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  • Meta lays off 11,000 employees which equals 13% of its workforce

    Meta lays off 11,000 employees which equals 13% of its workforce

    Mumbai: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has sacked about 11,000 employees, which is about 13 per cent of the company’s workforce.

    As per media reports, in an official statement, Zuckerberg said, “Today I’m sharing some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history. I’ve decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13 per cent and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go. We are also taking a number of additional steps to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending and extending our hiring freeze through Q1.”

    This is considered to be one of the largest layoffs in the US this year. As of September, Meta employed over 87,000 people across the globe.

    As stated in media reports, Zuckerberg informed employees on Tuesday about the job cuts. The social media company is looking at slashing costs after its feeble Q3 performance and due to the rise in the overall costs of the firm by a fifth in the previous quarter.

    He added, “I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here. I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted.”

    This mass firing comes some weeks after one of Meta’s largest shareholders, Altimeter Capital, wrote to Zuckerberg highlighting the need to cut costs at the company.

    In an open letter, Altimeter Capital founder & CEO Brad Gerstner mentioned, “Meta has drifted into the land of excess—too many people, too many ideas, too little urgency. This lack of focus and fitness is obscured when growth is easy, but deadly when growth slows and technology changes.”

    He had suggested that Meta would have to cut jobs and reduce capital expenditure to stay on track. This comes at a time when the social media firm is struggling with the current economic slowdown.

    The social media company, Twitter, under the new reign of Elon Musk, laid off a hefty number of employees across its offices. Biggies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have also announced a freeze in hiring.

  • GUEST ARTICLE: How virtual reality (VR) is changing the dynamics of the content industry

    GUEST ARTICLE: How virtual reality (VR) is changing the dynamics of the content industry

    Mumbai: By offering a vivid, immersive, and interactive experience, virtual reality is changing the very face of the content industry by allowing users to be at the centre of all the action.

    The concept of virtual reality (VR) has sprung into prominence in the last couple of years. Although the technology has existed since as early as the 1990s, its applications were quite limited and confined only to high-tech, expensive gaming consoles. However, in the early years of the 2010s, VR started getting attention from wider sections of the industry, and consequently, the technology started reaching the doorsteps of potential customers. Going forward, VR has evolved significantly and has now established itself as one of the fastest and most cutting-edge technologies of the 21st century.

    While VR has applications in a number of different business domains, it is proving particularly beneficial for the content industry. With the help of VR, creators can produce far more engaging and immersive content that can prove instrumental in enhancing user experiences. In fact, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that VR is significantly uplifting the creative abilities of creators and helping them to take their engagement with audiences to a different level.

    With the help of VR-enabled content, users can experience the world like never before. Using specific headsets and devices, VR allows audiences to be there right in the middle of the action and experience the surroundings in immersive 3D formats. Just like we interact with our friends and colleagues on social media platforms, VR-enabled content takes this experience to another level through its immersive 3D experience. This captivating experience elevates the users’ experience and helps the creators strengthen their relationship with the target audience. No wonder, big tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Facebook are betting big on the potential of VR and investing heavily to capture the imagination of the masses faster and better than others.

    Before specifically elaborating on the role of VR in content creation, it’s important to put things in perspective. Let’s take the example of news, one of the cornerstone pillars of the content industry. Not long ago, we used to rely on television, newspapers, and radio to get our daily dose of news. While in the morning, newspapers were the primary source of information, news channels and radios were used to dish out the hot and happenings of the world in the daytime. However, fast forward to today, and the scenario is completely different. Digital media is leading the revolution in the news industry, and more than channels or publication houses, social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Instagram have become our primary sources of news and information.

    In the backdrop of such altered realities, the content industry is now making a tectonic shift. To strengthen their user base and elevate the customer experience, many creators today offer their viewers the opportunity to experience the content in a completely immersive manner with the help of VR technology. Media outlets such as The Guardian, the BBC, and the New York Times are offering VR-enabled content that puts the viewers right in the “middle of the action”. It feels so real and engaging, as if you’re present at the venue and experiencing things as they are unfolding on a real-time basis. This unprecedented level of engagement that has never been completely unseen and unheard of before has become possible today only with the help of VR-enabled content.

    One of the most popular ways in which VR manifests its utility in content creation is through the 360-degree video formats. These formats, coupled with augmented reality (AR), capture scenes from every possible direction and help evoke a more passionate response from viewers. Especially in the background of falling sales in the print media, content creators are now banking on these surrounding videos to widen their appeal among new sets of customers while strengthening their current viewer base. Along with video formats, computer-generated graphics for a vivid interactive experience are also part of the VR technology that is used to offer a more immersive experience to users.

    Of course, there are many challenges that VR-enabled content has to overcome, with the high cost and gouging customers’ appetite for new-age technologies being the primary issues confronting the industry currently. To find satisfactory solutions, content creators, including the broadcasting studios mentioned above, are collaborating with leading VR players and other stakeholders in the industry, including policymakers, among others. The idea behind this coming together is to offer audiences a vivid perspective and a greater sense of understanding through VR-enabled content within the realistic boundaries of cost and resources.

    With the help of VR, content creators allow users to experience venues and situations first-hand. This is particularly beneficial for increasing engagement with viewers and strengthening the relationship between content creators and their target audiences. VR-enabled content with the help of certain gadgets and devices can create a sense of “belongingness” and take the engagement experience to a different level altogether. The use of immersive, 3D technologies is proving immensely beneficial for all stakeholders in the content industry, and if the costs of VR headsets rationalise further, the enormous potential of VR-enabled content can be realised in no time. In sum, while the segment of content creation has always remained dynamic and evolving, the latest change in the form of VR integration is changing the face of the industry like never before.

    The author of the article is Interality founder and CEO Farheen Ahmad.

  • Netflix signs exclusive deal with Microsoft to launch its ad-supported plan

    Netflix signs exclusive deal with Microsoft to launch its ad-supported plan

    Mumbai: Netflix on Wednesday announced a deal with Microsoft as its global advertising technology & sales partner. The streaming service revealed its plans to introduce a new ad-supported subscription plan for consumers, in addition to their ad-free basic, standard and premium plans in April.

    This means that all ads served on Netflix will be exclusively available through the Microsoft platform.

    “Microsoft has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs as we work together to build a new ad-supported offering. More importantly, Microsoft offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members,” said Netflix’s chief operating officer & chief product officer Greg Peters.

    Netflix’s long-term goal is to offer more choices to consumers and a premium better than linear TV brand experience for advertisers.

    “At launch, consumers will have more options to access Netflix’s award-winning content. Marketers looking to Microsoft for their advertising needs will have access to the Netflix audience and premium connected TV inventory. All ads served on Netflix will be exclusively available through the Microsoft platform. Today’s announcement also endorses Microsoft’s approach to privacy, which is built on protecting customers’ information,” said Microsoft president of web experiences Mikhail Parakhin.

  • Cisco elevates Joshua Mathew as head of India marketing

    Cisco elevates Joshua Mathew as head of India marketing

    Mumbai: Cisco has elevated Joshua Mathew as the head of India marketing. He has been associated with Cisco for more than four years.

    Over the years, he has been responsible for different positions at Cisco. He joined the company back in 2018 as a senior field marketing manager and was made the leader of APJC campaign marketing in April.

    Mathew has more than 20 years of experience. Over the years he has worked with companies like Microsoft, IBM India, TNT Express, Rediffusion DY&R, DIREM marketing etc.

    In his various positions with these companies, he has executed successful marketing campaigns with expertise in analysing, tracking, managing and supervising the marketing.

  • Major League Cricket raises $120 mn funding, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella among lead investors

    Major League Cricket raises $120 mn funding, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella among lead investors

    MUMBAI: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is the leading investor in the $44 million Series A and A1 fundraising round by New York-based Major League Cricket (MLC), a T20 competition featuring six franchises that have been sanctioned by USA Cricket. The league is targeted to launch next year.

    With an additional commitment of $76 million in further fundraising over the next 12 months in place, MLC plans to deploy more than $120 million to launch the country’s first-ever professional Twenty20 cricket league and herald a new era for the world’s second most popular sport in the US, according to a press statement issued by MLC on Wednesday.

    “The significant funding committed by an outstanding group of investors will allow Major League Cricket to build first-class facilities and accelerate the sport’s development across the country, bringing world-class professional cricket to the world’s largest sports market,” MLC co-founders Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan said in a joint statement.

    “This investor group comprises leading business executives and successful tech entrepreneurs who have led some of the world’s most prominent companies. They bring tremendous experience and expertise in support of MLC’s plans to launch a transformative Twenty20 league and establish America as one of the world’s leading homes for international cricket events,” it further added.

    The other investors for MLC include the likes of Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Madrona Venture Group managing director Soma Somasegar, founding partners at Milliways Ventures and Rocketship VC Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, chairman of Infinite Computer Solutions Zyter Sanjay Govi and Perot Jain managing partner Anurag Jain, among others.

  • Amrita Thapar named as CMO for Microsoft India

    Amrita Thapar named as CMO for Microsoft India

    MUMBAI: Microsoft Corporation (India) has named Amrita Thapar as the new chief marketing officer (CMO). Thapar’s LinkedIn profile confirms her taking over the new role for the tech giant in January.

    Thapar also headed India Communications at Amazon Web Services (AWS) before moving on to her new role.

    Erstwhile India’s chief marketing officer, Hitu Chawla has joined into a new role at Microsoft, sources told Indiantelevision.com, while declining to disclose any further details.

    Chawla has served 16 years at the American multinational technology corporation. Having started as a marketing & communications manager in 2006 and rose through the ranks to become a senior director (Partner Go-To-Market strategy) of the organisation in the US in 2017, before taking on the mantle of CMO at Microsoft India in May 2020.

    A marketing and communications professional with nearly 25 years of experience, Thapar has worked at companies spanning broadcast television, media strategy, and professional services both big tech giants in India and globally. She also has worked in television programming, corporate strategy and sales before pivoting to marketing and communications.

    Previously, Thapar served as vice president of marketing and communications at Genpact in a stint lasting over thirteen years. She has also worked in corporate strategy at The Times of India Group and served as a television producer at NDTV. She has reported and produced shows including ‘Night Out’, ‘Jeena isi ka naam hai’, ‘Moneywise’ and ‘IT: India Tomorrow’ at NDTV. She was also a member of the core response team for COVID-19 at Genpact in 2020 and AWS in 2021.

    Armed with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Lady Shri Ram College at Delhi, Thapar lists her areas of expertise as brand storytelling, content and digital operations, mergers & acquisitions (M&A), reputation management, virtual collaboration, thought leadership, to name a few, to deliver business growth objectives.

  • Taco Bell teams up with Microsoft to leverage gaming boom

    Taco Bell teams up with Microsoft to leverage gaming boom

    Mumbai: Leveraging the surge in popularity of video games, Taco Bell, a Mexican-inspired restaurant brand has partnered with Microsoft’s Xbox to offer consumers a chance to win “Age of Empire IV” PC game copies.

    The brand has promised to give about 200+ copies every week till the end of January, with a lifetime validity on purchase of the Ultimate Cheese Taco.

    “As the youth spends significant time perfecting and exploring the gaming spectrum, snacking becomes a strong companion that gamers enjoy during gaming sessions,” said the brand in a statement. “Customers who place an order at Taco Bell for ‘The Ultimate Cheese Taco’ or the meal for two at dine-In, take away or delivery are eligible to participate in the lucky draw.”

    All a customer needs to do is place the order and share a 10-digit valid phone number to mark their entry. Winners will be announced at the start of every week through brands digital media channels, Taco Bell App, and personalised SMS communication.

    Director of Burman Hospitality- Taco Bell’s exclusive franchise partner in India Gaurav Burma said, “As the youth increasingly leans towards gaming with excessive time spent indoors, the industry now witnesses a significant growth in the country. This expansion is the fuel for our collaboration with Microsoft’s Xbox to provide our consumers with a unique chance to win game copies of the iconic game Age of Empire IV. We believe this partnership is yet another innovative way to strike a chord with the youth and strengthen our position in their minds.”

  • Apple and Vivo pledge to aid India in Covid relief efforts

    Apple and Vivo pledge to aid India in Covid relief efforts

    NEW DELHI: As India is battling the deadly second wave of Covid2019, smartphone manufacturers Vivo India and Apple have pledged to aid the country in Covid relief efforts. Vivo India has announced that they will donate Rs 2 crore and also help to acquire oxygen concentrators. 

    Last year, Vivo India had donated masks, PPE kits, and 50,000 litres of sanitisers to India’s Covid efforts. The company also expressed its gratitude to frontline healthcare workers who are fighting to curb the spread of the Covid pandemic. The smartphone maker has also urged people to follow strict Covid restrictions to combat the challenge posed by the virus sweeping through the country.

    “In the fight against Covid2019, @Vivo_India stands united with the nation and pledges to donate Rs 2 crores to aid relief efforts and acquiring oxygen concentrators. Together, we can and will get through this,” said Vivo India senior executive Nipun Marya. 

    Apple has also extended support to India during this critical time. Apple CEO Tim Cook took to Twitter to announce that the company will provide help to its Apple family and everyone who is fighting the pandemic. 

    “Amid a devastating rise of Covid cases in India, our thoughts are with the medical workers, our Apple family, and everyone there who is fighting through this awful stage of the pandemic. Apple will be donating to support and relief efforts on the ground,” tweeted Cook. 

    Yesterday, Xiaomi stepped up to donate 1,000 oxygen concentrators worth Rs 3 crore to tackle the Covid crisis in India.

    Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has pledged that the company will “continue to use its voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts, and support the purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices.” 

    Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that the search engine giant will give Rs 135 crore for medical supplies, organisations supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information. 

    Over the last few weeks, India has been devastated by a record surge in Covid2019 cases. The country’s health infrastructure has been stretched to the breaking point, with shortages reported in medical oxygen cylinders, hospitals beds and critical drugs for Covid treatment. The number of reported cases declined slightly on Tuesday, to 323,144 from the peak of 352,991 the day before, bringing the total cases to nearly 17 million with 192,000 deaths.

  • Google, Microsoft pledge aid to India in fight against Covid2019

    Google, Microsoft pledge aid to India in fight against Covid2019

    NEW DELHI: Google CEO Sundar Pichai and his Microsoft counterpart Satya Nadella have extended their support to India amid a record surge in Covid2019 cases.

    Pichai tweeted, “Devastated to see the worsening Covid crisis in India. Google & Googlers are providing Rs 135 crore in funding to @GiveIndia, @UNICEF for medical supplies, orgs supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information.”

    Taking to Twitter, Nadella said, “I am heartbroken by the current situation in India. I’m grateful the US government is mobilising to help. Microsoft will continue to use its voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts, and support the purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices.”

    Amidst the devastating second wave of the Covid pandemic, India reported 3.52 lakh fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day spike registered since the onset of the pandemic.

    Pichai’s tweet also had a link to a blog where Google detailed ways to help with their efforts to fight the worsening situation.

    On the blog, Google India country head and vice president Sanjay Gupta detailed how the 135 crore grant from the search giant would work. “This includes two grants from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, totalling Rs 20 crore ($2.6 million). The first is to GiveIndia to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis to help with their everyday expenses. The second will go to UNICEF to help get urgent medical supplies, including oxygen and testing equipment, to where it’s needed most in India. It also includes donations from our ongoing employee giving campaign — so far more than 900 Googlers have contributed Rs 3.7 crore ($500,000) for organisations supporting high-risk and marginalised communities.”

    Moreover, Gupta also informed about increased Ad Grant support for public health information campaigns.

    “Since last year, we’ve helped MyGov and the World Health Organization reach audiences with messages focused on how to stay safe and facts about vaccines. We’re increasing our support today with an additional Rs 112 crore ($15 million) in Ad Grants to local health authorities and non-profits for more language coverage options,” he said.

    Google is already helping India with its core information products like Search and Maps, YouTube and Ads. Covid features on Search are available in India, in English and eight Indian languages, that continue to improve localisation and highlight authoritative information.

    This includes information on where to get testing and vaccines. Maps and Search surface thousands of vaccine sites. Google is also collaborating closely with the ministry of health & family welfare, and with organisations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to support vaccine awareness initiatives, wrote Gupta.

    On YouTube, Google is supporting the Indian government in their vaccine communication strategy. It ran a workshop for 200+ health officials to learn how they can use YouTube to reach audiences across Indian languages with vaccine information.

    Indian conglomerates have also pitched in the efforts to increase production and supply of medical oxygen in the country for the treatment of Covid-positive people.

    The Tata Group announced that it would be importing 24 cryogenic containers to transport liquid oxygen to help overcome its shortage. Reliance Group has also committed to increase supply of oxygen to states where Covid cases are rising; its philanthropic arm Reliance Foundation has scaled up its operations to provide 875 hospital beds to Coronavirus patients in Mumbai, which is one of the worst-affected urban centres in the country.

  • Silicon Valley techie Narayan Gangadhar joins Angel Broking as CEO

    Silicon Valley techie Narayan Gangadhar joins Angel Broking as CEO

    Mumbai: Fintech brokerage firm Angel Broking has roped in Silicon Valley veteran Narayan Gangadhar as its new CEO.

    Narayan has more than two decades of global experience leading technology businesses at top-tier Silicon Valley companies, such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Uber. He brings operating experience leading highly disruptive businesses by driving innovation in product, technology, capability building, and processes automation.

    Gangadhar was head of technology at Uber in San Francisco where he led the company’s core infrastructure, machine learning, data platform, and data science teams of over 650+ employees across the globe. During his tenure, Uber scaled to over 400+ cities globally completing over 14 million trips daily. At Google, he led large product and engineering teams to launch the first set of the search giant’s cloud infrastructure services, such as Compute Engine, Cloud SQL, Container Engines. He also led large teams responsible for developing the overall application infrastructure which power productivity apps like Google Drive, Google Docs, etc.

    Prior to Google, Gangadhar was the general manager and director at Amazon Web Services where he developed the Cloud Database business. He was most recently the founder & CEO of a robotics start-up in San Francisco that develops automated urban mobility solutions

    “The Indian market is at an interesting juncture as more people make technology a part of their daily lifestyles,” said Gangadhar. “As a CEO, my entire focus will be on unlocking superior efficiency for all stakeholders. The overarching objective is to make the product more accessible in the mass market.”

    Angel Broking CMD Dinesh Thakkar said, “Narayan is the right person to lead Angel Broking along its journey as a leader in this industry. He is a well-rounded engineer with great leadership qualities and will add significant value to our existing digital assets. Plus, he will help us realise our aspirations to become a preferred Fintech company in India. With Narayan leading the team, I am sure we will scale new heights in making international standard apps, offering world-class customer experience, and taking best-in-class AI/ML journeys for new and existing customers to understand investing and trading well.”