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Author: victorybull

  • AI firm Fractal becomes second unicorn in 2022 with $360 million investment from TPG

    Fractal, a US-based artificial intelligence firm, becomes the second unicorn in 2022 with the latest investment of $360 million from the private equity firm TPG Capital Asia. The funding will close by the first quarter of 2022.

    With the latest investment, the company’s valuation has exceeded $1 billion, according to industry sources. Mamaearth, valued at $1.2 billion, was the first unicorn in 2022.

    After Mu Sigma, this is the second firm in India in the pure-play analytics space to reach the unicorn status. This also comes at a time when the analytics space is gaining huge interest from investors. For instance, Chennai-based LatentView Analytics saw a huge response for its IPO last year.

    Fractal was founded in 2000 in Mumbai and established its base in the US in 2005 by five people including group CEO Srikanth Velamakanni and Pranay Agrawal, CEO. It employs 3,500 people across 16 global locations, including the United States, the UK, Ukraine, India, Singapore, and Australia. Fractal’s products include Qure.ai to assist radiologists in making better diagnostic decisions.

    As part of the transaction, TPG’s Puneet Bhatia and Vivek Mohan will join Fractal’s board of directors. All current directors including Gavin Patterson, Rohan Haldea, Shashank Singh, and Gulu Mirchandani will continue to serve on the company’s board.

    Pranay Agrawal, Co-founder & CEO, Fractal, said in a statement, “The demand for AI is surging across the enterprise. Our AI solutions and products, along with our globally recognised team of experts, empower these organisations to realise and maximise their full potential. As we continue to build upon this foundation, the investment from TPG will accelerate our ability to scale and meet this rising demand globally.”

    Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-founder and Group CEO, Fractal, said in the statement, “TPG capabilities across all our markets and their proven success in building and supporting top AI providers is the perfect complement to the partnership we have enjoyed with Apax, whose insight and expertise have been instrumental in accelerating our growth.”

  • Космолот власник: актуальні зміни

    Гральний бізнес в Україні активно розвивається, і багатьох цікавить, хто зараз є власником Космолота та які перспективи має компанія. Тривалий час єдиним власником був досвідчений фахівець у сфері IT та інтернет-маркетингу, який створив та розвинув цей успішний бренд.

    Нове керівництво

    У 2023 році власник Космолота залучив потужного іноземного інвестора з Великої Британії. Завдяки цій співпраці компанія отримала значне збільшення капіталу та нові можливості для розвитку на міжнародному ринку.

    Напрямки розвитку

    Під керівництвом нових власників компанія зосереджена на:

    • Виході на міжнародний ринок
    • Створенні ігрової екосистеми
    • Розвитку інфраструктури
    • Підтримці соціальних проєктів

    Завдяки ефективному управлінню, компанія стала прикладом соціально відповідального бізнесу в Україні.

  • Космолот власник: актуальні зміни

    Гральний бізнес в Україні активно розвивається, і багатьох цікавить, хто зараз є власником Космолота та які перспективи має компанія. Тривалий час єдиним власником був досвідчений фахівець у сфері IT та інтернет-маркетингу, який створив та розвинув цей успішний бренд.

    Нове керівництво

    У 2023 році власник Космолота залучив потужного іноземного інвестора з Великої Британії. Завдяки цій співпраці компанія отримала значне збільшення капіталу та нові можливості для розвитку на міжнародному ринку.

    Напрямки розвитку

    Під керівництвом нових власників компанія зосереджена на:

    • Виході на міжнародний ринок
    • Створенні ігрової екосистеми
    • Розвитку інфраструктури
    • Підтримці соціальних проєктів

    Завдяки ефективному управлінню, компанія стала прикладом соціально відповідального бізнесу в Україні.

  • India’s 2022 steel consumption seen strong amid muted prices, infra push

    The government’s thrust on infrastructure, coupled with an increase in demand from the construction, engineering, and other sectors, is expected to push up domestic steel consumption in 2022, according to brokerages and rating agencies.

    The country’s consumption is expected to jump to 111 million tonnes (mt) in calendar year 2022 (CY22) after a severely impacted CY20, which saw steel consumption falling to 89.3 mt, CARE Ratings said in a recent report.

    India’s steel consumption numbers for CY21 could be around 104 mt, which would mean a 17 per cent increase from last year. Between April-November 2021, the consumption was 66 mt, up from 55 mt in the corresponding period of 2020.

    The US recently announced a $1-trillion infrastructure spending, which could substantially boost the country’s steel consumption, thereby keeping steel prices firm in the US market, brokerages said.

    On the other hand, China, the world’s largest consumer and producer of steel, due to continued production curbs to curtail carbon emissions, has tapered exports, in turn keeping world export prices at elevated levels, they said.

    Apart from the production and consumption equation of steel, supply chain performance and logistical arrangements are expected to play a crucial role in 2022 amid the ongoing pandemic, industry officials pointed out.

    “Companies and countries across the globe have taken measures to strengthen their logistics but no one knows whether what has been done is enough. That would only be clear as we walk through 2022,” said a senior official with a primary steel producer on the condition of anonymity.

    Between financial years (FY) 22-25, a total crude steel capacity of about 25 mt is likely to be added to the domestic market. Of it, 7-8 mt would come in during FY22, while the remaining would take another 2-3 years to get commissioned. Due to this, though domestic consumption is likely to be stronger for 2022, compared to previous years, prices may remain slightly muted, brokerages said.

    In December, domestic hot-rolled-coil price in traders’ market slipped further (1 per cent week-on-week) to Rs 65,590 per tonne, mainly due to subdued domestic demand, particularly for flat products, an Edelweiss report said.

    “In Q3FY22, we have also seen increased pressure on domestic prices as export realisation is again at a discount and demand in the Southeast Asia region has remained lacklustre due to re-emergence of Covid cases. Alongside, the recent uptick in Chinese domestic prices raises hopes of a positive rub-off on the domestic market,” the report added.

  • Capricorn Investment Group Takes 20% Stake in Norselab’s European Impact Investment Platform

    OSLO, Norway & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Capricorn Investment Group makes their first move into the Nordic venture space with their investment in Norselab, an Oslo-based European impact investment manager for private capital.

    “With their thoughtful approach to innovative impact investments, Norselab stands out as an ideal partner to expand our presence into the Nordics and Europe. We are thrilled to help scale their impact investment platform,” says Michaela Edwards, Partner at Capricorn Investment Group.

    Edwards is the partner in charge of the investment into Norselab. The deal, offering Capricorn’s Sustainable Investment Fund a 20% stake in Norselab, relied heavily on their belief in the team and the structure that they have built.

    “The team behind Norselab has an outstanding track record in building and scaling tech companies, in addition to a clear ambition to build a larger ecosystem of funds. These were key factors weighing in on our investment decision,” adds Edwards.

    Both firms share the belief that impact investments will offer the best opportunities over the coming decades. Through investment into companies that target industries in need of transformation, Norselab aims to ignite disruption, and to create potential for solid returns and massive impact.

    Unexplored opportunities in the Nordics

    Capricorn’s investment in Norselab marks its first, strategic move into the Nordics. According to Edwards, the Nordics are still unexplored territory from a global perspective, and offer plentiful opportunities for both impact and high returns. She highlights that Norway, with its ongoing green shift and hunger for innovation, offers a great location from which Norselab can expand to Europe.

    Building system value

    Norselab launched its first impact-focused venture fund, Meaningful Equity I, in 2020. On the back of a solid tailwind in terms of market trends and deal flow, the impact investor is expanding its platform with several new funds. This means a significant upscaling of the organization where creating system value through knowledge sharing is the key to accelerate growth and value creation across the ecosystem.

    Uncompromising on impact

    Tvedt adds that Capricorn’s solid impact profile was decisive for Norselab’s decision to bring on board a larger capital partner.

    “Impact is at the heart of our investment philosophy, and core to the products and services of the companies we invest in. We want to build Norselab into a leading European impact investment platform, and believe Capricorn is a match made in heaven for scaling Norselab while staying true to our fundamental DNA,” says Tvedt.

    With the Sustainable Investment Fund, Capricorn Investment Group aims to back purpose-built investment managers with an authentic vision around impact.

    A fit-for-scale platform

    Norselab’s CEO, Erik Syvertsen, explains how they created an international fund platform for venture investments with the building blocks that most market participants would recognize from larger institutional structures.

    “As we established our first fund, we knew that a robust infrastructure with scalability would be essential if we were to have international ambitions both in terms of deal flow and the ability to attract capital. Capricorn recognized the value in the ecosystem we are aiming to build in and around Norselab. It’s a privilege for us to work with a capital partner that is aligned with our values and ambitions across the board,” says Syvertsen.

    Norwegian capital partners joining the party

    Two significant Norwegian capital partners are also part of the deal. Long-term Norselab investor Ness, Risan & Partners, invests in the impact investment platform to offer Norselab’s attractive impact products to their large Nordic customer base. Joakim Lehmkuhl is also among the new capital partners. His connection to international investor groups will give the Norselab team solid traction to scale its platform out of Norway.

    About Capricorn

    Capricorn is one of the largest mission-aligned firms in the world, and has since its inception in 2000 grown to manage more than $10 billion in multi-asset classes for foundations and institutional investors, through their range of impact-focused fund products. Their Sustainable Investors Fund (SIF) is a private equity partnership whose investment objective is to create significant value through ownership and early stage investment in public and private asset managers who incorporate sustainability as a key driver of investment returns

  • State Bank of India invests $20 million in Pine Labs

    Bengaluru: India’s largest lender, the State Bank of India NSE 0.90 %, has invested $20 million in Pine Labs, the fintech startup said Tuesday without sharing any further details of the deal.

    The IPO-bound online payments and merchant solutions platform raised around $700 million in multiple tranches last year and was last valued at $3.5 billion. ET reported in December that it was in advanced stages of talks to raise at least $100 million from Falcon Edge and that the total funding round could increase to $200 million.

    Pine Labs, best known for its offline merchant payments tool, is also looking to list in the United States in the first half of 2022, ET reported last month.

    “In the past year, several marquee investors have placed their trust in our business model and growth momentum, and that is a gratifying feeling,” Pine Labs CEO Amrish Rau said Tuesday. “This association with SBI is a personally satisfying experience as I had started my career selling financial services technology to SBI.” In a statement, Pine Labs said it would invest in scaling its new product Plural, a payments gateway.

  • Alka Mittal becomes first woman to head ONGC as CMD

    Alka Mittal, director of human resources at energy major Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC), has been given the additional charge of chairman and managing director, the company announced on January 3.

    With this appointment, Mittal has become the first woman ever to head ONGC as its CMD. She will hold the post for six months or until a regular appointment for the position is announced, whichever is earlier.

    ONGC has not had a full-time chairman and managing director since former chief Shashi Shanker retired on March 31, 2021. Typically, the government select a future CMD at least a few months before the retirement of the incumbent but instead, after Shanker’s retirement, the then senior-most director was given the additional charge. Subhash Kumar, former director (finance) was given the additional charge of the post from April 1, 2021. Kumar too retired end-December, leaving the top position vacant for a couple of days.

    Given that Mittal is currently the senior most on the board of directors, it was speculated that she would be given the CMD’s position but the formal orders came late on January 3.

  • Top sectors to invest in 2022

    After ending the calendar year 2021 with a gain of 22 per cent on the Sensex and 24 per cent on the Nifty, red flags are now up on the Street with analysts suggesting investors tread carefully as the markets face multiple headwinds – both from domestic and global factors – which can keep them choppy in the year ahead. What could cap the market upside at least in the short-term is the fast-spreading Covid variant – Omicron – that has already seen several states adopt a precautionary approach. That said, analysts at Morgan Stanley, for instance, expect the emerging markets, including India, to muddle through most part of 2022 amid rich valuations.

    Despite downgrading India, the global research and brokerage house remains ‘structurally bullish’ on Indian equities and is looking for stock-level opportunities to hold exposure. Jonathan F Garner, chief Asia and emerging market strategist at Morgan Stanley says, EM equities will continue to struggle next year, with only 3 per cent upside to their December 2022 target. According to Credit Suisse, earnings will be the key driver for equity returns. Sectors that lagged the global recovery from the pandemic shock to emerge as bright spots alongside industries that benefit from secular growth trends. Other analysts, too, echo the same view and suggest stock selection will be key for investors to beat index returns. So which sectors are likely to do well in 2022?A similar sentiment is echoed by those at ICICI Securities, who expect the IT sector to lead the rally, supported by cyclicals like capital goods and BFSI. Herald van der Linde, head of equity strategy for Asia Pacific at HSBC, however, suggests staying away from real estate, auto components and sectors that have regulatory uncertainty like PSU banks and utilities. Over the medium-term, however, the market direction will be guided by a slew of domestic factors such as the upcoming result season for the quarter ended December 2021, expectations from the Union Budget that is likely to be presented on February 1.

  • Top sectors to invest in 2022

    After ending the calendar year 2021 with a gain of 22 per cent on the Sensex and 24 per cent on the Nifty, red flags are now up on the Street with analysts suggesting investors tread carefully as the markets face multiple headwinds – both from domestic and global factors – which can keep them choppy in the year ahead. What could cap the market upside at least in the short-term is the fast-spreading Covid variant – Omicron – that has already seen several states adopt a precautionary approach. That said, analysts at Morgan Stanley, for instance, expect the emerging markets, including India, to muddle through most part of 2022 amid rich valuations.

    Despite downgrading India, the global research and brokerage house remains ‘structurally bullish’ on Indian equities and is looking for stock-level opportunities to hold exposure.Jonathan F Garner, chief Asia and emerging market strategist at Morgan Stanley says, EM equities will continue to struggle next year, with only 3 per cent upside to their December 2022 target.According to Credit Suisse, earnings will be the key driver for equity returns. Sectors that lagged the global recovery from the pandemic shock to emerge as bright spots alongside industries that benefit from secular growth trends.Other analysts, too, echo the same view and suggest stock selection will be key for investors to beat index returns.So which sectors are likely to do well in 2022?A similar sentiment is echoed by those at ICICI Securities, who expect the IT sector to lead the rally, supported by cyclicals like capital goods and BFSI.Herald van der Linde, head of equity strategy for Asia Pacific at HSBC, however, suggests staying away from real estate, auto components and sectors that have regulatory uncertainty like PSU banks and utilities.Over the medium-term, however, the market direction will be guided by a slew of domestic factors such as the upcoming result season for the quarter ended December 2021, expectations from the Union Budget that is likely to be presented on February 1.

  • West Bengal announces fresh curbs, restricts flights from Mumbai, Delhi

    The West Bengal government on Sunday said flights from Mumbai and Delhi were being restricted to twice a week from January 5 as new Covid cases in the state mounted to 6,153 from 1,089 on December 29.

    In a letter to the civil aviation ministry, the state government said that in view of the rising Covid cases it had decided that with effect from January 5, all incoming domestic flights from Mumbai and Delhi to West Bengal will be temporarily allowed only twice a week on Monday and Friday till further orders.

    This is among a set of fresh curbs announced by Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi after a panel of the state disaster management authority recommended review of the current restrictions and relaxations amid concerns of “high rate of infectivity” and multiple cases of the Omicron variant.

    The restrictions are effective Monday and will be in force till January 15.

    Dwivedi said direct flights from the UK were being temporarily suspended from tomorrow. The Civil Aviation Ministry had already been informed, the chief secretary said.

    Till January 1, 19 had tested positive for Omicron, and 15 were active. Dwivedi, however, reassured on hospital bed availability and said the total bed occupancy was around 1.5 per cent. Those who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms can isolate at home, he said.

    The order includes an advisory to the management of industries, factories, mills, tea gardens, and other establishments to ensure strict compliance of Covid-appropriate norms and “only double vaccinated workers” to be allowed to enter the work sites.

    All academic activities in schools, colleges, and universities are to remain closed and only administrative activities will be permitted with 50 per cent employees at a time.

    Government offices, including public undertakings, will function with 50 per cent of employees at a time, and work from home is encouraged. The same holds for private offices and establishments.

    Swimming pools, spas, gyms, beauty parlors, saloons, wellness centres, entertainment parks, zoos, and tourist places will be closed.

    Shopping malls and market complexes will, however, function with capacity not exceeding 50 per cent and till 10 pm. Similarly, restaurants and bars have been allowed to operate with 50 per cent capacity and till 10 pm.

    Cinema halls and theatre halls, too, will operate with 50 per cent seating capacity and up to 10 pm.

    The maximum number of people at meetings and conferences has been limited to 200 people at a time or 50 per cent seating capacity of the hall. The number of people at social, religious and cultural gatherings has been capped at 50.

    As far as public transport is concerned, local trains will operate with 50 per cent seating capacity and up to 7 pm; metro services will operate with 50 per cent seating capacity and as per usual operational time.

    Further, the movement of people and vehicles and public gatherings is prohibited between 10 pm to 5 am and only essential and emergency services are permitted.