Tech Industry Updates: EY Controversy, Amazon's India Leadership, and Startup Developments

Uproar over EY staffer's death; registration of gig workers

An IT employee union has sought a probe into the untimely death of a young chartered accountant at Ernst & Young. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5. Also in this letter: ■ VC z21 Ventures raises $20 million ■ Paytm share recovery ■ Accenture delays promotions IT employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has called for an "independent and thorough investigation" into the death of the 26-year-old Anna Sebastian Perayil, a chartered accountant who worked at Ernst & Young (EY). Intervention sought: The union has formally submitted letters to both the ministry of labour and employment, as well as the home ministry for the same, NITES said in a statement. "The young employee, driven to such a devastating step due to immense work pressure, tragically lost her life, and no representatives from the company attended her funeral. This shocking disregard for employee welfare and basic human dignity raises urgent questions about the toxic work culture within certain corporate environments," Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of NITES, said in the statement. Discussion in parliament: The issue was also taken up in the Parliament, with Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale saying he has formally written to the labour secretary of Maharashtra demanding an urgent investigation be launched into the working conditions at EY. "It has been extremely disturbing and concerning to read the recent letter of Anita Augustine where she described how her daughter Anna Sebastian Perayil passed away due to being made to overwork in a toxic work environment at her firm," Gokhale said. EY's response: "Anna was a part of the Audit team at S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, in Pune for a brief period of four months, joining the firm on 18 March 2024. That her promising career was cut short in this tragic manner is an irreparable loss for all of us," EY said in a statement on Wednesday. Quick recap: Perayil, who passed her CA exams in 2023, worked at EY Pune office for four months before she allegedly passed away due to extreme work pressure at the firm. Her mother Anita Augustine this month wrote to EY India chairman Rajiv Memani flagging the 'glorification' of overwork at the multinational consulting firm. The letter has since gone viral, triggering a discourse over toxic work cultures. Mansukh Mandaviya, union minister of labour and employment In a directive by labour and employment minister Mansukh Mandaviya, all aggregators have been asked to register their gig and platform workers on the e-Shram Portal within the next three months. Driving the news: Mandaviya stressed that the workers' registration is crucial for extending further benefits to them under various government initiatives. The decision was taken after a meeting with eight aggregators and industry associations on Wednesday. Representatives from Urban Company, Swiggy and Instamart, Zomato and Blinkit, Porter, Even Cargo, Amazon, Uber and Ola attended the meeting along with industry chambers including the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Deloitte, Employers' Federation of India and IndiaTech. What's e-Shram? The portal is meant to register and support unorganised workers by providing them with a Universal Account Number (UAN). The portal captures details of workers such as name, permanent address, current address, occupation, educational qualification and skill type, among others. Upon registration, platform workers will receive a Universal Account Number (UAN), which will allow them access to key social security benefits. L to R: Sudarshan Ravi Jha, Jyotika Gupta, Raj Shekhar Singh, cofounders, z21 Ventures Early-stage investment firm z21 Ventures, which backs technology startups in India and those founded by Indian-origin entrepreneurs in the US, has raised $20 million in the first close of its $40 million second fund with investment firm WestBridge Capital joining as anchor investor. Tell me more: Fund II will continue to support tech firms across sectors such as artificial intelligence, enterprise software and healthcare. It will mainly consider pre-seed and seed-stage investments, focusing on startups with strong teams, innovative technologies, and large market opportunities. ET first wrote about the firm's plans to launch the second fund in June 2024. Portfolio firms: The announcement follows the complete deployment of z21's $5 million maiden fund this June, which backed 26 startups. Portfolio firms include Fireside Ventures-backed medical device startup Inito, Peak XV Partners-backed AI firm Truefoundry, and Y Combinator-backed restaurant management software startup Explorex.' NowPurchase raises $6 million: NowPurchase, a software-as-a-service (SaaS)-enabled marketplace for metal manufacturers, raised $6 million in a funding round led by existing investor Info Edge Ventures. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder, Paytm Paytm shares have surged 116% in the last 4 months, recovering from their May low of Rs 310, after falling sharply from Rs 761, following RBI restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank. Market fluctuations: Since February, the stock has faced volatility, including a widened Q4 loss and employee layoffs during restructuring. News about the company selling its ticketing business to Zomato and reports of the Securities and Exchange Board of India issuing show-cause notices to founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma also unnerved investors. Chart analysis: Paytm has shown higher highs and higher lows for the past four months, bouncing from Rs 310 to Rs 700. In the weekly time frame, stock has been making higher top - higher bottom with large buying volumes to support the bounce," said Chandan Taparia, senior VP at Motilal Oswal. Expert take: If the price sustains above the Rs 700 level, there is potential for a further upside towards Rs 850 and Rs 900 in the short term while on the downside, Rs 600 and Rs 550 will act as immediate support levels, providing buying opportunities, according to Mandar Bhojane, equity research analyst at Choice Broking. As India's startup ecosystem recovers from a difficult year, the question remains: what does the future of funding hold? Despite a 65% drop in startup funding in 2023, cautious optimism is returning among investors and startups. What's driving this renewed interest? Also Read:Homecoming heroes: Discover how offshore startups are relocating to India and the opportunities it brings -- register now to hear from experts At the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024, experts including Prayank Swaroop (Accel), Amit Somani (Prime Ventures), and Ritesh Banglani (Partner, Stellaris Venture Partners)will explore this shift. The panel, 'Surge in Investor Interest: Vision and Outlook of the Indian VC Ecosystem Beyond Hype and Uncertainty,' will uncover investor sentiments, high-growth sectors, and strategies for startups seeking investment in this evolving landscape. Also Read: ET Soonicorns Summit 2024: Cracking the fundraising code with step-by-step insights to scale your startup, from Series A to pre-IPO Accenture Plc, the global consulting and technology giant, is set to delay the majority of its staff promotions by six months, a move reflecting ongoing challenges in the consultancy sector, according to a report by Bloomberg. Driving the news: The company informed employees through an internal blog post that most promotions will now be announced in June, deviating from the traditional December timeline. This change impacts the company's vast workforce of over 750,000 employees worldwide. Salary hike: In October 2023, Accenture communicated to its employees in India and Sri Lanka that there would be no salary hikes for the fiscal year 2023 due to adverse macroeconomic factors. However, Ajay Vij, the country managing director, stated in an internal email that individual performance bonuses would still be distributed, but the amount would be lower than that in the previous year. Industry impact: Accenture's measures mirror actions taken by other consulting firms like McKinsey & Co, Ernst & Young - all grappling with the economic slowdown. Although there has been a recent uptick in demand for AI and automation-related projects, it hasn't been enough to counterbalance the overall pressures facing the industry. Today's ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Riya Roy Chowdhury in Bengaluru and Megha Mishra in Mumbai.

Amazon's new India head; Nazara to raise Rs 900 crore

Samir Kumar, an Amazon veteran, will replace Manish Tiwary as the country manager for India. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5. Also in this letter: ■ Union Cabinet approves Chandrayaan-4 mission ■ Micromax enters new-age sectors ■ Cisco's second layoff Amazon veteran Samir Kumar will take charge as country manager for India, in addition to his current charter of leading Amazon's consumer businesses in the Middle East, South Africa and Turkey. Leadership churn: Kumar will assume full responsibility for India from October 1, replacing Manish Tiwary who stepped down in August. Kumar, who joined Amazon in 1999, was among key executives who visited India in 2013 to set up local operations for the US ecommerce giant. As part of the change, the current India leadership team of Saurabh Srivastava (categories), Harsh Goyal (everyday essentials), Amit Nanda (marketplace), and Aastha Jain (growth initiatives) will now report to Kumar, while Kishore Thota (emerging markets shopping experience) will report to Agarwal directly. Catch up quick: The senior leadership churn at Amazon India comes just ahead of the crucial ecommerce festive season, which is set to start from September 27, and will see the company facing bigger rival Walmart-owned Flipkart. Amazon is also gearing up to enter the quick commerce sector. The US etailer has set a target of the first quarter of 2025 to enter the quick commerce business even as it held deal talks with Swiggy, which runs the Instamart quick-commerce business. Nitish Mittersain, CEO, Nazara Technologies Listed gaming and media firm Nazara Technologies has approved a Rs 900-crore preferential equity issue from a group of investors, including SBI Mutual Fund, Junomoneta Finsol, Think Investments, Discovery Investments, CaratLane founder Mithun Sacheti, Jaipur Gems CEO Siddhartha Sacheti, among others. This marks the largest fundraise by the Mumbai-based firm. Capital utilisation: The funds will be used for strategic acquisitions, funding business expansion, and strengthening the company's ability to capitalise on new growth opportunities. Increased stake: Nazara Technologies has also acquired an additional 19.35% stake in Absolute Sports, the parent company of sports news website Sportskeeda, for Rs 145.5 crore, increasing its total ownership to 91%. Acquisition frenzy: Nazara has been active on the acquisition front in recent months. Recently, it acquired a 47.7% stake in Moonshine Technology, the parent company of online poker platform PokerBaazi, for Rs 832 crore via a secondary transaction. Other notable acquisitions of Nazara include events firm Comic Con India, marketing firm Publishme, Singapore-based events firm Branded and Turkish esports firm Ninja Global. It has also acquired UK-based gaming studio Fusebox Games and Kiddopia developer Paper Boat Apps. L to R: Puneet Gupta, Sucharita Mukherjee, Natasha Jethanandani and Vipul Sekhsaria, cofounders of Kaleidofin Financial services startup Kaleidofin raises $13.8 million: Financial services provider Kaleidofin has raised $13.8 million (Rs 115.5 crore) in an equity funding round led by Netherlands-based Rabo Partnerships, a subsidiary of the Rabobank Group focused on financial inclusion and rural development. Existing investors, including the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Oikocredit, Omidyar Network India and Flourish Ventures, also participated in the round. 360 One Asset leads $10 million funding round in DailyObjects: Direct-to-consumer design and lifestyle brand DailyObjects raised $10 million in a funding round led by 360 One Asset, formerly IIFL Asset Management. The round also saw participation from existing investor, Roots Ventures. The funds will be used for growing the distribution network, product innovation, increasing headcount and expanding manufacturing capacity. Endiya Partners leads AltiusHub's $2.25 million fundraise: Manufacturing supply chain visibility software AltiusHub has raised $2.25 million in a funding round led by early-stage venture capital firm Endiya Partners. The proceeds will be used to bolster the engineering team and add talent. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw The Union Cabinet has approved India's fourth lunar mission, Chandrayaan-4, to bring lunar samples to Earth and is scheduled for after three years, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday. Project details: The project is estimated to cost Rs 2,104 crore. The lunar spacecraft will comprise five modules arranged in two stacks. Stack one includes the ascender module for transporting lunar samples and the descender module for sample collection. Stack two consists of the propulsion, transfer and re-entry modules. Mission goal: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chairman S Somanath said, "Chandrayaan-4 mission is primarily targeted at going to the moon and coming back. The highlight of the mission will be coming back." Funding: The total funding for the Gaganyaan programme has been revised to Rs 20,193 crore, following an additional allocation of Rs 11,170 crore. The government has also approved the construction of the first unit of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, extending the scope of the Gaganyaan programme. This also includes eight human spaceflight missions, to launch the first BAS-1 unit by December 2028. Venus Orbit Mission: The Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) has also been approved for Rs 1,236 crore, out of which Rs 824 crore will be spent on the spacecraft. It is scheduled to be launched in March 2028. The mission aims to study Venus' surface and atmosphere. Rahul Sharma, cofounder, Micromax Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma has planned a multi-pronged telecom foray - through electronics design and manufacturing in a Chinese joint venture - after having begun as a local challenger in the handphone market that over time became an east Asian stronghold. AI hardware: Sharma also told us that Micromax is in talks with a leading Taiwanese memory chip maker to make a play in the AI hardware space through custom-made memory and storage solutions that is expected to bring costs down sharply. Manufacturing expansion: Sharma said Micromax's manufacturing arm, Bhagwati, has acquired Vivo's mobile phone factory in Greater Noida. It will produce originally designed mobile phones, IT hardware, and automotive components through a joint venture with one of the largest original design manufacturers (ODMs). The JV entails Bhagwati having majority ownership and being in charge of operations, while the ODM partner will lend its technology and designs, he added. Data centre: Sharma is also in talks with a leading Taiwanese memory chip maker to set up a R&D unit in India to design custom-made memory and storage solutions for AI data centers. This will be done under a new entity which will also assemble the memory and storage chips locally in India, he said. Diverse Voices, One Vision: AI at ET Soonicorns Summit 2024: At the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024, the spotlight is on India's AI Edge, a dedicated track bringing together a diverse and powerhouse line-up of AI experts from different fields. From Sangeeta Bavi (Microsoft India) with her deep insights into digital transformation, to Umakant Soni (AI Foundry & ARTPARK), a visionary behind AI solutions for the masses, these thought leaders will guide you through the vast potential of AI in reshaping industries. Join Disha Ravi, a climate justice advocate, as she navigates the role of AI in combating misinformation and disinformation, and Siddharth Bhardwaj (Beatoven.ai), whose expertise in AI-driven content will provide a fresh perspective on creativity in tech. This unique blend of perspectives makes this panel unmissable. Book your ticket to learn how these industry stalwarts are shaping AI for a better future! US tech conglomerate Cisco has laid off thousands of employees, after announcing a second major job cut earlier this year, as per a TechCrunch report. Tell me more: The decision comes as the company is grappling with declining demand and the need to reduce costs, particularly as it invests heavily in AI. In August, the company announced around 7% job cuts, or around 5,600 employees, after its February layoff affecting 4,000 employees. Restructuring cost: Cisco is anticipating significant costs associated with a restructuring plan. These costs are estimated to go up to $1 billion before taxes. A significant portion of these, between $700 million and $800 million, is expected to be recognised during the first quarter of the fiscal year. "Cisco is optimistic about rebounding demand for our networking equipment," CEO Chuck Robbins had said. Today's ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Riya Roy Chowdhury in Bengaluru and Megha Mishra in Mumbai.

Livspace's reverse flip; Byju's US lenders move SC

Home decor startup Livspace is preparing to move its domicile to India from Singapore. More on this and other updates in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch. Also in the letter: ■ Snap unveils new AR glasses ■ ETtech Done Deals ■ Infographic: AI looms over polls Ramakant Sharma, founder, Livspace Ikea-backed Livspace is set to become the latest startup to file for flipping its domicile to India from Singapore and has secured the board's in-principle approval for the same, founder Ramakant Sharma told us. Driving the news: The home decor startup plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) by the end of 2025 or early 2026, but the timeline is subject to change. "We definitely plan to go public in the next 18-24 months. There are very few consumer internet firms growing 35-40% annually while being profitable at that scale," Sharma, who is also the COO at Livspace, said, adding that the flipping process is critical to the company's IPO plans and the government has been helpful. Policy change: Livspace will be among the first companies to file for a domicile shift after the recent change in government policy removing the requirement for a National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approval, which is meant to speed up the process. The list of top-tier Indian startups looking to flip back from Singapore and the US has been growing. ET has been reporting about firms like Razorpay, Meesho, Pine Labs, Eruditus, Kreditbee, and Zepto looking to move holding companies here. Financials: Sharma said the TPG-backed startup is currently on a Rs 1,500-crore revenue run-rate based on August numbers for FY25. He added that Livespace will be Ebitda profitable in the current financial year after having strengthened its financials. The company is on the lookout for a brand acquisition in consumer appliances and home furnishing space to add to its existing business. Also Read | Startups looking to reverse-flip must pay tax: Piyush Goyal A legal battle is brewing between Glas Trust Co LLC, a trustee for lenders who have lent Byju's $1.2 billion, and the edtech giant's interim resolution professional (IRP), Pankaj Srivastava. Glas Trust has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the IRP's decision to remove it from the committee of creditors (CoC). It has called the move illegal and detrimental to the interests of lenders. Glas Trust's argument: Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing Glas Trust, argued before the Supreme Court that the US lender was unfairly disqualified and removed from the list of creditors by the IRP. Background: On September 3, Srivastava removed Glas Trust from the committee of creditors. The reason he gave was that Glas Trust did not represent the minimum 51% of lenders in the consortium that provided a $1.2 billion term loan to the company. Implications: The SC will continue hearing the case involving Glas Trust and Byju's next Wednesday. The SC earlier issued a notice to Byju's, its cofounder Byju Raveendran, and the BCCI in response to a plea filed by the US lender Glas Trust against the settlement. At the ET Soonicorns Summit 2024, the spotlight is on India's AI Edge, a dedicated track bringing together a diverse and powerhouse line-up of AI experts from different fields. From Sangeeta Bavi (Microsoft India) with her deep insights into digital transformation, to Umakant Soni (AI Foundry & ARTPARK), a visionary behind AI solutions for the masses, these thought leaders will guide you through the vast potential of AI in reshaping industries. Join Disha Ravi, a climate justice advocate, as she navigates the role of AI in combating misinformation and disinformation, and Siddharth Bhardwaj (Beatoven.ai), whose expertise in AI-driven content will provide a fresh perspective on creativity in tech. This unique blend of perspectives makes this panel unmissable. Book your ticket to learn how these industry stalwarts are shaping AI for a better future! Evan Spiegel, CEO, Snap Inc Snap Inc, the parent of messaging app Snapchat, has unveiled the fifth generation of its standalone augmented reality (AR) glasses, Spectacles, beating rival Meta to the launch. Details: The new product was unveiled by the company's founder and CEO Evan Spiegel at the Snap Partners Summit 2024 in Santa Monica, California. The device is powered by a dual system-on-a-chip architecture, and with two Qualcomm Snapdragon processors - the infrastructure splits workload across the two processors. Quote, unquote: "Our design enables more immersive experiences while reducing power consumption and works alongside titanium vapour chambers to improve heat dissipation. Spectacles deliver up to 45 minutes of continuous standalone runtime," the company said. Competition heats up: Snap's announcement comes days ahead of Meta potentially showcasing its AR glasses. Apple Inc's September 9 announcement of the "Visual Intelligence" feature also reportedly sets the stage for the company's AR glasses. Chipmaker Qualcomm is also developing something similar. Vidya Madhavan, cofounder, Schmooze Meme-based dating app Schmooze raises $4 million: Schmooze, a meme-based dating app, has raised $4 million in a funding round led by Elevation Capital. The round also saw participation from angel investors, including the founders of Ultrahuman, The Souled Store, and Paytm. Hyperlocal news startup Way2News raises $14 million: Hyperlocal news platform Way2News has raised $14 million in a new round of funding led by existing investor WestBridge Capital, with participation from venture capitalist Sashi Reddi, founder of US-based software testing company AppLabs. Enterprise-focused data infrastructure startup e6data raises $10 million: California-and Bengaluru-based data infrastructure startup e6data has raised $10 million in a new round of funding led by venture capital firm Accel, with participation from Beenext and others. 2024 is a pivotal year, with over 60 countries and more than 4 billion people set to choose their next leaders. Generative AI is playing a significant role in the electoral process. A report by Canadian think tank Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions has said that since genAI has reduced the cost of producing content, it poses a huge risk to democracy by propagating content that is deceptive and harasses political candidates. Lenovo to make AI servers in India as nation's tech push deepens: Chinese PC maker Lenovo Group has started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers from India to complete its full-stack portfolio to be now made in the country. Koo cofounder Mayank Bidawatka announces new venture Billion Hearts Software: Mayank Bidawatka, cofounder of homegrown microblogging platform Koo, which shut down in July, is now starting a new venture called Billion Hearts Software Technologies, he said in a LinkedIn post. ■ Apple's new passwords app may solve your login nightmares (Wired) ■ Microsoft wants more 'clarity' over AI chip curbs to Middle East (FT) ■ Cisco's second layoff of 2024 affects thousands of employees (TechCrunch)