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<ul><li><keyword id="9700532" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-saas">Indian SaaS</keyword> segment employs a workforce of over 50,000.</li><li>Indian <keyword id="6395918" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="SAAS">SaaS</keyword> industry has the potential to clock revenue of $75 billion by 2025.</li><li>The SaaS sector, globally, has the potential to surpass IT industry’s valuation this decade.</li></ul>The Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) segment could employ over 260,000 people in the next four years (by 2025), representing a five fold increase from the current employee base of 50,000. This hiring spree would mostly be accelerated by the segment’s fast-paced growth and the influx of global funding. Indian SaaS segment has the potential to clock a total turnover of $75 billion in the next four years and capture a fifth (19%) of the global demand for <keyword id="6361043" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="software">software</keyword> products, as per a report by investment firm Chiratae Ventures and consulting firm Zinnov. The Indian SaaS segment is poised to create a market capitalisation of more than $1.3 trillion by 2025. This is the best-case scenario for India’s fast-growing SaaS industry. Even if the industry continues to grow at the current compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 51% in the next five years, the country’s SaaS revenue could grow as much as $42 billion by 2025. This is about an eight fold increase from the current $5.3 billion in revenue cumulatively. “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, said. SaaS is a software distribution model in which software is licensed to users on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. This is also known as “on-demand software”. There are over 1,000 players in the Indian SaaS segment, which has received $6 billion in investment in the last decade (2010-2020) as per the report. A few key players in the Indian SaaS segment are Zoho Corp, Freshworks, Browserstack, Postman, Zenoti, Chargebee, HighRadius, Icertis and Druva. The report also adds that sales management platform MindTickle, conversation automation platform uniphore and workforce management software FarEye may be entering the unicorn club soon. Globally, the SaaS segment has the potential to take over the information technology (IT) industry in terms of valuation this decade. The report notes that the SaaS segment will cross $1.8 trillion valuation by 2030, compared to the $1.6 trillion valuation of IT services. “IT Services has been foundational to Indian progress and rising footprint in the global market. We are seeing this sector in SaaS, which is growing and providing India the spotlight that Indians deserve in the global market. So this is the second industry, after IT service, which is really powering through. 2025-2030 will be the year when Indian SaaS would become mightier in terms of market value,” Praveen Bhadada, managing partner at Zinnov, told Business Insider. The revenue per employee for IT services companies in 2020 was around $47,000. Meanwhile, the revenue per employee for SaaS firms grew 30% to $100,000 last year. Notably, Indian SaaS sector earns 70% of their revenue from global markets, and it is bound to grow further to 85% by 2025. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/youtube-is-testing-shopping-feature-on-live-streams-for-select-creators/articleshow/84628204.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/byjus-acquires-us-based-epic-plans-to-invest-1-billion-in-the-north-american-market/articleshow/84612303.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">BYJU's acquires another American startup, plans to spend $1 billion on US expansion</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/youtube-is-testing-shopping-feature-on-live-streams-for-select-creators/articleshow/84628204.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/youtube-is-testing-shopping-feature-on-live-streams-for-select-creators/articleshow/84628204.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/youtube-is-testing-shopping-feature-on-live-streams-for-select-creators/articleshow/84628204.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/youtube-is-testing-shopping-feature-on-live-streams-for-select-creators/articleshow/84628204.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">YouTube is testing shopping feature on live streams for select creators</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/sequoia-capital-india-invests-7-3-million-in-sales-engagement-platform-outplay/articleshow/84617329.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Sequoia Capital India invests $7.3 million in sales engagement platform Outplay</a>

India’s SaaS sector to hire more than 260,000 people by 2025

New Delhi, June 10 (IANS) Microsoft venture fund M12 on Wednesday announced it has opened its office in Bengaluru to pursue investment opportunities, focusing on B2B software startups in applied AI, business applications, infrastructure, security and vanguard technologies. M12, that arrived in the country in February last year, aims to invest in disruptive enterprise software startups in the Series A through C funding stages, targeting both local and cross-border solutions. "We see the greatest hurdles in a startup's journey as they scale from local success to global challengers, and then again when they go on to become category leaders. M12 is proud to be co-located in the region, and to bring experience and resources that will help startups successfully navigate these inflection points," said Abhi Kumar, India Lead for M12. The introduction of M12 (formerly known as Microsoft Ventures) in is creating new value for startups, VCs and the company itself to maintain the pace and direction of innovation. The company said that local presence is a step forward in M12's long-term commitment to the Indian startup ecosystem. The Bengaluru office joins an M12 network that includes San Francisco, Seattle, London, and Tel Aviv. M12 current portfolio in India includes category leaders such as Innovaccer and FarEye. Post-investment, the startups in M12's portfolio can elect to work with the fund's Portfolio Development team, which is dedicated to unlocking growth opportunities. Since its global launch in 2016, M12 has invested in 90 companies. --IANS na/

Microsoft venture fund M12 opens office in India

<ul><li><keyword id="3246584" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Iron-Pillar">Iron Pillar</keyword> invests in Series B to Series C rounds of technology-focused startups.</li><li>Its portfolio includes conversational AI startup Uniphore, online jewellery seller BlueStone and edtech Testbook.</li><li>The company has made 12 investments since 2016 and has received one exit to date. </li></ul>Technology-focused <keyword id="189401" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Investment-firm">investment firm</keyword> Iron Pillar is expecting to double its assets under management (AUM) by the end of 2022, as its portfolio companies continue to thrive during the pandemic. The company currently has a AUM of $500 million and is expected to hit $1 billion by December 2022. Iron Pillar is also looking to close 2021 with seven to eight investments. The investment firm has already closed four fresh deals so far, which includes edtech startup Skill-Lync that offers upskilling courses for engineers, conversational artificial intelligence (AI) startup Uniphore and cloud-based automation platform Ushur. The investment firm typically invests $5 million to $15 million in Series B and Series C rounds — or in companies with an average revenue run rate (ARR) of $4 million to $10 million. “On the breakout companies, we continue investing till they [go for an] IPO/M&amp;A [initial public offering or mergers and acquisitions] and can invest $50-100 million in each company as they scale up,” Iron Pillar’s managing partner Anand Prasanna told Business Insider. “Nothing has fundamentally changed in our investment thesis since we were investing primarily in cloud software companies building from India for the world, right from 2016. But COVID has further solidified our conviction in the space with our portfolio recording a 2.4 times average growth over last year, maintaining strong unit economics. This strong performance is continuing as we speak and so we are more bullish on the space,” Prasanna said. Iron Pillar’s portfolio has 12 startups including — device management platform Servify, cloud governance and compliance platform CoreStack, vegetables and meat e-commerce platform FreshtoHome, online jewellery platform BlueStone and competitive exams preparation platform Testbook. The investment firm does not have any unicorn — startups valued at or above $1 billion — to its portfolio, yet. However, a recent report by investment firm Chiratae Ventures and consulting firm Zinnov <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/india-software-service-sector-needs-more-than-200000-employees-by-2025/articleshow/84632003.cms">highlighted</a> that Uniphore is going to be among the next software-as-a-service (SaaS) unicorns soon. The report, released in July 2021, also named MindTickle and workforce management software FarEye to be next in line of the unicorn club. Of this, MindTickle has already <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/mindtickle-is-the-third-saas-firm-from-india-to-enter-the-unicorn-club-in-2021/articleshow/85069737.cms">announced</a> its unicorn round of $100 million led by SoftBank. Iron Pillar, founded in 2016, closed its first fund at $90 million in October 2018. It later raised another $45 million in May 2020 to top up the first fund. The investment firm launched its fund II in April-June quarter of 2021. The fund II has received $10 million from Indian exporter of processed foods and agro commodities Allana Group. Iron Pillar has not shared the total targeted corpus of fund II due to international regulations. “Our first fund was closed in October of 2018. So, it is early for us to talk about large exits. We have already had one exit, where [sic] NowFloats was acquired by Reliance Jio. We made a good IRR [internal rate of return] on this investment,” Prasanna said. NowFloats offers SaaS solutions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to expand their digital presence. The company was acquired by Reliance for<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-targets-to-take-50-million-msmes-online-as-reliance-launches-jiobusiness/articleshow/81412975.cms"> ₹141.6 crore</a> ($19 million) in 2019. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/what-if-vodafone-idea-dies/articleshow/85127937.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">What if Vodafone Idea dies?</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/vodafone-idea-and-airtel-shares-fall-as-sc-rejects-agr-dues-re-computation-appeal/articleshow/84668288.cms">Vodafone Idea sinks nearly 10% and Airtel tumbles a bit after India’s Supreme Court denies a discount on past dues</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/markets/news/cost-cutting-is-not-helping-vodafone-idea-fresh-funds-might-but-nothing-is-coming/articleshow/84092610.cms">Cost cutting is not helping Vodafone Idea, fresh funds might ⁠— but ‘nothing is coming’</a>

FreshtoHome and BlueStone-backer Iron Pillar is planning to bring assets worth $1 billion under management

<ul><li><keyword id="9861237" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apna-co">Apna.co</keyword>, a professional network for India’s grey and blue-collar workers, has raised $8 million from existing investors <keyword id="1727428" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lightspeed">Lightspeed</keyword> and <keyword id="270604" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia">Sequoia</keyword>.</li><li>The startup has already seen hirings from companies like Amazon, Swiggy, Dunzo, Grofers, Byju’s among others.</li><li>It is also accelerating efforts to help those who have lost jobs due to COVID-19. </li></ul><keyword id="198540" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="APNA">Apna</keyword>.co, a professional network for India’s grey and blue-collar workers, has raised $8 million from existing investors Lightspeed and Sequoia. The series A funding round also saw participation from new investors Greenoaks Capital and Rocketship VC. Blue collar workers are professionals who earn hourly for their manual work, while grey collar workers refers to those who work beyond the age of retirement. In India, there are over 450 million people who come under the blue collar category alone. The ‘<keyword id="28120" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Linkedin">LinkedIn</keyword>’ like <keyword id="9861236" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="jobs-platform">jobs platform</keyword> is building a community for workers like carpenters, painters and sales agents, to get local jobs, network, and also hone their skills. Founded by a former Apple exec, Nirmit Parikh, Apna. co says it has more than 1.2 million users and has facilitated over 1 million job interviews generated in the last 30 days alone. “Apna’s mission is to connect people with opportunities. We want to uplift the workers who form the backbone of the economy and provide them a platform to grow in their career,” said Parikh. India’s gig economy workers can take advantage of a platform like Apna. The startup has already seen hirings from companies like Amazon, Swiggy, Dunzo, Grofers, Byju’s among others. “There are over 250 million blue and grey collar workers in India at present and providing meaningful employment opportunities to this segment is one of the biggest challenges in our country. With internet usage in this demographic growing rapidly, further catalysed by the Jio effect, apps such as Apna can play a meaningful role in democratizing access to employment and skilling. Apna has built a unique product where users quickly come together in professional communities, an unmet need so far,” said Harshjit Sethi, Principal at Sequoia Capital India in a statement. With the latest investment, the startup plans to expand its offerings from the current five cities to several new markets. It is also accelerating efforts to help the millions who have lost jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The most powerful thing for me about Apna is its communities — I’ve seen people help each other start a business, learn a new language or find a gig! Communities rely on trust and make the model infinitely scalable,” said Vaibhav Agrawal, Partner at Lightspeed India Partners Advisors. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/microsoft-backed-fareye-sees-a-trillion-dollars-in-wasted-costs-across-the-global-supply-chain/articleshow/77864135.cms">INTERVIEW: Microsoft-backed FarEye sees a trillion dollars in wasted costs across the global supply chain</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/bank-loan-repayments-will-be-due-starting-today/articleshow/77865902.cms">Loan repayments will become due starting today — here are the options that borrowers have</a>

This startup – a LinkedIn like platform for India’s blue-collar workers – gets more funds from Lightspeed and Sequoia

New Delhi, Domestic smartphone maker <keyword id="349378" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lava-Mobiles">Lava Mobiles</keyword> on Thursday unveiled the world's first customisable smartphone that allows customers to choose the component. The handsets, <keyword id="10557467" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="lava-z1">Lava Z1</keyword>, Z2, Z4 and Z6, are aimed at the budget category with prices starting at ₹5,499. The Lava Z1 comes in Blue and Red colours, is priced at ₹5,499 and will be available from Amazon.in, Lavamobiles.com and offline stores starting from January 26. The Lava Z2, Z4 and Z6 come in Blue and Red colours, are priced at ₹6,999, ₹8,999 and ₹9,999, respectively and will be available from Amazon.in, Lavamobiles.com and offline stores starting from January 11. Lava has announced a customise option for their users where one can customise their smartphones through a new programme called My Z. The My Z program will allow users to select specifications like <keyword id="6364276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="camera">camera</keyword>, memory storage capacity and colour on their phone as per their choice on <keyword id="10557734" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="select-devices">select devices</keyword> only. There is Z Up prog<keyword id="17786" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ram">ram</keyword>me as well which is only valid for Z2, Z4, and Z6 smartphones. This programme will allow you to upgrade your phone with more RAM and storage for an incremental price without having to replace the phone. Lava Z1 features 5-inch display with 480X854 pixel resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It is powered by 1.8GHz Quad-Core MediaTek Helio A20 processor. The phone has 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD. It has a 5MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera with dual-LED flash. The smartphone is powered by a 3100mAh battery and it runs on XOS 6.2 based on <keyword id="7582462" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="android-10">Android 10</keyword> Go Edition. Lava Z2 features a 6.51-inch HD+ display with a screen resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels, 20:9 aspect ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The device is powered by 2.3GHz <keyword id="1946466" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Octa-Core">Octa-Core</keyword> MediaTek Helio G35 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and 32GB. The device features a dual-camera setup of 13MP primary lens and a 2MP depth sensor. For the front, there is an 8MP camera. Lava Z4, as well as Z6 feature 6.51-inch HD+ 20:9 2.5D Curved glass display and Both, are powered by a 2.3GHz octa Core MediaTek Helio G35 processor with IMG PowerVR GE8320 GPU. The Lava Z4 has 4GB RAM and 64GB storage while the Lava Z6 has 6GB RAM and 64GB storage. For the camera, the Lava Z4 and Z6 sport triple camera setup with 13MP rear camera with f/1.85 aperture, LED flash, 5MP ultra-wide camera and 2MP depth sensor. For the front, both have 16MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture, LED flash. They run Android 10 and pack 5000mAh battery. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/oppo-reno5-pro-5g-mobile-to-launch-in-india-on-january-18-checkout-expected-price-and-specification/articleshow/80147650.cms">Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G mobile to launch in India on January 18 – specs, price, and everything you need to know</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/fareye-is-the-latest-to-buy-back-shares-from-employees-to-liquidate-esops-worth-over-5-crore/articleshow/80148439.cms">FarEye is the latest to buy back shares from employees — to liquidate ESOPs worth over ₹5 crore</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/from-boris-johnson-to-narendra-modi-and-jacinda-ardern-heres-how-world-leaders-reacted-to-the-capitol-hill-chaos/slidelist/80148270.cms">From Boris Johnson to Narendra Modi and Jacinda Ardern — here's how world leaders reacted to the Capitol Hill chaos</a>

Lava makes a comeback with new Z-series Android smartphones, starting at ₹5,499

<ul><li>According to the Cisco India <keyword id="160494" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SMB">SMB</keyword> Digital Maturity Study 2020, digitalisation of small and medium businesses(SMBs) could add anywhere between $158-216 billion to India's GDP by 2024.</li><li>MSMEs currently contribute around 6.11% of India’s manufacturing GDP, and 24.63% of the GDP from service activities as well as 33.4% of manufacturing output. </li><li>Everyone from the government, to corporates and even startups are focussing on the micro, small and medium enterprises of India. </li></ul>India’s <keyword id="469687" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="small-and-medium-businesses">small and medium businesses</keyword> are in the spotlight now as the Modi government has pushed out several initiatives to boost the sector, cue Atmanirbhar Bharat. Given the current scenario due to COVID-19, more and more consumers are looking online, e-commerce is booming and it provides the potential for SMBs to transform and build on digitisation of their businesses. A shift that has been underway and began post demonetisation in 2016. According to the Cisco India SMB Digital Maturity Study 2020, digitalisation of small and medium businesses(SMBs) could add anywhere between $158-216 billion to India's GDP by 2024 and contribute to the country's economic recovery post COVID-19. According to the Confederation of Indian Industries, MSMEs currently contribute around 6.11% of India’s manufacturing GDP and 24.63% of the GDP from service activities as well as 33.4% of manufacturing output. From government, to corporates and startups – everyone wants to work for MSMEs This goes on to prove why everyone from government, to corporates and even startups are focussing on the micro, small and medium enterprises of India. The Indian government on May 13 had said that the definition of micro, small and medium enterprises (<keyword id="6358354" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="MSME">MSME</keyword>) will be changed to allow for relatively bigger companies to avail the benefits of cheaper and priority loans. Earlier in April, Nitin Gadkari, India’s minister of micro, small and medium enterprises had launched an idea and innovations portal for SMBs – MSME Bank of Ideas, Innovation and Research. But it's not just that, from e-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart to corporates like Mastercard have been doling out initiatives to help the MSME sector. Several startups like Khatabook, FarEye, Udaan, Shiprocket and Reliance-backed Nowfloats among several others are helping MSMEs in the <keyword id="73524" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Digitization">digitization</keyword> journey. The challenges ahead But for the thousands of MSMEs to turn to digitization in India will not be an easy task. India currently ranks 9th in the small and medium businesses digital maturity in the Asia Pacific region, according to the CISCO report. The challenges range from an absence of digital skills and access to talent, to lack of necessary technologies required for a business overhaul. "While technology will serve as the greatest enabler in helping SMBs leverage the opportunities created by the emerging low-touch economy, this crisis is far too complex for anyone to solve alone. Now more than ever, we need to work together to navigate these uncharted waters,” said Panish PK, Managing Director, SMB, Cisco India and SAARC. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/mahindra-and-mahindra-finance-managing-director-gets-candid-about-the-rights-issue/articleshow/77212386.cms">EXCLUSIVE: M&amp;M Financial Managing Director gets candid about the rights issue, the bleak prospects for this year and why there should be no more loan moratorium</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/india-sees-second-wave-of-layoffs-and-pay-cuts-as-companies-grapple-with-covid-19-pandemic/articleshow/77212542.cms">India sees second wave of layoffs and pay cuts as companies grapple with COVID-19 pandemic</a>

Digitisation is the only choice for small businesses in India — and it may add up to $200 billion to the GDP

<ul><li>As interstate movement begins, tech-enabled <keyword id="1474532" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="logistics-companies">logistics companies</keyword> are expecting business to return to normal soon.</li><li>With the rise in demand expected to set in, investments are also pouring in. <keyword id="9336095" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="logistics-startups-letstransport">Logistics startups LetsTransport</keyword> and Vahak have both announced their funding today. </li><li>Meanwhile, Transport Corporation of India Limited (TCIL) has partnered with DBS Bank to offer real time payments to truckers across the country.</li></ul>With the coronavirus lockdown since March, India’s supply chain sector had been severely impacted. But tech-enabled logistics companies began to gain pace to deliver essentials during lockdown and now, with the borders open, companies are expecting business to return to normal soon. “Since the commencement of the lockdown, the logistics sector has been playing a key role in ensuring minimal disruption of supply chains for businesses offering essential goods. Now that the government has greenlit the delivery of non-essential goods, we are looking forward to businesses picking up the pace and resuming their growth trajectories, providing a fillip to the logistics space as well,” said Saahil Goel, CEO and cofounder of Shiprocket. Investments pour in <keyword id="2879647" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Logistics-startups">Logistics startups</keyword> LetsTransport and Vahak have both announced their funding today. LetsTransport has raised ₹10 crore from Blacksoil Capital. Pushkar Singh, Co-founder &amp; CEO, LetsTransport, said that the company is working hard to convert this pandemic into an opportunity by maximizing the conversion of the unorganized sector into an organised one “We are continuously scaling our network and improving our capabilities to help streamline urban logistics for enterprises in these trying times when enterprise businesses are increasingly looking to partner with organized logistics players to enable direct to consumer deliveries,” said Singh. Meanwhile, another logistics startup Vahak has raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding led by Leo Capital, along with several other angel investors. “The trust gap currently present in the Indian road transport market highly limits the business potential and expansion for transporters, agents and lorry owners. This is where Vahak steps in to leverage technology and help the stakeholders connect with each other seamlessly,” said Karan Shaha, Co-founder, and CEO, Vahak. Earlier in April, logistics SaaS startup Fareye raised $25 million in a round that was led by Microsoft with participation from Eight Roads Ventures and Honeywell Ventures. Innovations accelerate With the startups looking to expand their offering and the supply chain sector awaiting a rise in demand, companies are also innovating rapidly for the logistics industry. Transport Corporation of India Limited (TCIL) has partnered with DBS Bank to offer real time payments to truckers across the country. The innovation has been developed through DBS RAPID (Real Time APIs by DBS) solution. With this solution, TCIL truck drivers receive an instant credit into their bank account, which they can then swipe at terminals or withdraw cash using ATMs. “The DBS RAPID solution has strengthened internal controls, reduced our cost, and increased our pace of business. We are proud to have partnered with DBS Bank, which has enabled us to contribute to digital India in a meaningful way and drive India towards a digital economy,” said Ashish Tiwari, Group CFO, TCIL. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/digital-skills-that-experts-believe-you-need-to-survive-the-current-job-crisis/articleshow/76167406.cms">Digital skills that experts believe you need to survive the current job crisis</a>

From real-time payments for truckers to investments pouring in for startups – India’s logistics sector heats up in Unlock 1.0

For a long period of time, India was just a low-cost destination for some of the world's largest companies, from where they could get their back-office software projects started. However, with the advent of life-altering technology and start-ups, this trend started to change. 
 
This week, top executives of some of the world's biggest technology buyers including Toyota Motor Corp, Colgate-Palmolive and telecom giant Bharti Airtel will be visiting India’s favourite tech city Bengaluru to attend rapid-fire pitching sessions from Indian software product start-ups such as Aujas, Canvazify and FarEye. 
 
These technology giants have spent several years outsourcing software development and maintenance to India's IT industry, which now stands at $160 billion. Now, they want to leverage India for a different purpose altogether; they now want to get in touch with some of the country's most innovative start-ups. 
 
"India is no longer seen as just a services economy," said Piyush Singh, former CIO of Great American Insurance Co and co-chair of the In-Tech50 event. "A lot of these large Fortune 500 companies have moved beyond leveraging India for IT sourcing and moved on to leveraging top technology talent from countries like India." 
 
The event, which would last for two days, CIOs from around the globe will listen to pitches from more than a dozen start-up entrepreneurs and may even choose to invest in or sign partnerships with them. 
 
The top three start-ups from the event will also receive an offer to join the accelerator programme of Silicon Valley-based business accelerator Plug and Play, from where they can get in touch with potential investors in the US. 
 
<a href="http://static.cision.com/us/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Making-the-perfect-sales-pitch.jpg">Image source</a>

Tech giants from around the globe are in India to listen to pitches from several Indian start-ups

The festive season is starting from October and the e-Commerce companies are gearing up to woo the customers. The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=e-Commerce">e-Commerce industry</a> is expecting sales of Rs 25,600 crore ($4 billion) this year during <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Diwali">Diwali season</a>. 
 
As per the Hindu calendar, the festive season starts with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/7-Diverse-Dusshera-Celebrations-In-India/articleshow/43980552.cms">‘Navratri’</a> in the month of October. After October, there are a string of festivals and the festivities do not stop till December as the last month of the year is believed to be the most auspicious one for weddings. These festive months, as calculated by the <keyword id="3020651" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Technopark-Advisors">Technopark Advisors</keyword>, are expected to account 40% of the total $10-billion annual sales the Indian e-Commerce industry is aiming to record this year. 
 
The growing sector reported a $7-billion sale in FY15 with 40% sales coming during the festive season. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Snapdeal+">Snapdeal </a>senior vice-president, marketing, Idi Srinivas Murthy, said that the company saw a 15x increase in traffic during <keyword id="188" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Diwali">Diwali</keyword> last year and this year too they were intensifying all aspects of business operations, including logistics, supply-chain, financial and technological support. 
 
"We have launched faster last-mile delivery solutions and a refreshed user interface. We are also developing a host of solutions for our 1,50,000 sellers," Murthy said. 
 
Being the most lucrative period for the whole industry, the companies often compete with each other to gain maximum benefits. The two major grounds on which all the e-tailers focus are delivery performance and customer satisfaction. 
 
Mumbai-based furniture and home products seller <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Pepperfry">Pepperfry</a>, in a bid to make most of the festive season, has increased its merchant base, multiplied marketing outreach, has invested in doubling its logistics capabilities by expanding fulfillment centers, delivery and assembly capabilities as well as technology capabilities. 
 
The company’s chief marketing officer Kashyap Vadapalli said, "Our sales were up 200% (last Diwali) as we took necessary steps both at the logistics and supply end.” 
 
The coming festive months are crucial not just for the e-Commerce industry, but also for the companies providing logistics solutions. Logistics startup<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Delhivery+"> ‘Delhivery’</a> is expecting a significant surge in volumes, similar to last year. 
 "<keyword id="1560090" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhivery">Delhivery</keyword> is continuously investing in technology, infrastructure and automation to ensure such surges are managed well during the festive season," said Mohit Tandon, co-founder, of the firm. However, with rising demand, these companies are bound to face innumerable challenges. 
 
"Since the logistics partners are common to almost all players, fulfilling the demands over a given period of time becomes a concern," said Praveen Sinha, managing director and founder of online fashion retailer Jabong. "It is not always easy due to the overwhelming response that we get during this time. It sometimes becomes challenging to have a constant stock of products," he added. 
 
In the past one year mobile and internet penetration has increased further indicating that this year online purchasing will grow multi-fold compared to Diwali 2014, Kushal Nahata, CEO and co-founder of enterprise mobility platform FarEye said. 
 
<a href="http://cdn.youthkiawaaz.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/26/bursting-crackers-just-one-day-year-harm-really-heres-much-needed-guilt-trip/Diwali-crackers.jpg">Image source</a>

E-Commerce industry is ready to host the Diwali season. Are you?

Welcome to <keyword id="34991" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword> &amp; Logistics Briefing, a new morning email providing the latest news, data, and insight on how digital technology is disrupting transportation and delivery, produced by BI Intelligence.<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/transportation-and-logistics-briefing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sign up and receive Transportation &amp; Logistics Briefing free to your inbox.</a>Have feedback? We'd like to hear from you. Write me at: <a href="mailto:jcamhi@businessinsider.com">jcamhi@businessinsider.com</a>.UBER'S LOSSES NARROW DESPITE LYFT'S GAINS: Uber increased its revenue and narrowed its losses in Q2 2016 in the face of increased competition from Lyft and a spate of recent scandals that led to the resignation of its former CEO, Travis Kalanick, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-23/uber-s-quarterly-losses-fall-to-645-million-as-revenue-climbs?utm_content=markets&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-markets">reports</a>. The ride-hailing giant increased its net revenue 17% from the previous quarter to $1.75 billion, while its losses decreased 9% to $645 million. All of the various scandals and controversies surrounding Uber in recent months did not seem to dent the company's financial health. It ended the quarter with $6.6 billion in cash on hand. Meanwhile, gross bookings - the total dollar value generated from its rides - increased to $8.7 billion, up 17% from Q1. That growth in gross bookings actually accelerated from 9% the previous quarter.However, rival Lyft has still been making gains on Uber, despite the larger company's continued growth. <ul><li>Uber's share of the US ride-hailing market fell from 84% at the beginning of this year to 77% at the end of May, according to Second Measure, which analyzes anonymized credit card data.</li><li>Uber's market share decline coincided with major growth at Lyft, which saw a major boost from the #deleteUber social media <a href="http://mashable.com/2017/03/22/uber-delete-account-500000/">campaign</a>. Lyft had a 60% <a href="https://www.recode.net/2017/8/14/16141380/lyft-uber-taggart-matthiesen-deleteuber-protest-johana-bhuiyan-recode-decode-podcast">spike</a> in new users when the campaign started in January. That helped the company <a href="https://thenextweb.com/insider/2017/04/27/lyfts-user-numbers-soared-deleteuber/">net</a> 4.8 million total passengers during February 2017, more than double the number it serviced in February 2016.</li><li>Lyft also <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-25/lyft-gross-bookings-are-said-to-exceed-1-billion-last-quarter">grew</a> its gross booking faster than Uber did in Q2, with a 25% jump to $1 billion.</li></ul>Uber remains mired in controversy following Kalanick's departure, and needs to fill several key executive positions to help it handle increased competition around the world. In addition to its open CEO position, the company has also been searching to fill its COO and CFO positions. For now, the company is being steered by an executive committee. Meanwhile, Kalanick has been sued by Benchmark Capital, one of Uber's biggest investors, which claims he has been <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/14/benchmark-letter-to-uber-employees-about-kalanick-lawsuit.html">undermining</a> the CEO search. Uber's competitors have moved aggressively in recent months to gain market share and take advantage of Uber's damaged reputation. Lyft has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lyft-launching-in-100-new-us-cities-full-list-2017-1">expanded</a> to more cities in the US, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/lyft-raises-500-million-in-new-funding-round-1491498474">raised</a> new funding, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/25/lyft-launches-two-premium-ride-hailing-options-lux-and-lux-suv/">debuted</a> premium ride services to compete with UberBLACK and UberSUV, and <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/21/lyft-launches-a-new-self-driving-division-called-level-5-will-develop-its-own-self-driving-system/">launched</a> a new self-driving car division to beat Uber to autonomous taxis. Grab, Uber's biggest rival in Southeast Asia, also <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-24/uber-rival-grab-said-raising-1-5-billion-in-new-funding-round">raised</a> $1.5 billion in new funding earlier this year. Uber must fill its leadership void and develop a strategy to counter these moves by its competitors. However, it's unclear if that will happen soon, as the company's board is reportedly <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/ap-sources-ges-immelt-finalists-uber-ceo-search-49343488">split</a> over possible CEO candidates.Enjoy reading this briefing? <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/transportation-and-logistics-briefing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sign up and receive Transportation &amp; Logistics Briefing to your inbox.</a><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="BII" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5761b51752bcd021008c95f4-960/ride hailing apps.png"></a>BII</div></div></div>FLYTREX AND AHA LAUNCH DRONE DELIVERY IN ICELAND: AHA, Iceland's largest online marketplace, has partnered with Israeli drone startup Flytrex to deliver online meal orders and other goods by drone in Iceland's capital, Reykjavic, CNBC reports. The launch of a commercial drone service in a highly populated area marks an important step forward for drone delivery around the world, as most drone deliveries conducted today are still early-stage tests in rural areas.Right now the drones only operate a single delivery route across the bay that cuts Reykjavic in two and makes delivery by ground vehicle in the city very time-consuming. An employee at an AHA facility loads packages on to the drone, which then flies autonomously across the bay to another facility, where a courier picks up the package and takes it to the customer's home, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/23/16185112/drone-delivery-iceland-flytrex-aha-food">according to</a> The Verge. The two companies say that drones have cut their delivery times by up to 20 minutes during peak hours, and have cut delivery costs by 60% compared to regular ground delivery.Flytrex doesn't build the drones itself - in this case it's using a DJI Matrice 600 outfitted with a special package compartment - but provides the software and services that make the program operational, including employee training, drone maintenance, and a cloud-based platform for remotely tracking and managing the drones in-flight. Flytrex CEO Yariv Bash said that the company hopes to expand the partnership to more delivery routes - including delivering directly to customer's doorsteps - by the end of the year. The drones will hover in the air and lower packages to the ground by a wire to drop them off at customers' homes.Flytrex and AHA received regulatory approval to launch the service from the Icelandic Transportation Authority, which said the drones could improve road safety by taking delivery vehicles off the roads. Regulatory authorities in most jurisdictions around the world have taken a cautious approach to drone deliveries, particularly in densely populated areas. China's Civil Administration, for example, allows companies to conduct commercial deliveries by drone in rural areas, but specifically forbids companies from using drones to deliver in cities. In the US, the FAA has yet to allow a commercial drone delivery program to operate in a major city, but <a href="https://knpr.org/knpr/2017-06/nasa-drones-drone-package-delivery-tested-reno">NASA</a> and <a href="https://www.recode.net/2016/12/20/14026396/7-eleven-drone-delivery-flirtey-first-retail-us-reno-nevada">7-Eleven</a> have each conducted limited drone delivery tests in Reno, Nevada. Improvements in autonomous flight technology and in air traffic control systems that can track large numbers of drones are necessary before regulators allow large-scale drone delivery programs to operate in US cities. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="BI Intelligence" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59258b5a6391471b008b6176-960/drone delivery products.jpg"></a>BI Intelligence</div></div></div>AUDI AND QUALCOMM INVEST IN CONNECTED CAR STARTUP: Cubic Telecom, a connected car startup based in Dublin, Ireland, raised $46.5 million in Series C funding from a group of investors that includes Audi and Qualcomm. Cubic has already been working for a while with Audi, and is on track to put its technology into 1 million vehicles by the end of the year, according to CEO Barry Napier.The startup offers a virtual networking solution that lets cars (and other devices) connect automatically to internet service providers in any country, which helps cars maintain internet connection when they cross borders and eliminates roaming costs. It accomplishes this through a virtual SIM card that it preloads on to vehicles during the manufacturing process.Typically, automakers have to install a physical SIM card into their cars for connectivity, and arrange network agreements with carriers in whichever country the model might be sold. Each network agreement requires a different SIM card, making managing these partnerships and the physical hardware a time-consuming operational task. Along with the virtual SIM card, Cubic has partnerships in place with 30 mobile network operators covering more than 180 countries, eliminating the hassle of arranging and managing network agreements for automakers.With automakers putting more and more digital technologies in their cars, they have to manage increasingly complex ecosystems of digital partners that include connectivity, cloud, analytics, cybersecurity, and infotainment providers. That is a complex task for companies like automakers that don't have roots in the digital world. That means companies that can help automakers manage those ecosystems - as Cubic does with networking providers - will be particularly valuable partners for auto companies.In other news…DHL eCommerce, Deutsche Post DHL's e-commerce fulfillment division, <a href="http://postandparcel.info/81869/news/dhl-ecommerce-gets-logistics-technology-platform-fareye-on-board/">launched</a> a new software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform in partnership with logistics management solutions provider FarEye to help it manage deliveries on behalf of its retail clients. The platform will help DHL, retailers, and their customers track orders in real-time as they make their way through the fulfillment process to final delivery. DHL said that it picked the platform to support its e-commerce fulfillment division because of the flexibility it offered in being able to scale up computing resources depending on demand. That will allow it to draw on more resources during peak shopping and delivery times.FedEx <a href="http://postandparcel.info/81920/news/fedex-office-extends-sameday-city-service/">announced</a> it is expanding its same-day intra-city delivery service to Jacksonville, Florida, as well as Austin and San Antonio, Texas. The service, dubbed FedEx SameDay City, is now available in 25 markets, and allows same-day delivery on orders picked up as late as 1:00 p.m. for business delivery, and 4:00 p.m. for residential delivery. The move comes as more retailers are experimenting with same-day delivery. Walmart announced recently that it is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/transportation-and-logistics-briefing-fords-self-driving-car-strategy-continental-acquires-data-services-company-tesla-turns-to-cloud-for-customer-personalization-2017-8">expanding</a> a same-day delivery test it is running with Uber's UberRUSH delivery service to new markets, while Target is now <a href="http://www.refinery29.com/2017/08/169379/target-same-day-delivery-grocery">testing</a> same-day grocery delivery in New York. <div id="categorypromo"><h2><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/transportation-and-logistics-briefing">Click here to sign up for the new FREE newsletter on Transportation &amp; Logistics from BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service.</a></h2></div>

TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS BRIEFING: Uber's losses narrow despite Lyft's gains - Drone delivery service launches in Iceland - Audi, Qualcomm invest in connected car startup

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