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<ul><li><keyword id="10131833" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ultraviolette" source="Orion">Ultraviolette</keyword> has raised ₹112.5 crore (approximately $15 million) from TVS and Zoho Corporation, as per regulatory filings.</li><li>The company will use the latest Series C fund to launch its F77 high-performance electric motorcycle.</li><li>TVS had first invested in Ultraviolette back in 2017 and has been increasing its shareholding in the company since then.</li></ul>Indian multinational automotive company TVS and software-as-a-services (SaaS) giant Zoho Corp have announced their investment in electric two wheeler company <keyword id="6792726" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ultraviolette-automotive" source="Orion">Ultraviolette Automotive</keyword>. According to Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings, Ultraviolette has raised ₹112.5 crore (approximately $15 million) from TVS and Zoho Corporation. Its valuation is estimated to be $200 million as per Inc42. The company has not officially confirmed the financial details of this transaction. The company will use the latest Series C fund to launch its F77 high-performance electric motorcycle, which is currently in the final stages of testing. It expects to launch the electric vehicle (EV) in the first half of 2022. The Bengaluru-based startup had first showcased the electric motorcycle in November 2019 and it has received over 50,000 booking requests so far. ‘’What impressed me most about Ultraviolette is their approach towards building the EV experience in the country -- one that is focused on high performance, disruptive design and technology, and superior user experience, all built and developed right here in India. There is no doubt that the future of mobility is electric, and innovation has to be at the forefront of product disruption,” Zoho Corporation’s founder and chief executive (CEO) Sridhar Vembu said. Ultraviolette Automotive was founded in 2016 by Narayan Subramaniam and Niraj Rajmohan. It develops sustainable mobility and energy infrastructure. The company has raised over $20 million to date from marquee investors like Speciale Invests, GoFrugal’s Kumar Vembu. TVS had first invested in Ultraviolette back in 2017 and has been increasing its shareholding in the company since then. Sudarshan Venu, Joint Managing Director at TVS Motor Company, said, “EVs are a huge focus area for us and we have invested in this area for over a decade. TVS is committed to developing exciting and aspirational products and we have always believed that EV development has to be ground-up for us to make that quantum leap into the global EV revolution.” SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/after-giving-up-on-90-minute-delivery-five-years-ago-due-to-lack-of-profitability-grofers-is-now-chasing-10-minute-delivery/articleshow/88253221.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">After giving up on 90-minute delivery five years ago due to lack of profitability, Grofers is now chasing 10-minute delivery</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/ussd-mobile-banking-charges-trai-vs-airtel-vodafone-idea/articleshow/88249773.cms">TRAI’s push to make mobile banking services via USSD free faces stiff opposition from Airtel, Vodafone Idea</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/shares-of-tega-industries-list-at-753-while-the-shares-were-allotted-at-453-per-share/articleshow/88249181.cms">Tega Industries meets its GMP of ₹300 and lists at 66% premium</a>

TVS Motor, Zoho invest in Ultraviolette ahead of its F77 electric motorcycle launch

<keyword id="1495802" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="manageengine" source="Orion">ManageEngine</keyword>, the enterprise IT management division of tech company <keyword id="830107" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="zoho-corporation" source="Orion">Zoho Corporation</keyword>, on Thursday announced its plans to hire 1,000 employees in 2022 in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> for development, research and development and customer-facing roles. Since 2002, the company which is the enterprise IT management division of Chennai-based Zoho Corporation has served over 2,80,000 organisations in more than 190 countries. "We invest heavily in R&amp;D, product design and integration, so that our customers can accelerate their own digital transformation. We invest heavily in support so that our customers have a reliable partner to navigate a fast-changing landscape. We are in IT for the long haul, so customers can trust us to be around," said <keyword id="191862" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sridhar-vembu" source="Orion">Sridhar Vembu</keyword>, CEO and co-founder of Zoho, who was honoured with <keyword id="25105" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="padma-shri" source="Orion">Padma Shri</keyword> last year. ManageEngine has offices worldwide, including India, the US, the UAE, the Netherlands, Mexico, Singapore, Japan, China and Australia, as well as more than 200 global partners. <keyword id="13976807" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shailesh-davey" source="Orion">Shailesh Davey</keyword>, Co-Founder &amp; Vice President of <keyword id="13976806" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="engineering-of-zoho" source="Orion">Engineering of Zoho</keyword>, said the company plans to boost its local workforce by 25 per cent. "In India, we registered a year-on-year revenue growth of 63.2 per cent in 2021, while our customer count increased by 26.3 per cent, driven by demand primarily from the <keyword id="6356925" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="bfsi" source="Orion">BFSI</keyword> and IT services and solutions sectors," Davey said during an event here. Nine of every 10 Fortune 100 organisations rely on ManageEngine's real-time IT management tools to ensure optimal performance of their IT infrastructure, including networks, servers, applications, desktops and more, said the company. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/india-climbs-2-ranks-in-speed-test-for-mobile-broadband-speed-but-fixed-broadband-speed-dips-aa-per-ookla-report/articleshow/91660037.cms">India climbs 2 ranks in speed test for mobile broadband speed but fixed broadband speed dips: Ookla</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/esa-satellite-sentinel-1a-dodges-a-high-risk-collision-from-russian-space-debris/articleshow/91659653.cms">ESA satellite Sentinel-1A dodges a 'high-risk collision' from Russian space debris</a>

Zoho's ManageEngine to hire 1,000 people this year as part of expansion plans

<ul><li><keyword id="265415" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zoho" source="Orion">Zoho</keyword> is building on top of the technology it has created over the last 25 years, which has allowed it to launch products faster. s.</li><li>Other companies are acquiring technologies, which is a big issue these days, says Zoho.</li><li>Zoho entered edtech with <keyword id="12636762" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="trainercentral" source="Orion">TrainerCentral</keyword>, which is being pegged as a rival to “Coursera” and “Udemy”.</li><li>The company now has over 50 apps across every major business category — sales, marketing, customer support, accounting and more.</li></ul>Sridhar Vembu-led software-as-a-service (SaaS) company Zoho has launched over ten new products and services in the past eleven months. They promise to not only serve their usual enterprise clients, but also move into new verticals to serve an entirely new set of customers — from teachers to carpenters to small store owners and more. But if you dig beneath the surface, Zoho has got most of its job done already. The company is building on top of the technology and adding features to products it has created over the last 25 years of its existence, which has allowed Zoho to enter new verticals with the speed of light. “Zoho has spent the last two decades building a strong technology stack that extends from the infrastructure layer to the experience layer. All of Zoho's over 50 business applications are built on this stack, along with a common data model, Praval Singh, vice president of marketing and customer experience at Zoho Corp, told Business Insider. He noted that by working on products for almost every business need, Zoho has acquired the skill-set and know-how to work on adjacent areas too. The company started working on an audio-video (AV) framework a decade ago and the same framework is being used for several <keyword id="12343402" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zoho-products" source="Orion">Zoho products</keyword> and offerings. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Product/Service </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">What does it do? </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Base technology </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zoho Meeting </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Video calling facility </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Audio-Visual technology </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">TrainerCentral </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Education infrastructure to enable teachers to teach online </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Audio-Visual technology </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zoho Lens </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Smart remote assistant app, which allows technicians to set up online stores </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Audio-Visual technology </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zoho BackToWork </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Workplace readiness solution </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Low-code platform Zoho Creator </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> Zoho’s argument is that it has built its own technology stack and while most other tech startups and businesses have built their offering through acquisition, it is a “growing problem in the industry.” These already-developed audio-visual, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies make it easier for Zoho to build new products and enter newer segments much faster. For example, adding a layer of augmented reality and analytics ⁠to these allow it to offer remote assistance. “The common framework also makes us agile. A new product that we start to work on can immediately use our existing micro-services (such as single sign-on) instead of having to reinvent the wheel,” Singh said, adding that Zoho’s leadership has been with the company for over a decade. The company now has over 50 apps across every major business category — sales, marketing, customer support, accounting and more. The company claims to have 70 million users across 500,000 companies. Singh also mentioned that Zoho’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology such as natural language processing (NPL) gets adopted across products across these different brands of Zoho. Zoho also launched <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/zoho-adds-features-that-can-turn-a-video-call-into-remote-assistance-for-repairing-cars-appliances-and-more/articleshow/87134428.cms">Zoho Commerce in 2019</a> to enable retailers to set up their online shops and provide them with tools to construct websites, accept orders, track inventory and more. This offering will allow 100 product businesses to set up online stores in three weeks. The offering too has similar features like Zoho Lens and TrainerCentral. Zoho’s latest offering is an attempt to take on <keyword id="1017386" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="coursera" source="Orion">Coursera</keyword> and <keyword id="2240844" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="udemy" source="Orion">Udemy</keyword> Zoho entered the online learning space with the launch of its latest business vertical TrainerCentral last week. It offers digital platforms to allow individual teachers, solopreneurs and experts in a particular field to offer training online. TrainerCentral — which will be a sister to Zoho’s other brands ManageEngine, Zoho and Qntrl — offers tools like website builder, business administration console, dedicated learner portal, payments gateway, online conferencing and analytics for the trainers. Aarthi Elizabeth, chief brand evangelist of TrainerCentral at Zoho, told Business Insider that Trainer Central is seen as a rival to “Coursera and Udemy” — which enables individuals and universities to offer their courses online. Coursera and Udemy have an entire catalogue of courses being offered online. Meanwhile, Zoho’s TrainerCentral offers a link to trainers who would like to hold live online sessions or classes with their students or customers. Zoho does not have any content ownership, nor any control on the courses being offered to the customers. It simply rents its software for trainers to train online, at a subscription fee of up to ₹3,000 per month. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Companies </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Market cap, as on December 7 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">User base </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Udemy </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$2.83 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Over 35 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Coursera </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$3.85 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Over 77 million </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source: NASDAQ, Media reports The platform has plans to soon integrate with Zoho CRM (customer relationship management) to help trainers engage with leads better and convert customers faster. “Zoho was already in the learning infrastructure space with ShowTime, which was a platform to host live virtual training sessions, webinars and web conferences, therefore already having an established community of trainers and learners, which is an advantage as they do not have to develop a user base from scratch. They are offering this same community a more advanced platform to grow their businesses and to learn better,” investment firm Blacksoil’s founder and chief executive Ankur Bansal told Business Insider. Correction: A previous version of the story has been corrected to reflect Zoho’s point of view. The launch date of Zoho Commerce has been corrected to 2019 and changes have been made to show that TrainerCentral is not just a B2B product. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/ril-tata-motors-hcl-tech-and-pnb-among-top-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-december-7/slidelist/88135183.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">RIL, Tata Motors, HCL Tech and PNB among top stocks to watch out for on December 7</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-now-lets-you-turn-on-disappearing-messages-for-all-chats/articleshow/88136344.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">WhatsApp now lets you turn on disappearing messages for all chats — here’s how to enable it</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/how-to-check-star-health-and-allied-insurance-ipo-allotment-online/articleshow/88132939.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Star Health and Allied Insurance IPO — Here is how to check your allotment status, GMP at a discount</a>

Zoho is selling its video calling app in as many ways as possible

<ul><li>Some of these companies include Hippo Video founded by ex <keyword id="265415" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zoho" source="Orion">Zoho</keyword> employees and Niki founded by former Innovaccer employees.</li><li><keyword id="4621694" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshworks" source="Orion">Freshworks</keyword> and <keyword id="2760306" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="chargebee" source="Orion">Chargebee</keyword> are also founded by former employees of Sridhar Vembu-led Zoho Corporation.</li><li><keyword id="4360787" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-saas-companies" source="Orion">Indian SaaS companies</keyword> — both old and new — have created over 62,000 jobs in India in 2021 so far.</li></ul>Over 500 former employees of India’s top fifteen software-as-service (SaaS) companies — like Zoho, Freshworks and others — have founded their own companies, a recent report by Bain &amp; Company revealed. The report noted that these 500 employees have created more than 5,000 employment opportunities. Some of these companies include Hippo Video, SurveySparrow, Facilio founded by ex Zoho employees, Slintel founded by former Eightfold employees and Niki founded by former Innovaccer employees. Freshworks and Chargebee are also founded by former employees of Sridhar Vembu-led Zoho Corporation. Collectively, Zoho has contributed nearly 133 entrepreneurs to the Indian startup ecosystem. <div type="image" title="Zoho, Freshworks and top Indian SaaS companies have given 500 entrepreneurs to the Indian Startup ecosystem" msid="88145268" hostid="261"></div> The report further suggests, “50% of founders, new companies, and resulting job opportunities are coming from emerging <keyword id="9700532" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-saas" source="Orion">Indian SaaS</keyword> companies.” The Indian SaaS report of 2021 further highlighted that the Indian SaaS companies — both old and new — have so far created over 62,000 jobs in India this year alone. These job opportunities are spread across professionals skilled in cloud, artificial intelligence and machine learning, product management and advanced analytics like data engineers, data scientists and more. <div type="image" title="Zoho, Freshworks and top Indian SaaS companies have given 500 entrepreneurs to the Indian Startup ecosystem" msid="88145301" hostid="261"></div> Indian SaaS companies are poised to reach $30 billion in revenue, capturing 8% to 9% share of the global SaaS market by 2025, the report by Bain &amp; Company added. Meanwhile, a report by investment firm Chiratae Ventures and consulting firm Zinnov released in June noted that the Indian SaaS segment has the potential to clock a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/amazon-twitter-hyundai-and-dominos-are-buying-indian-software-fuelling-a-75-billion-dream-chased-by-top-vcs-like-sequoia-and-tiger-global/articleshow/85646116.cms">total turnover of $75 billion by 2025</a>. The Bain &amp; Company report also noted that the investment in this space is expected to reach $4.5 billion in 2021. “While the overall growth in funding has been driven by an increase in deal volume across stages, there has been notable growth in the volume of deals larger than $50 million, as investors give a clear vote of confidence in the potential of Indian SaaS companies to achieve substantial future growth,” Arpan Sheth, who is a partner and leader at Bain &amp; Company’s Global Vector Solution Group, said. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/indigo-stock-gains-as-a-plea-to-shut-down-spicejet-has-been-admitted/articleshow/88138734.cms" style="">Indigo stock gains as a plea to shut down SpiceJet has been admitted</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/zoho-is-selling-its-video-calling-app-in-as-many-ways-as-possible/articleshow/88137006.cms" style="">Zoho is selling its video calling app in as many ways as possible</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/these-are-the-states-with-confirmed-cases-of-omicron-covid-19-strain-in-india/slidelist/88138240.cms" style="">Omicron in India — Maharashtra and Rajasthan have recorded 19 positive cases so far</a>

Zoho, Freshworks and top Indian SaaS companies have given 500 entrepreneurs to the Indian startup ecosystem

<ul><li>The Indian SaaS segment has the potential to clock a total turnover of $75 billion by 2025.</li><li>One in five global <keyword id="6361043" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="software" source="Orion">software</keyword> demand is likely to be met by Indian <keyword id="6756963" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="saas-companies" source="Orion">SaaS companies</keyword> in the next four years, according to experts.</li><li>On one hand large global corporations, even tech giants like Amazon and Twitter, are buying software solutions from India.</li><li>This has led to a mad rush from venture capitalists who have pumped in $1.7 billion into these startups in 2020.</li><li>Seven unicorns have been created in this space in the last year and a half alone.</li></ul>The sudden change in global trends and the rise of ‘remote everything’ — from learning to work — has propelled the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry. And their customers include marquee names like Amazon, Twitter, <keyword id="596" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hyundai" source="Orion">Hyundai</keyword>, Domino’s, and Philips, just to name a few. Venture capital firms like Accel, Tiger Global and Sequoia, looking for the next gold rush, have pumped in $1.7 billion across 128 deals in 2020, and more in 2021, creating at least seven unicorns in the space of less than 20 months, in India alone. Enterprise tech accounted for 13% of deal volume among top investors in the first half of 2021, says a NASSCOM PGA Labs report. According to a report by investment firm Chiratae Ventures and consulting firm Zinnov last month, the Indian SaaS segment has the potential to clock a total turnover of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/india-software-service-sector-needs-more-than-200000-employees-by-2025/articleshow/84632003.cms">$75 billion</a> by 2025. But where will this revenue come from? The answer is simple — market and product expansion. As the world stepped into a lockdown in March 2020, the SaaS companies had a new reality to face — the demand for softwares and solutions that required limited/no physical efforts and showed faster results was the need of the hour. More enterprises were on a hunt for tech solutions in the latest virtual scene and SaaS companies started seeing more customer interest. The increased customer interest also resulted in increased flow of venture capital for this segment and India added seven SaaS unicorns — private companies valued at or more than $1 billion — during the pandemic since 2020. <div type="image" title="Amazon, Twitter, Hyundai, and Domino’s are buying Indian software fuelling a $75 billion dream chased by top VCs like Sequoia and Tiger Global" msid="85647410" hostid="261"></div> While the investors’ interest brought in more money for the SaaS companies to grow, the increased customer interest has brought in more revenue. Zoho, which is a 25-year old bootstrapped company that has not raised funds so far, has customers like Amazon, Zomato and Xiaomi. Here's Sridhar Vembu, the founder of Zoho, explaining the software boom, in a recent interview with Business Insider. <div type="Video" msid="85650341" hostid="261" title="Zoho founder explains India's software boom in the last 24 months" dataSource="BUSINESSINSIDER" thumbUrl="https://denmark.timesinternet.in/cmslite/api/app/images.jpg?msid=85650341"></div> Conversational artificial intelligence (AI) solutions company Uniphore ⁠— backed by Cisco, Sistema Capital Partners and ⁠Chiratae Ventures — claims to have noted a 3-fold year-on-year increase in their revenue in the financial year 2021, meanwhile contract management system has termed this fiscal the best one for them. Similar trend of increased revenue has been witnessed by most of the big SaaS names in India. Backed by Google and led by founder Girish Mathrubootham, help desk software company Freshworks ⁠— which has bagged contracts from Vice Media Group, Toshiba and Cisco ⁠— claimed to have crossed $300 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in February 2021. ARR is a metric used by SaaS businesses to show the revenue one can expect on a yearly basis. “It’s no secret that the future of business and scale is SaaS-driven, more so in the post-pandemic landscape. What’s interesting however is how quickly Indian companies have set a global benchmark for the industry. The exponential growth unlocked in the last 5 years is a testament to how capital efficient the Indian SaaS industry is,” Venkatesh Peddi, executive director and head of SaaS investments at Chiratae Ventures, previously said. One in five global software demands will be met by Indian SaaS companies in the next four years, Chiratae-Zinnov report added. What are Indian startups doing to attract these customers? With enough revenue and funding to aid sustain and grow their businesses, Indian SaaS companies have now put in greater focus on penetrating deeper into the international markets. <div type="image" title="Amazon, Twitter, Hyundai, and Domino’s are buying Indian software fuelling a $75 billion dream chased by top VCs like Sequoia and Tiger Global" msid="85647440" hostid="261"></div> Monish Darda, co-founder and chief technical officer (CTO) of Icertis, talked to Business Insider about the three important aspects for international expansion for any SaaS business. First, ensuring that the technology is in accordance with the market one if planning to enter. Second, readiness from the team perspective and having local workforce who understand the market well. Third, cracking right partnerships to expand business. “If you look at contract management, you will see that for India we will not only integrate electronic signatures from Adobe Sign, which are global, but also add e-Mudhra which is a very Indian specific digital signature. You always have these different things in different markets that you need to cater to, to be successful. So there is technology,” he explained. Ankur Bansal, co-founder of BlackSoil Capital, in an interaction with Business Insider said that it’s almost a given for all SaaS companies, who have found their product-market fit, to think global. Having global customers changes the valuation of a SaaS company “dramatically” and offers much better margins to the company. “In terms of the size of the contract, the understanding of it and the speed of execution — everything on all counts in favour of a SaaS company… Anyway SaaS business margins are great, and on top of it if the company is catering to customers based out of the US or Europe then it becomes way better,” Bansal added. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/infosys-airtel-kaveri-seed-and-other-top-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-august-26/slidelist/85645299.cms">Infosys, Airtel, Kaveri Seed and other top stocks to watch out for on August 26 </a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/investors-will-be-able-to-open-fixed-deposit-accounts-fds-on-google-pay/articleshow/85646488.cms">Google Pay to let users open fixed deposits on its platform </a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/popular-pro-vaccine-reddit-page-calls-on-founders-to-do-more-to-combat-covid-19-disinformation/articleshow/85639053.cms">Popular pro-vaccine Reddit page calls on founders to do more to combat COVID-19 disinformation</a>

Amazon, Twitter, Hyundai, and Domino’s are buying Indian software fuelling a $75 billion dream chased by top VCs like Sequoia and Tiger Global

<ul class="summary-list"><li>When international software company <keyword id="265415" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="ZOHO">Zoho</keyword> bought 360 acres of land outside of Austin, Texas, the plan was to build a new headquarters for its 150 local employees. </li><li>But when a group of Zoho employees drove out to check out the land in February, they decided to do something totally different: start a farm. </li><li>Since then, Zoho's workers have hauled in crops of melons, peppers, arugula, and more. There are fruit trees growing nearby, and the company is working on fixing up an old farmhouse on the property as a workspace for employees. </li><li>With the coronavirus pandemic keeping employees out of an office, Zoho's head of PR content, Mickey Stanley, told Business Insider that he often does his work from the porch. "You never know who's going to show up," he said. </li><li>Raju Vegesna, Zoho's chief evangelist, told Business Insider the farm has replaced more traditional <keyword id="6358815" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tech">tech</keyword> perks: "In a typical campus, you have a snack room, but when you have fresh fruit that you can pluck directly from the tree, there's nothing better than that." </li></ul>At the outer limits of Travis County, Texas, sits a 360-acre plot of land that's home to grazing cattle, an old farmhouse, and the beginnings of a fully functioning farm. It may not look like it from the outside, but this is the US headquarters of the 9,000-employee international software company Zoho. In April 2019, Zoho purchased the land with the intention of building a massive new office for its Austin-based employees, who, up until then, had been working out of a rented space in an office park in southeast Austin. But when a group of 20 or so employees took a drive out to the land, which is about five miles east of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, they found acres of uninhabited space, void of skyscrapers and the trappings of life at a tech company. So they decided to start a farm. This was in February 2020, just a few weeks before the coronavirus pandemic forced offices to shut down and caused tech leaders to allow employees to work from anywhere. In the months since, Zoho employees have built a small but flourishing farm that has served as both a food source for employees and a respite from the stress and upheaval of the pandemic. The <keyword id="6386447" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="farming">farming</keyword> initiative has been so successful, it's led Zoho to open rural offices in India, Mexico, Japan, and Canada, and seek out small towns in Texas that could serve as rural offices for employees wondering just what's keeping them tied to city life. <h2>'You never know who's going to show up'</h2><div type="image" title="Zoho farm" height="1440" width="2560" msid="78984613" hostid="261"></div>Zoho was founded in 1996 by CEO Sridhar Vembu. The company makes a suite of business software, like email and video conferencing apps and tools for finance, sales, and marketing. Launched in India, Zoho now has offices in nine countries, including Japan, Australia, Mexico, and the Netherlands. It has remained a private company and has never taken outside investment. While Zoho does have an office in the San Francisco Bay Area, the majority of its US employees are based in Austin, a decision that came about after one of Zoho's top executives, Raju Vegesna, packed up and left California. "I lived in the Bay Area for about 17 years and I never owned a home because it never made sense," Vegesna told Business Insider. "I felt like I was working really hard to make my landlord rich and it felt like if I were to buy a house, I would be house-poor."Vegesna decamped for Texas, and about 150 employees now work out of Zoho's Austin office. With the pandemic still surging in many parts of the US, Zoho employees are <keyword id="1600258" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="working-remotely">working remotely</keyword>, and that will continue to be the case for the time being, Vegesna said. But Zoho has something most other tech companies don't: a safe place for employees to meet, work, and reconnect.For Mickey Stanley, Zoho's head of PR content, the farm has helped break up the monotony of <keyword id="889044" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="working-from-home">working from home</keyword>. The farm is home to an old farmhouse that the company is in the process of fixing up and turning into an office space, but for now, Stanley sits in a chair on the porch and gets his work done. "You never know who's going to show up," Stanley told Business Insider. "You go into an office and it's the same people in your section of the office that you see and talk to. But here, somebody could walk in and sit down next to you and be doing their work and you have the ability to make a new relationship with a coworker that you wouldn't otherwise." <h2>Breaking down the silos</h2><div type="image" title="Zoho farm" height="1440" width="2560" msid="78984616" hostid="261"></div>Zoho is careful to point out that the farm is not a commercial one — it's a small, employee-led operation that's an experiment more than anything else. And its growth has been deliberately slow. Seeds that got started in small grow boxes in the windows of Zoho's rented office eventually made their way into the ground. The employees started with three rows, then created two separate beds. They had irrigation installed and then they expanded to four beds, each with 10 rows of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Behind the beds, employees planted apple, lemon, and orange trees."There is no hierarchy of good ideas and bad ideas," Stanley said. "It's just like, if you have an idea, we have this space, let's try it out." But with minimal farming expertise among the staff, the team has inevitably hit a few speed bumps in the growing process. Stanley said his first crop of tomatoes died, and a swarm of beetles ate most of the kale. Sometimes, they get overzealous with the produce they plant. "I really like melons, so I decided to go out and get a bunch of cantaloupe transplants and other kinds of melons, and I planted them and they were thriving, but I started to notice that my little section just became overgrown with all of these vines," Stanley said. "We managed to get probably hundreds of these melons, but how many melons do people really want?"Stanley said he's slowly working his way through the bountiful watermelon crop, putting watermelon in everything from a fresh summer salad to a boozy watermelon smoothie. <div type="image" title="Zoho farm" height="1499" width="3000" msid="78984617" hostid="261"></div>Besides melons, the Zoho employees had strong crops of corn, arugula, radishes, squash, pumpkins, basil, moringa, persimmons, and "a lot" of peppers and chilies — they are in Texas, after all. There's no competition over the crops, Stanley said: Employees will go to the farm to pick their own produce — bringing along friends and family is encouraged — and whatever they don't want, they leave on a bench at the end of the beds for someone else. The company has since started a new Slack channel where employees can share what they made with their produce. Eventually, once the farm gets bigger, they hope to set up their own farm stand or co-op as a way to meet their neighbors in the area. For Zoho, the farm has completely replaced other tech company perks, Vegesna said. "In a typical campus, you would have, maybe, a gym. But when you have a farm and you have real work to do, you really don't need a gym," he said. "In a typical campus, you have a snack room, but when you have fresh fruit that you can pluck directly from the tree, there's nothing better than that." For Stanley, the farm is mostly a learning process, but he said it has also become a symbol of a better way to work."The metaphor of the farm is to break down the silos, right?" Stanley said. "So we couldn't just compartmentalize all the different produce. What we want is this kind of loose learning process where everything isn't overly manicured and everything is kind of growing into each other. And we see what works."

Employees at global software firm Zoho have turned the company's Austin headquarters into a fully functioning farm. It's become a respite during the pandemic, and could serve as a model for a new way of working.

<ul><li><keyword id="1132603" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zendesk">Zendesk</keyword> has over 2,800 clients in India including Ola, Zomato, Shaadi.com, OLX, Vodafone, Airbnb and ITC Foods. </li><li>But the US-listed company will find big competition from the homegrown Zoho and Freshworks, both of which have also expanded to the US. </li><li>In an interview with Business Insider, Zendesk’s senior management discusses the company’s plans for India.</li></ul>The $9.6 billion Zendesk, the US-based <keyword id="169305" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="customer-service">customer service</keyword> software company, is focussing on the India market now. Zendesk, which has also partnered with WhatsApp for business, also launched two new products globally, including India. First product being Gather, which is a platform where customers can engage with each other and company experts. The second one Sunshine Conversations, an API-based platform through which companies can interact with consumers through social media channels. Some of its clients include Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and also DBS Bank. India’s new-age tech savvy companies and the thousands of small and medium enterprises also caught Zendesk’s fancy. But the US-listed company will find competition from the homegrown Zoho and Freshworks, both of which have also expanded to the US. Big plans for India The India market was initially clubbed with the overall APAC zone, until Zendesk saw an opportunity in India’s growing small businesses and established an India office in 2016. Having been around in India for three years now, Zendesk has over 2800 clients including the likes of Ola, Zomato, Shaadi.com, OLX, Vodafone, Airbnb and ITC Foods.. “We follow a methodology in the emerging markets. In the beginning, an entire market is is grouped together and then we make small bets. So we have been investing in building a brand and momentum in India. We are very happy with India contribution so far but we have great expectations,” Tom Keiser, chief operating officer, Zendesk told Business Insider at the recently concluded Zendesk Showcase in Singapore. When they started off, they had 1700 customers with just 5 people at work. Today, they have over 30 employees. Ola was one of their early clients. Today, they also have startups like Bounce, Drivezy subscribing to them. And somewhere Reliance Jio which led the unprecedented data growth in India also helped, informs KT Prasad, India head, Zendesk. Challenges and localization in India But of course, India comes with its challenges. “There is an extreme scale in India and almost every client you speak to, their aspiration is always to serve over a billion people. The challenge is always making sure that you give a cost effective solution for the whole market. But India is still so underserved, the middle class population is growing at such a fast rate and something that wasn’t a business a few years ago is a booming one today,” said Sandie Overtveld, VP Asia Pacific, Zendesk. So, they had to turn to localization. Zendesk also offers customer service in Hindi and is looking to offer in other dialects in the future. Social media is also driving change in India. “With the growth of social media, and the ease with which one can turn to one of the platforms and complaint about a product, makes customer service even more important,” said Overtveld. Competing with Zoho, Freshdesk Two Indian startups – Zoho and Freshdesk took over the <keyword id="200550" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="CRM">CRM</keyword> space and entered the US market. But in a fast evolving Indian market, local players have an advantage – they know the Indian consumer well. However, Zendesk believes that it has a clear value proposition that differentiates it. “It’s a very competitive space and while the competitors have broadened their services – we are completely focussed on the customer and customer service,” said Keiser. Zendesk is also innovating fast to stay in the game. “We are bringing the right value to the consumer. Four years ago, we had 2-3 products, today, we have over 8 products,” said Prasad. It is also deep into machine learning, big data with a team that is based out of Melbourne, Australia. “We are building a more robust set of capabilities for self service. Solutions can be served with commitment and an omni channel approach where everything comes together - voice, text, e-mail etc,” said Keiser.

US-listed Zendesk is betting big on India in spite of competition from homegrown Zoho, Freshworks

<ul><li>Shares of <keyword id="80004" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="info-edge" source="Orion">Info Edge</keyword> (India) Limited reached ₹6,692 at 11:56 a.m. on September 8.</li><li>The development coincides with ICICI Securities issuing a buy call on Info Edge (India) with a target price of ₹8,040.</li><li>The analyst expects increase in hiring, real estate rentals and wedding trends to fill Info Edge’s pockets in the near term.</li></ul>Sanjeev Bikhchandani-led Info Edge’s shares reached ₹6,692 at 11:56 a.m. This represents an increase of ₹509 in value compared to the previous close of ₹6,183 on September 7. Over the last one month, Info Edge’s share price has increased by 23%. Each share was valued at ₹5,368 on August 9 compared to ₹6,692 at 11:56 a.m. The development comes as ICICI Securities has issued a buy call on Info Edge (India) with a target price of ₹8,040 today. The analyst expects the share to reach the target price in a span of one year. The analyst had issued a similar buy call in June with a target price of ₹6,300. ICICI Securities have now revised the target as <keyword id="6740899" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="info-edge-shares" source="Orion">Info Edge shares</keyword> have crossed the said target. In its latest report on Info Edge, ICICI Securities has elaborated on the strong points that would lead the company’s stock price to increase. The broking house has also revised the estimated valuations of Info Edge and its subsidiaries. “We value Naukri at 75x [times] financial year 2023 estimates earnings per share. We value 99 Acres and Jeevansathi [Info Edge’s subsidiaries] each at 20x FY 2023 estimated sales. As elaborated in our report, our 1-year forward valuation of Zomato [a portfolio company of Info Edge] stands at $22 billion.” <div type="image" title="Here is how Naukri parent Info Edge’s stock went up 23% in the last one month" msid="86032580" hostid="261"></div> Meanwhile, Info Edge’s portfolio companies — Zomato and Info Edge — are also moving away from the ‘startup’ tag to a maturity stage. Zomato has already hit the public market and bought over <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/info-edges-remaining-stake-in-zomato-is-worth-15000-crore/articleshow/84668883.cms">₹15,000 crore</a> in return for Info Edge, PolicyBazaar has filed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/policybazaar-ipo-all-you-need-to-know-the-details-of-sixth-largest-fintech-startup/articleshow/84967042.cms">preliminary papers</a> to go public soon. Further Info Edge invested in another <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/travel-app-ixigo-files-for-a-1600-crore-ipo/articleshow/85292327.cms">initial public offering (IPO)</a>-bound company ixigo in July. Key points working in favour of Info Edge <div type="image" title="Here is how Naukri parent Info Edge’s stock went up 23% in the last one month" msid="86032598" hostid="261"></div> Strong hiring could benefit Naukri.com Trends in other markets like the US, which publish job market data periodically, hint towards a significant demand-supply mismatch when it comes to hiring. In India, entrepreneurship, preference to work in startups and flexibility of workplace are going to be biggest drivers of this demand-supply mismatch in hiring, as per ICICI Securities. This is likely to benefit job search platforms like Naukri.com for the next 12-18 months. Vibrant job market will push more people to move out ICICI Securities in its latest report noted that several new trends have emerged in the proptech segment — low interest rate, strong pipeline, print to online shift in advertising, recent direct-to-customer (D2C) approach taken by builders to drive traction in online real estate classifieds. The brokerage firm predicted the spike in paid listing going ahead, which will enable Info Edge-owned 99acre.com’s EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation] profitability to exceed the street estimates. ICICI Securities, however, also noted that competitive intensity is one of the key reasons for the suboptimal profitability in this segment for Info Edge. Besides this, the decline of funding in the real estate segment is also pushing Info Edge’s competition to reduce cash burn. “Nevertheless, the full stack aspirations of competitors like Square Yards is a key risk to watch out for,” the report added. Matchmaking is back on the table Easing of lockdown restrictions and best-in-a-decade job security will encourage more people to look for their partners on matchmaking platforms. ICICI Securities is anticipating a sharp increase in paid listings in the near term to also drive EBITDA profitability, in FY23. This will be a surprise to the current street expectation, the ICICI Securities added. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zomato-policybazaar-investor-info-edge-invested-in-nearly-2-startups-every-month-in-2021/articleshow/86028438.cms">Zomato, PolicyBazaar investor Info Edge invested in nearly 2 startups every month in 2021</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/byjus-bags-another-150-million-to-fund-its-acquisition-spree/articleshow/86027937.cms">Byju’s bags another $150 million to fund its acquisition spree</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zoho-corp-invests-5-million-in-medical-devices-startup-voxelgrids/articleshow/86000656.cms">Zoho Corp invests $5 million in medical devices startup Voxelgrids</a>

Here is why Naukri parent Info Edge’s stock went up 23% in the last one month

For the last five years, a team of 150 engineers have been working day in and out in a tiny<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=indian+village&amp;sortorder=effectivedate"> Indian village</a> in <keyword id="239945" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tenkasi">Tenkasi</keyword>, about 650 kms south of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=chennai&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Chennai</a>, building a world-class context-aware helpdesk software called <keyword id="3860891" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Zoho-Desk">Zoho Desk</keyword>. 
 This may sound like it's straight out of the plot of a movie, but <keyword id="191862" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sridhar-Vembu">Sridhar Vembu</keyword>, CEO of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=zoho&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Zoho Corp</a> has ensured it became a reality with his able guidance and vision. As a result, <keyword id="265415" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="ZOHO">Zoho</keyword>, a multi-billion dollar customer management (CRM) company with offices in <keyword id="12864" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chennai">Chennai</keyword> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=silicon+valley&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Silicon Valley,</a> has achieved something no company can boast of- harnessing and training the talent in rural India to build a software product for a global market. 
 “Zoho has challenged conventional wisdom so many times in its history. We built the first software products from India when IT services were the rage and established them in the global market. We are now showcasing something that has never been done before: the first software product created in rural India, world-class in its refinement, competing with the best,” said a proud Sridhar Vembu, CEO, <keyword id="447145" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Zoho-Corp">Zoho Corp</keyword>. 
 Zoho Desk, which is the sixth product that the company has launched in 2016, uses customer data from past interactions and from other Zoho products, like Zoho CRM and <keyword id="3870877" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="zoho-projects">Zoho Projects</keyword>, to organise tickets and intelligently present information to agents so that they can better understand a customer's problem and resolve it efficiently. 
 
It thus helps companies deliver the right solution at the right time. Its clean user interface packs innovations like Work Modes that help agents send context-aware responses, the Headquarters dashboard that provides the visibility managers need to make better decisions, and the Team Feed to help the entire company participate in customer service. 
 
As is the case with every Zoho product, Zoho Desk is also available for free up to 10 users. Paid plans begin at Rs 720 per user per month for the Professional Edition and increase to Rs 1,500 per user per month for the Enterprise version. 
 
The company's 15 acre Tenkasi facility from where Zoho Desk was built started out with three engineers who had moved from Chennai five years ago, which has today blossomed into a modest-size office housing 150 employees. Vembu himself makes it a point to visit this office once every three months. "Investment in building the entire centre at Tenkasi stood at Rs 3,000 per sq feet, excluding land costs," he revealed. To accommodate more employees, the company is also expanding its facility, which is going to be three times bigger than the existing office. 
 
 
 
From the very beginning of this plan, Vembu was clear about one thing- he had to first build a durable product, regardless of how long it took him. Infact, it was this very decision that stopped him from making Zoho Desk public despite it being ready for a year. Instead, the company used those 12 months to test out the product themselves and launch it in the market once they were absolutely sure of it. 
 
That seemed to paid off wonderfully for Vembu, as Zoho Desk currently boasts of handling 50 million tickets for 20 million users. Vembu is of the hope that out of 150,000 organizations across the world that Zoho counts as its customers, atleast one-third of them will become Zoho Desk users, making it a force to reckon with while it takes on two large rivals- global major <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=zendesk&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Zendesk </a>and local product <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=freshdesk&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Freshdesk</a>. 
 
Naturally, the road till here was fraught with challenges as Vembu attempted to build everything from ground up, but that hardly deterred the man who is known for building a one of the most profitable global tech company without any external funding. 
 
"We would have definitely built it faster if we had chosen a city like Chennai, but from the onset we were clear that we wanted to build a world-class product from rural India using the talent that most often than not remains untapped," he explained. 
 
Combine that with Vembu's belief that rural talent shouldn't have to leave home to find opportunity and you get an insight into the mind of the man who has proved that ‘a determined and sincere group of people can build path-breaking products anywhere.’ 
 
Sticking to their guns, the company developed local talents through its own university, Zoho University, recruited engineers through campus placements, then trained and mentored them. 
 At a time when almost all companies are moving from the suburbs to the cities to make a name for themselves, Zoho is busy reversing that trend to prove that you don't really need to be in <keyword id="6357722" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="silicon-valley">Silicon Valley</keyword> to build a world-class product. 
 
 
 
Image credit: Zoho

Here's how Zoho's Sridhar Vembu built a world-class software product from a tiny village in India

The metro cities’ congestion, crowds and lack of free space are a big no no for the IT giants in India. They are preferring places where they get facilities of a metro, yet a lot of free space. Guess what? All of a sudden, the tier II cities in Tami Nadu like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=coimbatore">Coimbatore</a> and Madurai are getting big bang investments. Earlier we have reported how <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Move-over-Bengaluru-Coimbatore-is-the-new-start-up-city/articleshow/48553621.cms">Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu is becoming a smart base for the start ups</a> in Bangalore. However, this time not only the start ups, IT giants are like HCL, Cognizant are investing in these tier 2 cities. 
 
HCL Technologies has announced an investment of Rs 6,600 crore. Most of the investment will go into Madurai in southern Tamil Nadu. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Cognizant+">Cognizant</a> will develop delivery centres at an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore in Coimbatore and Chennai and bureaucrats are hopeful about TCS expanding its workforce in the city. Officials with the state <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=IT+">IT</a> department said a large portion of the Rs 10,950 crore in IT investments will go into smaller cities and towns in the state. The expansions are in Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Tirunelveli, and Salem, where the state government has managed to sell land to IT firms. 
 
Zoho Corp is setting up a development centre in Tenkasi, where the Sridhar Vembufounded company will recruit from neighbouring colleges to develop software products for global clients. 
 
"You need to take product building into <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=tier+II+">tier II</a> and tier III towns. It is now a requirement - because IT's skill requirements are changing with the way digitisation is spreading. And the talent that resides beyond the metros is attractive now. The second consideration is costcompetitiveness," Premkumar S, executive vice-chairman and MD of HCL Infosystems told The Economic Times. 
 
However, the constraints lie in public infrastructure such as roads and airport connectivity as the IT business is strongly client-oriented. TCS' rival Cognizant has committed to developing delivery centres in Coimbatore, besides making progress in expansions in Chennai. R Chandrasekaran, executive vice-chairman at Cognizant told the ET, there were cost considerations too about going deeper into Tamil Nadu. "It is cheaper to deliver for a tier II city but that is possible in Tamil Nadu because the education infrastructure in say Trichy, or Coimbatore is comparable to that of Chennai."

TCS, HCL, Cognizant are investing in Tier-II cities of Tamil Nadu

<ul><li><keyword id="4621694" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshworks" source="Orion">Freshworks</keyword> made its debut in the US-based Nasdaq on September 22 and it is the first Indian SaaS company to do so.</li><li>Freshworks was the first Indian SaaS company to achieve a billion dollar valuation, in 2019.</li><li>The company has now crossed a $10 billion valuation, thanks to its public listing.</li></ul>The Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry had already been growing exponentially since last year, but Freshworks’ public listing at Nasdaq has taken it all to another level. The company, which makes customer engagement software for businesses, was valued at a whopping<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/freshworks-ipo-500-crorepatis-12-billion-market-cap-and-more-that-emerged-from-indias-first-saas-listing-at-nasdaq/articleshow/86445614.cms"> $12.2 billion </a>after it opened 21% above the initial offering price of $36 apiece. Freshworks sold 28.5 million common shares, hitting an intraday high of $48.75 on September 22. Freshworks was founded over a decade ago by <keyword id="2167965" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="girish-mathrubootham" source="Orion">Girish Mathrubootham</keyword> and <keyword id="2167964" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shan-krishnasamy" source="Orion">Shan Krishnasamy</keyword>. Both the co-founders were former employees of Zoho Corp, which too is one of the biggest SaaS companies in India. Both Zoho Corp and Freshworks are rivals and the biggest players in this industry. Here is a glimpse of Freshworks’ journey so far: <table class="redcator-table-advance" style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; box-shadow: none; width: 910.922px; font-family: Merriweather; padding-bottom: 10px !important; background-image: inherit !important; background-position: inherit !important; background-size: inherit !important; background-repeat: inherit !important; background-attachment: inherit !important; background-origin: inherit !important; background-clip: inherit !important;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Year </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Development </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Early 2010 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Girish Mathrubootham decided to start his entrepreneurial journey. Shan Krishnasamy too decided to join this venture as a co-founder. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">October 2010 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Mathrubootham and Krishnasamy resigned from Zoho Corp. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">December 2010 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks, then known as Freshdesk, incorporated in the USA due to lack of recurring payment solutions in India. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">March 2011 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Created a team of six people — three developers, one UI/UX designer, one customer acquisition/support engineer and Mathrubootham himself as product manager and CEO. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">December 2011 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Raised $1 million in a funding* round led by Accel. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">August 2015 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Acquired co-browsing and live video chat provider 1CLICK.io. This was Freshdesk’s first acquisition. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">August 2015 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The company crossed 50,000 customers. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">June 2017 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshdesk rebranded to Freshworks. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">June 2017 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The platform was used by 100,000 companies in 145 countries. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">December 2018 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks turned unicorn, after raising $100 million at a valuation of more than a billion dollars. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">November 2019 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks valued at $3.5 billion, after raising $150 million. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">November 2019 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">It crossed 150,000 customers. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">March 2020 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Zoho Corp filed a lawsuit alleging that Freshworks stole confidential information and built a business out of it. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">August 2021 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks filed for $100 million IPO in USA </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">September 2021 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks made its debut on Nasdaq and its valuation touched $12 billion. </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>*Freshworks has raised one funding round every year since 2011. There was a year-long break in 2017, when the SaaS firm did not raise any capital. Freshworks and Zoho’s rivalry took a serious turn in 2020, when Zoho filed a lawsuit <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/zoho-says-freshworks-intentionally-accessed-database-in-new-us-lawsuit/articleshow/79413070.cms">alleging</a> that Freshworks stole confidential information and built a business out of it. Vembu-led company has also accused Freshworks of poaching its employees and customers. The battle is still ongoing. According to a report by investment firm Chiratae Ventures and consulting firm Zinnov last month, the Indian SaaS segment has the potential to clock a total turnover of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/india-software-service-sector-needs-more-than-200000-employees-by-2025/articleshow/84632003.cms">$75 billion</a> by 2025. Companies like Zoho, Freshworks, and others are expected to be at the forefront of it. Freshworks was the first Indian SaaS company to achieve a billion dollar valuation, in 2019. A year later, the company closed another round at a valuation of $3.5 billion. It is backed by some of the prominent investors across the globe — Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, Accel, Steadview, CapitalG and more. The company raised another billion dollars through its public issue. It’s valuation also increased over three times to $12.2 billion. The SaaS giant has acquired 13 companies to date including AnswerI1Q, Flint, CanvasFlip, Natero, and Zarget, among others. "I feel like an Indian athlete who has won a gold medal at the Olympics. We are showing the world what a global product company from India can achieve,” Mathrubootham said, in an <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/freshworks-ipo-creates-more-than-500-crorepatis-in-india-with-70-of-them-aged-below-30-7496681.html">interaction </a>with Moneycontrol. He further claimed that the <keyword id="11167545" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshworks-ipo" source="Orion">Freshworks IPO</keyword> has made 500 crorepatis in India, 70 of which are under 30. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/vodafone-idea-and-airtel-need-tariff-hikes-agr-moratorium-might-not-be-enough-say-analysts/articleshow/86285450.cms">Vodafone Idea and Airtel need tariff hikes, AGR moratorium might not be enough, say analysts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/airtel-vodafone-idea-and-jio-welcome-telecom-relief-package-but-analysts-are-divided-on-whether-it-is-enough/articleshow/86252002.cms">Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Jio welcome telecom relief package, but analysts are divided on whether it is enough</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/airtel-challenges-telecom-departments-demand-of-1400-crore/articleshow/86260516.cms">Airtel challenges telecom department's demand of ₹1,400 crore</a>

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