Tokyo-Headquartered TechnoPro Group Acquires Robosoft for $108 Million

India-headquartered digital transformation pioneer Robosoft has been acquired by Japan’s TechnoPro Group for a reported $108 million. Headquartered in Tokyo, TechPro specializes in IT, engineering, and R&D.

“Robosoft has had a phenomenal journey over the last two decades and has grown by leaps and bounds during this period. The partnership with Ascent Capital and Kalaari Capital heralded a strong growth era for us and I am very happy that we are handing over the reins of the Company to a global player like TechnoPro,” said Rohith Bhat, Founder of Robosoft, in a press release.

TechnoPro Group is one of Japan’s largest technology solutions group with more than 20,000 engineers and researchers in its payroll. The company provides support for technical development and R&D to 2,000 companies including major corporations, universities, and research organizations.

“We look forward to a close collaboration with Robosoft in the company’s next phase of growth and see tremendous synergies between TechnoPro and Robosoft,” said Takeshi Yagi, President, Representative Director and CEO, TechnoPro.

Founded in 1996, Robosoft has worked with the largest firms of the world. Its first client was famously Apple. Today, Robosoft counts media network Viacom and McDonald’s India as its clients.

This partnership with TechnoPro will provide Robosoft with new opportunities to grow in Japan. It will also help it expand in its core markets of US, Europe and India.

 

Packaging Solutions Major Berry Global Announces Healthcare Investments in India

The U.S. Packaging and Protective Solutions major Berry Global has announced that it will be making big healthcare investments in India. Through this investment, the Fortune 500 Company will be establishing a second manufacturing facility and global center of excellence in India.

This planned development through fresh investment is going to happen in Bangalore, India close to its first site. The first facility opened in 2009.

The new facility will help Berry Global to extend its R&D expertise and scale up production in several key healthcare sectors, including ophthalmic, nasal pumps, inhalation, and injectable administrations. The facility will also enable the company to enhance its supply in India and throughout South Asia.

“Investing in our global healthcare business in Bangalore is a significant step in supporting our pharmaceutical, over-the-counter, and medical device customers aligned to forecasted market needs,” remarked Tom Salmon, Berry Global's Chairman and CEO. "During the pandemic, we've learned that strategically placed facilities across the world provide efficient localized support for customers of any size. We believe this investment significantly benefits the India and South Asia patient populations."

The work on construction of the new facility is set to begin later this year and expected to be completed in 2023.

 

Ronnie Screwvala-led upGrad Achieves Unicorn Status

Yet another Indian education tech startup has achieved a unicorn status. This time it is the Ronnie Screwvala-led upGrad, which offers higher education and upskilling courses in data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, blockchain, finance, programming and law in collaboration with universities such as Michigan State University, the IIT Madras and IIT Delhi, and Swiss School of Business Management, Geneva.

The six-year old startup has achieved the unicorn status after raising $185 million in its latest funding round, which was led by Singapore’s Temasek. Among the participants in the round were World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and IIFL.

“We are pleased with the investor interest ever since we opened up for fundraise and had our maiden raise from Temasek, followed by IFC and IIFL in the last 60 days,” said Ronnie Screwvala, co-founder and chairperson of upGrad, in a statement.

Prior to the latest funding round, upGrad was valued at $600 million. Now, its valuations stands at $1.2 billion. Screwvala has said that upGrad will use the funding to explore merger and acquisition opportunities.

There have been many edtech startups based out of India that have seen fantastic growth in the recent quarters, including the famed Byju’s and Unacademy. Now, upGrad with its latest round joins the ranks of such soaring edtech companies from India.

 

HGS to Divest its Healthcare Services Biz

Hinduja Global Solutions Limited has announced that it will be divesting its healthcare services business. The healthcare services biz will be bought by Baring Private Equity Asia for a reported $1,200 million. Baring Private Equity Asia is one of the largest private alternative investment firms in Asia.

The HSG healthcare services delivers solutions that support payer, providers, laboratories, durable medical equipment firms and pharmaceutical companies. These services cover the entire lifecycle of a payer organization, including member acquisition, enrollment & billing, benefit set-up, claims adjudication, provider credentialing & data management, payment integrity & financial recovery, grievance & appeals, provider & member engagement, prior authorizations, case management and population health management, and the various functions in the revenue cycle of a provider organization.

“Our Healthcare Services business has steadily grown over the years. We reached a stage where we could recommend to promoter to divest stake in this business to unlock value for all HGS stakeholders. We will use the generated funds to strategically invest for the future growth of the organization. We see a long-term value and benefit to HGS in doing so. HGS will continue to focus on aggressively expanding its CES and Digital businesses in line with our goal to transform itself into a "digitally-enabled customer experience (CX) company", said Partha DeSarkar, Global CEO, HGS.

With over 20,000 employees on its payroll across India, Philippines, the US, and Jamaica, the company recorded $400 million in revenues in FY2021. In a statement, HGS said that post the completion of transaction, HGS will transfer all client contracts, employees, and assets, including infrastructure related to the Healthcare Services business.

 

 

Biden Aims to Boost Electric Car Sales, Fuel Efficiency in the US

President of the United States of America Joe Biden has recently signed an executive order calling for new automobile emissions standards and setting a new goal of having new vehicles sold in the US be electric by 2030.  In a recent press meet, The White House said that the target would include battery-electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and fuel cell electric vehicles.

Many leading automotive manufacturers have made voluntary commitments in line with the administration's goals. Most renowned automakers like Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis have said in a joint statement that even they aspire to have electric vehicles make up 40 to 50 percent of new sales by 2030. Toyota has also stated that it will do its part by increasing the manufacturing of electric vehicles.

Automakers said that such a shift would require more than just them making different types of cars. They stated that the government would have to support incentives for both car manufacturers and buyers to choose electric vehicles, money to expand electric vehicle supply chains, and enough funding to build sufficient charging points across the country.

 

Huawei Unveils Its Plan to Commit $100Mfor Startups in APAC

At the inaugural HUAWEI CLOUD Spark Founders Summit that took place simultaneously in Singapore and Hong Kong, Huawei has announced that it will be investing $100 million on the startup ecosystem in the Asia Pacific region for the next three years. This investment will go towards its Spark Program in the Asia Pacific region, which aims to build a sustainable startup ecosystem.

Huawei also announced that this program will focus on developing startup ecosystem in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The company aims to recruit a total of 1,000 startups into the Spark accelerator program and is looking to shape 100 of them into scaleups.

“Startups and SMEs are the innovators, disruptors, and pioneers of our times. 34 years ago, Huawei was a startup with just 5,000 dollars of registered capital. Recently, we have been thinking: How can we leverage our experience and resources to help more startups address their challenges? Doing so would allow them to seize the opportunities posed by digital transformation, achieve business success, and develop more innovative products and solutions for the world,” said Huawei Senior Vice President and Board Member Catherine Chen.

Last year, Huawei launched the Spark Program in Asia Pacific to work with local governments, well-known VC firms, leading incubators, and top universities to build support platforms for startups. Currently, 40 startups are participating in this program.

 

Neobanking Startup Jupiter Raises $44M in Series B

Neobanking startup Jupiter is now valued at $300 million after it raised $44 million in its Series B round. The round was led by Brazil-based Nubank, Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, and Global Founders Capital. Mirae Assets Venture also joined the round. Existing investors Tanglin VC, 314 Capital, Beenext, Greyhound, and Addition Ventures participated in the round.

Jupiter was founded in 2019 and was established as a neobank for the consumers in India. Earlier, Jupiter had raised $25 million in seed funding and Series A rounds. With the latest funding round, Jupiter has more than doubled its valuation.

The latest funding will be used by the 100% digital bank to recruit talent and scale up its business.

“Nubank and Jupiter share the mission of making banking the best experience possible for our customers, putting an end to all the bureaucracy and the pain in the current system. The Indian and Brazilian markets have many similarities and through this investment, we aim to support Jupiter in their growth path. We see a lot of potential and are excited about joining them so early on their journey,” said David Vélez, founder and chief executive of Nubank, in a statement.

Jupiter was founded by the industry-veteran Jitendra Gupta who wants to solve India’s inflexible traditional banking system.