_WFXgns495LRFLPyLBupRr3GjtQZFrqwn8SV9Hk8Qv_0KPy4tKxI1uKR3PH1crp0BvcBL6xiVxvX_cG-K25BTyOfObdtg13pBHdKrUCJDMzYtCfz-zTmigBj_PT0xpU5lgI3O65T1q9xo47xKif9zdCQ2aS3NY%3D">Bloomberg reported</a> in December that Microsoft was exploring liquid cooling for the future, especially because of AI's massive computing requirements.Malouin said JetCool was working with hyperscalers on data-center hubs for AI but declined to disclose which companies. Last year Dell launched servers with JetCool's technology and the startup closed a $17 million fundraising round. Malouin said he sees a lot of potential in Europe, which <a target="_blank" href="https://l.businessinsider.com/u/click?_t=c8e10479a20f45bba5aad6c5f6fbb009&amp;_m=08a31e55edbf46709f3ecf7b76cd4a22&amp;_e=AAWmNX6lvfNseQk9FArnnJEtIPxg4XiIiWH3MwmHl7cqWQ9NToEuJ39exKhGcpIB8zlJJv5BjfRr7ChMAjf4iPOO5omD5WU5SNJiID-M0TD5y120x4dc0jgcaUVBi7fdZb6mM5BWXiVW90i0oLQ_-nLxZVMSpij9EP91TxxmpD_nPdljGsjvoMlmFnSsk85jZLQIif8UR3bh4IStUCzBqO2qlQ2S_TcRczOHLMAER-MLTZWerpaK0Ez7QdJiASuA_i0CExzUjdE4Bz58h5cdEFRTm4_WT71KaNizpGVw0SlLmx-WVzZea2aV8QZKqiNC5UV0WJ-gdcxTLmR5MMCuPha2t4lUVO2Cz1DUa2C-V5hjNiqr5vMVZjlvehbhgcqHBmafAzGclk5sXIQy7KBhEyrtkdaHNjg1oiFq9ed7idUUdhlJojWlapLE4YGkzy3dgydy7GZcunSNHDBXjJ1G8tYjspLbJ-iUOGtNz5tkm7uhFjx5jGsazgJTyJnjAiJU8armcaRi0oqEkOhbiLiTmiLlPeqOsup5koEOyUla5w8%3D">recently updated its energy-efficiency law</a> to encourage large data centers to limit their power and water use.This article is part of Business Insider's weekly newsletter on sustainability. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-sustainability">Sign up here</a>.

Meet a startup trying to keep your screen time from destroying the planet

They're building <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/data-centers-ai-artificial-intelligence-farmland-power-2023-7">data centers</a> pretty much everywhere these days. The<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prologis-warehouse-compass-data-centers-industrial-real-estate-2024-3"> sprawling, windowless buildings</a> are the physical engines of the internet and the cloud; more are now <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-invest-billions-into-japan-ai-data-centers-2024-4">under construction</a> than ever before, and the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-data-energy-centers-water-energy-land-2023-10"> new breed is bigger and hungrier</a>. A typical center used to consume 10 megawatts of electricity; now they're being built to suck up 10 times that much. Last year all the data centers in the world had room for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-scientist-invented-new-units-measurement-ronna-quetta-2023-1">10.1 zettabytes</a> of information — roughly 456 billion Wikipedias. And with the rise of artificial intelligence, which requires vast quantities of data and power, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.us.jll.com/en/trends-and-insights/research/data-center-outlook">the global capacity of data centers is expected to double</a> by 2027. If you don't live <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/virginia-data-center-boom-power-grid-utility-2023-11">near a data center</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/viral-tiktok-anger-data-centers-northern-virginia-2024-3">you will soon</a>.But cloud computing and AI aren't the only things driving the push for "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-stocks-to-buy-for-ai-data-centers-power-demand-2024-5">hyperscaled</a>" data centers. About 65% of the capacity in global centers is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.srgresearch.com/articles/quarterly-cloud-market-once-again-grows-by-10-billion-from-2022-meanwhile-little-change-at-the-top">owned by just three companies</a>: Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Like the railroad magnates of old, they're racing to control the market, because they understand something that has eluded the rest of us. Data centers are more than just vast digital warehouses. They're the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/data-centers-electricity-consumers-discounts-utilities-2024-4">essential infrastructural technology</a> on which pretty much every other company in the world must run. When companies need pretty much any computing service these days — networking, security, data processing, platforms, you name it — it's easier and cheaper to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aws">just rent it</a> from Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure. The more data centers those companies have, the more of those services they can offer, and the more storage and number-crunching capacity they can provide. By trying to corner the market on data centers, they're not just creating bigger warehouses for data — they're aiming to be a one-stop shop for all of the tech a company needs.That's even more true of AI startups. When an innovative newcomer needs access to the large language models that are required to train and run generative AI, they pretty much have to go through Big Tech to get them. And now the tech giants are making venture investments in those startups by offering them "credits" for using the company's cloud. That's how Microsoft made a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.semafor.com/article/11/18/2023/openai-has-received-just-a-fraction-of-microsofts-10-billion-investment">chunk of its investment in OpenAI</a>, for example — by giving the startup access to its data centers. It's a lucrative inducement to join a proprietary ecosystem."This is where the real business is," says Cecilia Rikap, an economist who is the author of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.common-wealth.org/publications/dynamics-of-corporate-governance-beyond-ownership-in-ai">a new report</a> called "Dynamics of Corporate Governance Beyond Ownership in AI." "The more AI is consumed, there's more cloud consumption, and therefore not only more money for these companies but more digital technology that is intertwined and tangled inside their infrastructure."And that entanglement is what worries many economists and legal scholars. Regulators call the problem "locking in." Changing from one data ecosystem to another isn't like moving your office to a new building; the programming interfaces between Microsoft Azure, say, don't just port over to Amazon Web Services. Getting into one is easy, but like the Hotel California, you can never leave. Once a tech giant gives a startup access to its cloud services and its large language models, it has pretty much assured itself a form of control over a fledgling firm that might one day have grown into a competitor. "Market leaders benefit from early-mover advantage coupled with network effects and high switching costs that lock-in customers," a congressional subcommittee warned in a <a target="_blank" href="https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/issues/issue/?IssueID=14921">450-page report</a> back in 2020. The rush to build data centers is, in no small part, a move by Big Tech to secure the keys to the coming AI kingdom.In the short term, the rise of data centers has actually been a good thing for startups. "Until recently, the perception among academics was that the rise of cloud computing was great for startups and innovation," says Matthew Wansley, a law professor at Yeshiva University who studies competition and regulation. "It used to be that if you were a startup, you had to build your own servers. That's a huge, fixed up-front cost."That's not true anymore. The price of cloud-computing services has fallen every year since 2006, when Amazon opened its cloud. And it absolutely crashed in 2014, as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nber.org/books-and-chapters/measuring-and-ac%20counting-innovation-twenty-first-century/rise-cloud-computin%20g-minding-your-ps-qs-and-ks">a team of economists noted</a>, when Microsoft and Google started advertising their competitive prices. From 2010 to 2014, AWS database prices dropped by 11%. Over the next two years, they plunged by 22%.Cloud computing also made it easier for startups to get funding. Venture capitalists adopted a <a target="_blank" href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2018.03.001">"spray and pray" approach to investing</a>, meaning they placed bets on more companies but put less money into each one. They also ratcheted back their direct involvement in running the companies, trusting the marketplace to sort out the winners from the losers.The whole scene has been especially great for AI startups. "Smaller companies like us could get access to compute power and the scalability that the larger service providers offer," says Jonas Jacobi, CEO and cofounder of ValidMind, a fintech company. "You have a few large players dominating the AI space, but there are startups trying to compete with them as well. The only reason they can is because of the cloud vendors."The trick, Jacobi says, is to write code that can work with any of the three providers, so you don't get locked in to a single company. You have to stay "neutral to the tech stack," he says. Sure, one of the tech giants can always swoop in and build their own version of your software. There's data suggesting that Amazon has made it a standard operating procedure to "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/amazon-and-commercial-open-source-in-the-cloud-its-complicated/">engulf</a>" the products of small, open-source competitors and repackage them as part of its own suite of services, as it did with the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elastic-open-source-licenses-amazon-elasticsearch-kibana-2021-1">Elastic search engine</a>. "But that's part of the journey as a startup," Jacobi says. "It's just up to us as a company to be faster and nimbler."But over time, economists warn, nimble won't be enough. In the battle to create foundational tech — the "<a target="_blank" href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w32474">key complementary assets</a>" of the business — AI startups will inevitably lose out to the tech giants that control the data centers. "AI is a general-purpose technology," says Rikap. "It's being applied to everything. But what type of AI we get and what type we don't get is going to be affected by the power of just three companies. It's an intellectual monopoly. What they are controlling is data and knowledge." By locking startups into their systems, Google and Amazon and Microsoft can effectively play favorites, offering better deals and cheaper services to the companies <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-sabotages-new-startups-businesses-coopting-disruption-2024-3">in which they have the largest stake</a>. Rikap has also found that their growing control of data centers also gives Big Tech an incentive to work together to share information and protect their joint interests. In a paper with Bengt-Åke Lundvall, an economist at Aalborg University in Denmark, Rikap notes that articles in technical and academic journals from researchers at Microsoft, Google, and Amazon consistently had <a target="_blank" href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89443-6">coauthors employed by their competitors</a>. Now, for sure, computer science is a small world. But the joint authorship, Rikap says, is "a pure way to tell they are collaborating and know what each other are doing" — a hallmark of anticompetitive behavior.For the moment, there is still reason to hope that innovation can win out over monopolization. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are still competing on price and features, which is good for everyone. And in Europe, where regulators are taking a more aggressive approach to tech generally and <a target="_blank" href="https://techmonitor.ai/technology/cloud/is-cloud-computing-market-anti-competitive-antitrust">cloud computing in particular</a>, the Big Three are busy pointing fingers at one another. A Google Cloud exec recently <a target="_blank" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-google-steps-microsoft-criticism-194847058.html">denounced Microsoft as a "monopoly"</a> and a "walled garden," and a trade group that includes Amazon <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-talks-end-trade-bodys-cloud-computing-complaint-2024-02-07/">filed an antitrust complaint</a> over Microsoft's cloud-computing licenses. As they vie for market share, the companies aren't in lockstep yet — and that creates an opening, albeit a small one, for nimble, faster competitors.There's also a tendency, over time, for mature technology companies to shift from trying to innovate themselves to simply charging other people who innovate. Among economists, that's known as "<a target="_blank" href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w32359">rent-seeking behavior</a>," and it looks an awful lot like what Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are doing with cloud computing and data centers.So what's the best way to make sure Big Tech doesn't use data centers to short-circuit innovation? Researchers point to Google, which is offering a friendlier kind of partnership to startups. "The Google Cloud Division partners with promising database start-ups, contributes to open-source projects, and collaborates with open-source foundations," two scholars <a target="_blank" href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00323292231183806">recently observed</a>. It's an "architecture of participation," they say, that enables Google to profit while fostering the growth of new companies and ideas.Even more important, the Federal Trade Commission, aware of the threat posed by data centers, has ordered the Big Tech companies to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/01/ftc-launches-inquiry-generative-ai-investments-partnerships">hand over information on their AI investments</a>. Just as new laws eventually caught up to the pricing practices of the railroads in the 1880s, today's regulators may well catch up to the futuristic, technological tangles of cloud computing. One reason to think so: The lead author of that 450-page House subcommittee report about Big Tech's anticompetitive behavior was a lawyer named <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ban-noncompete-agreements-approved-ftc-challenges-await-2024-4">Lina Khan</a>. Today's she's the hard-charging head of the FTC.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/adam-rogers">Adam Rogers</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider.

The scary secret behind the boom in data centers

Real estate arm of the <keyword id="6400918" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="piramal-group" source="Orion">Piramal Group</keyword>, <keyword id="620925" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="piramal-realty" source="Orion">Piramal Realty</keyword>, and Jio-bp announced their partnership to provide world-class EV charging solutions across all <keyword id="100407" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="piramal" source="Orion">Piramal</keyword>'s residential projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, a joint press release stated on Thursday. Jio-bp is a fuel and mobility joint venture between RIL and bp. As part of this partnership, customers and visitors to Piramal's residential projects will be able to charge their electric vehicles seamlessly at Jio-bp pulse EV charging stations at sites with the Jio-bp pulse mobile app. The first set of EV charging points at <keyword id="3415882" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="piramal-vaikunth" source="Orion">Piramal Vaikunth</keyword> in Thane were installed. Piramal Group said sustainability is a key pillar of Piramal Realty's business strategy and is integrated at all levels of its operations. The availability of EV charging infrastructure within its residential complexes ensures convenient charging of electric vehicles and boosts the confidence of potential electric vehicle buyers. Jio-bp constructed and launched many charging hubs along with hundreds of public charge points in various cities and major highways in India. Besides fixed charging, Jio-bp also offers <keyword id="5930710" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="battery-swapping" source="Orion">Battery Swapping</keyword> services through its large network of Battery Swapping Stations. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/heres-how-meesho-zepto-pepperfry-and-icertis-cracked-hyperscaling/slidelist/98943189.cms">Here’s how Meesho, Zepto, Pepperfry and Icertis cracked ‘hyperscaling’</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/global-it-services-firm-accenture-slashes-19000-jobs-tech-mayhem-deepens/articleshow/98944217.cms">Global IT services firm Accenture slashes 19,000 jobs, tech mayhem deepens</a>

Piramal Realty inks deal with Jio-bp to install EV charging stations at its properties

Global <keyword id="6354185" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IT" source="Orion">IT</keyword> services firm <keyword id="6370971" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="accenture" source="Orion">Accenture</keyword>, which has a large presence in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>, on Thursday announced to lay off of nearly 19,000 employees amid the challenging global macro-economic conditions and slow revenue growth. Delivering its quarterly results for the second quarter of fiscal 2023, the company also reduced its annual revenue growth and profit forecasts. "We are also taking steps to lower our costs in fiscal year 2024 and beyond while continuing to invest in our business and our people to capture the significant growth opportunities ahead," Julie Sweet, <keyword id="6415823" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="chair" source="Orion">Chair</keyword> and CEO, Accenture, said in a statement. The company said its revenues were $15.8 billion, an increase of 5 per cent in US dollars. The new bookings were at $22.1 billion, a 13 per cent increase. During the second quarter of fiscal 2023, Accenture initiated actions to streamline operations, transform non-billable corporate functions and consolidate office space to reduce costs. The company recorded $244 million in business optimization costs during the second quarter and expects to record total costs of approximately $1.5 billion through fiscal 2024. "Accenture estimates $1.2 billion for severance and $300 million for consolidation of office space, with approximately $800 million expected in fiscal 2023 and $700 million in fiscal 2024," said the company. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/now-sync-your-air-travel-with-uber-via-email-integration-in-india/articleshow/98942821.cms">Now sync your air travel with Uber via email integration in India</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/heres-how-meesho-zepto-pepperfry-and-icertis-cracked-hyperscaling/slidelist/98943189.cms">Here’s how Meesho, Zepto, Pepperfry and Icertis cracked ‘hyperscaling’</a>

Global IT services firm Accenture slashes 19,000 jobs, tech mayhem deepens

A video is going viral on Russian social media claiming <keyword id="43440" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vladimir-putin" source="Orion">Vladimir Putin</keyword> is conning his people by using multiple body doubles for trips he doesn't want to make, Daily Mail reported. It seizes on speculation that the Kremlin president's only trip so far to newly-invaded territory in Mariupol was performed by a doppelganger, and asks: "Who is ruling Russia?" It is unclear who made the footage but it appears to be aimed at reaching Russians who rely on uber-loyalist state media for their news. <keyword id="6355086" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="putin" source="Orion">Putin</keyword> is widely believed to have had regular plastic surgery as he has aged since first becoming acting president on the last day of 1999, Daily Mail reported. Rumours are rife that Putin 'understudies' -- who have undergone plastic surgery to resemble him -- are deployed increasingly as his health worsens amid rumours of cancer and early stage Parkinson's. "Evidently the weakest double was sent to Mariupol", states the video in Russian. "They forgot to put in his jaw." Earlier Ukraine mocked Putin for allegedly "sending a lookalike to war-ravaged Mariupol" in a high security visit, Daily Mail reported. Kyiv official <keyword id="2443662" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="anton-gerashchenko" source="Orion">Anton Gerashchenko</keyword> posted three images of Putin's chin and questioned whether they belonged to the same man. He taunted: "What's up with your chin, Putin?" The Interior Minister advisor posted: 'Looks like lately his makeup artists (i.e. for the recent trips of the bunker man to the occupied Crimea and Mariupol) had to work with quite a low-quality copy, not even a double but its copy. "I wonder which one of them was real?" One picture showed Putin, 70, one month ago in an address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow. Another was Putin's reported visit to naval port <keyword id="292797" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sevastopol" source="Orion">Sevastopol</keyword> in Crimea on March 18. And the third was from footage released the following day evidently showing Putin in war-blitzed Mariupol, Daily Mail reported. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/16-startups-have-laid-off-100-percent-employees-in-2023-so-far-3-of-them-in-india/slidelist/98941663.cms">16 startups have laid off 100 percent employees in 2023 so far – 3 of them in India</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/customer-stickiness-to-solving-unit-economics-early-lessons-in-hyperscaling-startups-according-to-bcg-times-bridge-tie-delhi-ncr-report/articleshow/98942395.cms">Customer stickiness to solving unit economics early: Lessons in hyperscaling startups, according to BCG-Times Bridge-TiE Delhi-NCR report</a>

Video claiming Putin is using body doubles goes viral on Russian social media

Global technology brand <keyword id="6485927" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="realme" source="Orion">realme</keyword> is set to replace <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> business head <keyword id="6530659" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="madhav-sheth" source="Orion">Madhav Sheth</keyword> with a top executive from its China-based headquarters, reliable sources told IANS on Thursday. <keyword id="262579" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="sheth" source="Orion">Sheth</keyword> may quit the company once the official statement is made soon. The move, according to industry insiders, does not augur well for the company which cemented its position in a market which is highly competitive at the mass level, with Sheth, as its India business lead, became the sole face of the company within a short span of time. According to sources, realme is set to make the India announcement as soon as possible, as the domestic smartphone market goes through a churning. Sheth, being a veteran in the field, clearly has a command over the local market dynamics -- something that the upcoming Chinese executive may not have in his kitty. Another worry for realme, according to industry insiders, is that a Chinese national at the helm may send negative signals to the Indian government which is already after Chinese-run businesses, especially smartphone vendors, which were allegedly involved in tax evasion running into thousands of crores. Sheth, currently the CEO of realme India, VP, realme and President, realme International Business Group has been at the forefront of creating consumer products with trendsetting technologies, features and designs. An award-winning global business leader with over 17 years of experience, he spearheads the company's strategy development, product engineering, business development, market operations and brand-building initiatives alongside others. Sheth is fully responsible for realme's overseas business operation, reporting directly to the founder and CEO of realme, <keyword id="2871924" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sky-li" source="Orion">Sky Li</keyword>. On May 4, 2018, realme was officially established by its founder Li and Sheth in India. Sheth focused on the development of AIoT devices and smartphones for Indian consumers, with the goal of improving their lives by inventing fashionable and high-tech lifestyle smart products. Under his leadership, realme India diversified into AIOT products with Smart TVs, Smart wearables and Smart hearables; strengthened mainline presence across the country with realme exclusive stores; enhanced 'Make in India' commitment with local manufacturing and exports to Nepal region, and popularised adoption of 5G-enabled smartphones. realme emerged as the third biggest smartphone brand in India in Q1 2022, and the fastest growing major 5G brand globally in Q4 2021, clocking a 165 per cent growth in global 5G smartphone shipments. The company climbed to the second slot for a second time, with a strong YoY growth of 24 per cent (highest among top five vendors) in Q2, 2022, as per IDC. It grew 2 per cent (on-quarter) in the third quarter last year, according to Counterpoint Research. realme cemented its second position in the online channel with 23 per cent share with affordable model offerings in the C-series. realme is the No. 5 Android smartphone brand globally and the youngest brand to achieve 100 million sales globally within 37 months. In the next five years, his objective was to accomplish realme as the most adored tech-lifestyle brand across the country. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/now-sync-your-air-travel-with-uber-via-email-integration-in-india/articleshow/98942821.cms">Now sync your air travel with Uber via email integration in India</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/heres-how-meesho-zepto-pepperfry-and-icertis-cracked-hyperscaling/slidelist/98943189.cms">Here’s how Meesho, Zepto, Pepperfry and Icertis cracked ‘hyperscaling’</a>

realme to appoint new India biz head from China, Madhav Sheth may quit

Equity benchmark <keyword id="6484188" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sensex" source="Orion">Sensex</keyword> declined 290 points in a volatile session to settle below the 58,000 mark on Thursday due to a sell-off in banking, financial and IT stocks amid a mixed trend in global equities. Besides, heavy selling in index heavyweight Reliance Industries added to the pressure, traders said. After rallying for two straight days, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 289.31 points or 0.50 per cent to settle at 57,925.28, with 16 of its constituents posting losses. During the day, the index witnessed a high of 58,396.17 and a low of 57,838.85. The broader NSE Nifty dipped 75 points or 0.44 per cent to end at 17,076.90, with 30 of its scrips ending in the red. "Markets traded volatile and lost nearly half a per cent amid mixed cues. After the initial downtick, the Nifty recovered gradually in the first half however fall in the heavyweights around 17,200 levels again pushed the index in the red. Consequently, it closed at 17,076.90 levels. "Continued pressure in the IT majors and profit-taking in banking and financial counters turned the tone negative," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd. State Bank of India was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 1.69 per cent, followed by Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, Wipro, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Power Grid and HDFC twins. In contrast, Nestle, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, ITC and Hindustan Unilever were among the gainers. In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined 0.45 per cent and smallcap index dipped 0.15 per cent. "Although the Fed's decision to increase rates by 25 basis points was in line with expectations, concerns were raised by the US Treasury Secretary's statement that blanket insurance for all deposits was not being considered. "The domestic market attempted to recoup its initial losses with the help of favourable US futures as the Fed hinted at its plan to pause rate hikes sooner. However, the recovery was short-lived due to a sluggish start in the European market led by a 50 bps hike by the Swiss National Bank," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Among indices, realty, bankex, IT, financial services, tech and consumer discretionary were the biggest laggards. FMCG, healthcare, telecommunication, utilities and power were among the gainers. As many as 2,053 firms declined, while 1,452 advanced and 129 remained unchanged. In Asia, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong markets ended in the green, while Japan settled lower. Equity markets in Europe were trading in negative territory during the afternoon trade. The US markets had ended sharply lower on Wednesday. "Most Asian stock markets ended in the positive, while European markets were trading lower on March 23 as markets weighed the prospect of a less hawkish Federal Reserve against increased economic headwinds in the coming months. "Investors felt that further increases, along with rates remaining higher for longer, are likely to apply increased pressure on the global economy this year," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities. Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.90 per cent to USD 76 per barrel. Foreign Portfolio Investors turned buyers on Wednesday as they bought equities worth Rs 61.72 crore, according to exchange data. "Domestic equities swing between gains and losses after US Fed continued with its rate hike trajectory. Statement by Treasury Secretary to not provide blanket insurance to all the banks distraught the sentiments," Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said. Their resolve to control inflation remains strong despite the ongoing banking turmoil. Bank of England is also expected to hike rates by 25 bps, Khemka said. Overall, <keyword id="46038" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-markets" source="Orion">Indian markets</keyword> are expected to remain range-bound due to a lack of triggers. The global environment continues to remain volatile. FIIs too have been consistent sellers for the last few days, which could keep the market under pressure, he added. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/customer-stickiness-to-solving-unit-economics-early-lessons-in-hyperscaling-startups-according-to-bcg-times-bridge-tie-delhi-ncr-report/articleshow/98942395.cms">Customer stickiness to solving unit economics early: Lessons in hyperscaling startups, according to BCG-Times Bridge-TiE Delhi-NCR report</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/16-startups-have-laid-off-100-percent-employees-in-2023-so-far-3-of-them-in-india/slidelist/98941663.cms">16 startups have laid off 100 percent employees in 2023 so far – 3 of them in India</a>

Sensex halts 2-day gaining streak, falls 290 pts to close below 58K

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">OakNorthSunil Chandra, OakNorth's new chief executive.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>OakNorth is a UK bank which lends money to small- and medium-sized businesses. It is one of the few profitable, high-profile startups backed by SoftBank's $100 billion Vision Fund and worth $2.8 billion.</li><li>The startup recently appointed Sunil Chandra, and experienced executive formerly of Google and Barclays Capital, as CEO, marking a period of international expansion. </li><li>The company claims working with SoftBank has been "wonderful" even as other Vision Fund portfolio startups draw scrutiny over their business models and extreme growth. </li><li>Chandra was specifically brought in to ramp up the startup's scaling plans as it looks to strengthen its grip on an estimated $7.9 trillion market. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary">Click here for more BI Prime stories</a>.</li></ul>It's been a tricky year for SoftBank and its $100 billion Vision Fund.The fund wants to be a kingmaker, but turbulence at its most high-profile investments - Uber, WeWork - has raised questions about its investment strategy.But there is one standout in the portfolio that bucks the trend, British lender OakNorth.OakNorth loans money to small- and medium-sized businesses. It raised $390 million from the Vision Fund, as part of a wider $440 million round in 2018, one of the biggest for a UK startup. It has quietly disrupted the $7.9 trillion mid-market lending space.The firm is valued at $2.8 billion as a result. It is also profitable, making it a rarity both in the Vision Fund's portfolio and on the wider unicorn scene.In October, OakNorth hired ex-Google, McKinsey, and Barclays Capital executive Sunil Chandra as CEO to kickstart the next stage of the company's journey. Chandra takes over the job from Rishi Khosla, OakNorth's cofounder.Chandra met Khosla six months ago in New York and took over to help build what he describes as a "generational company.""When I met OakNorth it reminded me of early days of Google, you have great founders and a young team that's really focused on building a generational company," Chandra told Business Insider in an interview."I have experience from Barclays Capital and McKinsey, before Google, in Asia and China but despite different industries and geographies the scaling experience is similar and that's my background so I'm here for this hyper-scale period." While at Google, Chandra helped scale the company from 7,000 to 100,000 people.That OakNorth is switching out its CEO while it enters a growth phase is a marked difference from other SoftBank-backed founders who have, perhaps, stuck around too long in the top job.Uber's cofounder and one-time CEO Travis Kalanick was publicly ousted pre-IPO, and more recently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-adam-neumann-said-family-control-company-300-years-january-2019-10?r=US&amp;IR=T">WeWork's Adam Neumann</a> stepped down from the top job after months of lurid stories about his own behavior and his company's business model. Both were replaced by more experienced executives.<h2>OakNorth made $44 million in pre-tax profits in 2018</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">OakNorthOakNorth cofounder Rishi Khosla has stepped down as CEO and handed the reins over.</div></div></div>OakNorth was founded in 2015 by Khosla and Joel Perlman, who sold their previous business to Moody's in 2014. The two remain involved in the running of the business.The company has a full banking license in the UK, but its focus is bespoke lending to companies around the world.Notably, OakNorth has reported profitability <a href="https://www.cityam.com/fintech-unicorn-oaknorth-more-than-trebles-profits/">claiming figures of a pre-tax profit of £33.9 million</a> ($43.6 million) last year having lent more than £2.5 billion since launch.OakNorth funds its lending through equity and deposit functions in its customer base and specializes in customized small business lending.That sector of the market generally sees loan sizes of between $1 and $25 million and OakNorth offers a variety of credit facilities to small businesses which make up some 95% of the available market worldwide. The company's own research into current and potential markets for growth estimate that the overall volume of potential loans could be $7.9 trillion globally. Mid-market loans typically include stronger covenant packages, more frequent and transparent financial reporting, and often have higher amortization payments.In basic terms, the lending conditions of these products are generally superior to other forms of corporate debt with the upshot being that OakNorth can be more stringent in its terms. This may also explain the sector's low default rates, with OakNorth claiming to have never had one so far. That could be tested in the event of an economic downturn, but for now things are rosy. "It's where the money is there to be made," Sarah Kocianski, head of research at fintech consultancy firm 11:FS, told Business Insider in an interview. "OakNorth has gone after a very specific sector of the market which has more complex needs than the usual retail banking sector and have been very successful." It's unusual for a company to be profitable so early on, particularly in an age where mega rounds and curious financial metrics are in vogue, but OakNorth has no plans of taking money for the sake of it. "Our great joy is that from nine months in onward we have been profitable and want to do that year after year and still be extremely aggressive in our growth agenda," Chandra said."We're not looking at raising more capital and we're not burning more capital. That's the business model, high growth, very disciplined execution, run it like a business that has profit and profit margins across it."<h2>OakNorth has staved off the WeWork aftershocks</h2>Profitability appears to have made OakNorth's relationship with its main investor easier.SoftBank, after the WeWork fiasco, is reportedly doing additional due diligence on its existing portfolio to make sure there isn't a second PR and financial disaster on the same scale. One such example was car leasing company Fair, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/softbank-backed-fair-struggled-after-explosive-growth-say-insiders-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">which saw hundreds of layoffs and a change to its business model</a> following SoftBank investigations while insurtech firm Lemonade <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/softbank-backed-insurance-startup-lemonade-has-delayed-plans-for-2019-ipo-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">delayed its IPO</a> after markets were spooked by WeWork.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Michael Kovac/Getty Images for WeWorkFormer WeWork CEO Adam Neumann.</div></div></div>And there are jitters at other SoftBank firms. Oyo, the Indian hotel company, is drawing closer scrutiny thanks to its apparent similarities to WeWork. Dog-walking startup Wag just lost its latest CEO and appointed a 29-year-old to take charge.Equally, there has been greater soul-searching following the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at Saudi Arabian hands earlier this year. The kingdom is a major backer of SoftBank's Vision Fund.SoftBank did not respond to requests for comment. OakNorth said it not seen greater interference from SoftBank."Every company is different but SoftBank have been nothing but wonderful investors for us," Chandra added. "Really nothing has changed, we're a small part of their overall portfolio obviously and we're profitable so we have not had a change." The company has raised $1 billion to-date from investors including GIC and Clermont Group. <h2>OakNorth says it wants to grow carefully, and launched in the US this year </h2>OakNorth is planning its expansion carefully, focusing initially on the US. The startup has 35 staff in its New York office with the world's deepest lending market a massive target for the company's growth going forward. It also has some staff in India.The company's own research, seen by Business Insider, indicates that the current SME loan market in the US is around $1.6 trillion. Figures for Asia are higher, potentially $3.3 trillion, meaning there is no shortage of potential customers for the startup. Interestingly, OakNorth has been keen to utilize SoftBank's contact network both via partners, board members, and other portfolio companies to accentuate this growth. "Given our opportunities we will take all the help we can get," Chandra said. It's a common trait for Vision Fund portfolio firms to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-gympass-took-softbank-money-after-jamal-khashoggi-murder-2019-6?r=US&amp;IR=T">do business with each other</a>.The company wants to stay committed to a core plan. "There a few different things that we want to maintain as we grow: stay customer obsessed, keep a strong executive team, invest in top talent plus people and culture these serves you well when hyper-scaling and helps you maintain agility," Chandra added."I want us to stay very close to customers to ensure we know what delivers the most value to our customers."<h2>OakNorth says it is highly differentiated thanks to its financial forecasting</h2>Perhaps the key point in OakNorth's growth plan is the continued expansion of OakNorth Analytical Intelligence, its forecasting service.It helps lenders decide who to loan money to, increasingly important in an age of booming corporate debt.OakNorth explains its advantage thus: "Overall, our model is man and machine. We have a large data set and repository plus propriety information and reference data," Chandra said. "But the secret sauce on top of that is credit science which is the moniker we use for credit analysis done by really really fantastic analysts from world's top banks alongside machine learning and data to really understand which companies need which credit facilities and how they are going to do in the future."Using AI to automate much of the credit analysis process is helpful but so is licensing its solutions for third parties.In overseas markets, other financial institutions can purchase OakNorth's white-labelled software and use it within their own businesses with one notable example being a deal with Dutch lender NIBC.The company also competes on savings products by offering competitive interest rates on short term bond issues, for example. It found more customers for its products through a tie-up with fellow London unicorn Monzo. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/banking?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_subscription&amp;itm_content=banking&amp;itm_campaign=banking-2"></a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ben-horowitz-what-companies-get-wrong-about-corporate-culture-2019-11">Legendary venture capitalist Ben Horowitz on culture mistakes most companies make, diversity in leadership, and the outlook for crypto</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

OakNorth may be the jewel in SoftBank's crown, worth $2.8 billion and profitable. Its new CEO comes in as the bank looks to enter hypergrowth without burning cash.

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OakNorth may be the jewel in SoftBank's crown, worth $2.8 billion and profitable. Its new CEO comes in as the bank looks to enter hypergrowth without burning cash.

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