Tag: NVIDIA

Pi42 mines top Tech Talent as Satish Mishra Joins as CTO

MUMBAI: Pi42, India’s first Crypto-Inr perpetual futures exchange, has strengthened its leadership ranks by appointing Satish Mishra as its new chief technology officer (CTO). With an illustrious career spanning 18 years in cutting-edge technology, Mishra moves to Pi42 from Coindcx, where he served as vice president of engineering, playing a pivotal role in shaping India’s digital asset trading ecosystem.

“We are thrilled to welcome Satish Mishra at a time when the crypto industry is at a crucial inflection point. His expertise in building resilient, high-availability blockchain systems will elevate Pi42’s technological prowess, helping us set new standards in decentralised finance,” said Pi42 co-founder & CEO Avinash Shekhar.

Mishra expressed enthusiasm about his new role, stating, “India is rapidly emerging as a global leader in crypto adoption. Pi42 is uniquely positioned to capitalise on this shift, and I look forward to enhancing the platform with cutting-edge innovations that empower users and advance India’s role in the digital asset space.”

At Pi42, Mishra will spearhead scalable, high-performance trading systems, reinforcing the exchange’s mission to become a dominant force in India’s crypto landscape. His extensive experience at Uber, Druva, Symantec, and Nvidia equips him with the expertise to drive trust, security, and efficiency in decentralised finance.

March 12, 2025
ElevenLabs secures $180 million to make AI voices the gold standard of digital speech

MUMBAI: The future of digital interaction just got a whole lot smoother—and way less robotic! AI audio pioneer ElevenLabs has secured a blockbuster $180 million in Series C funding, proving once again that the future of communication isn’t just about typing but talking.

Co-founded in 2022 by childhood friends Piotr Dąbkowski and Mati Staniszewski, this Poland-born startup is on a mission to make AI voices sound less like a dull GPS and more like your most charismatic friend spilling the latest gossip. With its tech already powering AI assistants, media giants, and even voice actors, ElevenLabs is set to redefine how the world hears AI.

The funding round was co-led by a16z and Iconiq Growth, with fresh backing from NEA, World Innovation Lab (WiL), Valor, Endeavor Catalyst Fund, and Lunate. ElevenLabs’ existing heavy-hitter investors—Sequoia Capital, Salesforce Ventures, and Smash Capital—doubled down on their bets. Oh, and let’s not forget the industry giants joining the party, including Deutsche Telekom, LG Technology Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, and NTT DOCOMO Ventures. The latest round sends ElevenLabs’ valuation skyrocketing to $3.3 billion—triple what it was a year ago. Not bad for a company that launched just two years ago!

ElevenLabs has come a long way since debuting in January 2023. The company has spent the past two years refining its AI models, releasing game-changing products, and making digital speech more expressive and lifelike. And the results? Users have already generated over 1,000 years’ worth of AI-generated audio—a number that speaks volumes (literally).

Among its biggest innovations:

. Conversational AI: No more robotic call centres—this tool powers real-time, natural speech for AI agents.

. Voice design: Need a custom AI voice? Generate one from text descriptions.

. Sound effects model: AI-generated sound effects bring immersive audio storytelling to the next level.

. ElevenReader app: Turns ebooks, PDFs, and articles into listenable content on-the-go.

. Flash model: The speed demon of AI voice tech, boasting an ultra-fast 75ms latency.

. Voice library payouts: A marketplace where voice actors and users have already earned $2M for their AI-generated voices.

. Dubbing studio: Supports 32 languages, making global content sound local while preserving original voices.

Who’s using ElevenLabs? Pretty much everyone. From big-name tech firms to media giants, ElevenLabs is the industry’s AI voice darling. Its solutions are trusted by Nvidia, Perplexity, Synthesia, Espn, Aston Martin F1, The Washington Post, Chess.com, Time, and HarperCollins, to name a few. More impressively, over 60 per cent of Fortune 500 companies have employees using ElevenLabs tools. That’s some serious corporate clout.

ElevenLabs isn’t just about high-tech innovation; it’s also changing lives. Through its ‘Impact Program’, the company has partnered with 80+ organisations to bring AI voices to individuals with speech impairments. The result? Over 1,000 people with ALS and other conditions have regained their voices. And in the cultural space, ElevenLabs has helped bring AI-generated plays to life at Centre Pompidou in Paris.

The company is also going global—literally. ElevenLabs has expanded into Poland and India, setting up an R&D hub in Warsaw and investing in Indic language development. Expect an even stronger focus on regional accents, dialects, and personalised AI speech in the near future.

The company isn’t stopping at just making AI voices sound human—it wants to fundamentally redefine digital speech. CTO Dąbkowski, recently named a Time Magazine AI Top 100 Innovator, is leading research to push AI-generated audio into new frontiers. With its team growing from 30 to 120 employees and hubs in London, New York, and Warsaw, ElevenLabs is set to build the most comprehensive AI audio platform in the world.

The fresh $180 million investment will go towards:

. Expanding AI research into more expressive, nuanced, and controllable voice models.

. Developing new tools for businesses, creators, and developers.

. Strengthening AI safety, ensuring ethical and responsible deployment of AI-generated voices.

. Bringing AI voice tech to mobile, making audio AI more accessible.

. Supporting all languages, accents, and dialects—because AI should sound like everyone, not just an English-speaking robot.

“Speech is how we naturally communicate. This funding moves us closer to a world where digital interactions happen by voice—fluid, natural, and as effortless as a conversation,” said CEO Staniszewski.

“Voice is becoming a key part of how we interact with technology, and ElevenLabs is making it work at scale. We’re thrilled to continue to support their work in building the next generation of AI,” said a16z general partner & head of growth fund, David George.

“We believe ElevenLabs is redefining the way we connect with digital environments, placing voice at the very heart of these transformative interactions. We are thrilled to partner with such an innovative team and contribute to their extraordinary journey to help reshape the future of voice technology,” said Iconiq Growth general partner Seth Pierrepont.

As AI-generated speech continues to evolve, one thing is clear: the keyboard is no longer king—the mic is taking over. Thanks to ElevenLabs, digital conversations are stepping out of the uncanny valley and into a world where AI doesn’t just talk—it converses, charms, and maybe even tells better jokes than your best friend.

January 31, 2025
Brand Finance Global 500 Brands 2025 report: Apple maintains lead as tech giants dominate

MUMBAI: The band of top brands globally continues to be dominated by tech giants. At least that’s what Brand Finance’s top 500 Global Brands report for 2025 has revealed. Apple has retained its position as the world’s most valuable brand, with a brand value of $574.5 billion. The tech giant is followed closely by Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, which occupy the second, third, and fourth spots, respectively.

The top 10 most valuable brands are dominated by US-based companies, with Walmart, Facebook, and Nvidia also featuring in the list. However, Chinese brands such as TikTok/Douyin, State Grid Corp of China, and China Construction Bank are rapidly gaining ground, with significant increases in their brand values.

The report highlights the growing influence of Asian brands, with 17 Chinese companies featuring in the top 100, including newcomers such as Moutai and Wuliangye. Japanese brands such as Toyota, Honda, and Mitsubishi Group also make significant appearances in the list.

European brands, meanwhile, are struggling to keep pace, with only 12 companies from the continent featuring in the top 100. German brands such as Deutsche Telekom, Mercedes-Benz, and SAP are among the notable exceptions.

The report also notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on brand values, with many companies experiencing a decline in their brand worth. However, tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft, and Google have been largely immune to the pandemic’s effects, thanks to their diversified revenue streams and strong brand recognition.

The top 10 most valuable brands in the world are:

1. Apple (USA) – $574.5 billion
2. Microsoft (USA) – $461.1 billion
3. Google (USA) – $412.9 billion
4. Amazon (USA) – $356.4 billion
5. Walmart (USA) – $137.2 billion
6. Samsung Group (South Korea) – $110.6 billion
7. TikTok/Douyin (China) – $105.8 billion
8. Facebook (USA) – $91.5 billion
9. NVIDIA (USA) – $87.9 billion
10. State Grid Corporation of China (China) – $85.6 billion

Brand Finance also analysed what brands have grown the most since 2020, plus TikTok – although Brand Finance began valuing the brand in 2022, its 79 per cent growth in four years puts it in the same league as the other high-growth brands.

1. TikTok/Douyin: USD105.8 billion, up from USD59.0 billion (in 2022)
2. DraftKings: USD5.1 billion, up from USD18 million
3. FanDuel: USD7.0 billion, up from USD56 million
4. NVIDIA: USD87.9 billion, up from USD4.7 billion
5. AMD: USD11.0 billion, up from USD1.4 billion
6. Pinduoduo: USD13.0 billion, up from USD2.5 billion
7. BYD: USD14.0 billion, up from USD3.1 billion
8. Apple: USD574.5 billion, up from USD140.5 billion
9. TSMC: USD34.2 billion, up from US8.6 billion
10. Microsoft: USD461.1 billion, up from USD117.1 billion
11. Lilly: USD8.0 billion, up from USD2.1 billion

To take a dekko at the Top 100 Global Brands 2025 list click on the word free. Basic data for the top 100 is available for free.

January 22, 2025
Nvidia and Reliance partner to build AI infrastructure in India

Mumbai: In a groundbreaking move poised to reshape India’s tech landscape, Nvidia and Reliance have announced a strategic partnership to develop advanced AI infrastructure in the country. The collaboration was unveiled during the Nvidia AI Summit 2024, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani sharing the stage in a compelling fireside chat. This partnership aims to accelerate India’s progress in artificial intelligence, leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance various industries from healthcare to telecommunications.

Speaking at the summit, Huang highlighted India’s emerging leadership in AI. “India has the potential to become one of the world’s AI superpowers, and with partners like Reliance, we can make AI more accessible to businesses and developers across the country,” said Huang. The joint venture will see Reliance’s extensive digital infrastructure integrated with Nvidia’s AI computing capabilities, creating a robust ecosystem to support the development of AI-driven applications.

The initiative is set to play a key role in India’s AI mission, which seeks to harness the power of artificial intelligence to drive economic growth, job creation, and innovation. With Reliance providing its digital assets and extensive network through Jio Platforms, the partnership is expected to facilitate the rapid deployment of AI solutions across sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, and education.

Ambani emphasised the potential of this collaboration, stating, “AI will be a catalyst for economic and social transformation, and together with Nvidia, we are committed to democratising AI in India.” The partnership is also expected to contribute significantly to the development of India’s digital infrastructure, enhancing capabilities in data processing, AI modelling, and real-time analytics.

Nvidia’s decision to partner with Reliance aligns with India’s broader ambition to position itself as a global AI hub. This partnership represents a pivotal moment, as the country seeks to build foundational infrastructure to support AI innovation on a large scale. The collaboration will involve building AI supercomputers and software development platforms that will empower developers and startups to build AI-based applications.

October 28, 2024
OpenAI raises $6.6 billion in funds to accelerate AI drive

MUMBAI: This is one fund-raise which is likely to have an impact on several aspects of our lives, and even on the media and entertainment ecosystem globally. Despite a lot of naysayers about the spread and use of artificial intelligence, OpenAI – the company behind ChatGPT – announced on 2 October that it has completed a deal to raise over $6.6 billion in new funding, giving the company a valuation of $157 billion post money raise. The money will be used to accelerate its efforts to become the premier generative AI technology.

According to reports, among the companies which have committed to pump in the funds include: Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital, which led the round, Microsoft, Nvidia, SoftBank, Khosla Ventures, Altimeter Capital, Fidelity, Tiger Global and MGX.

The latest fund raise clearly shows that the technology industry is continuing with its belief in artificial intelligence, despite the fact that its research and development is burning billions of dollars and concerns have been raised about its safety and its effectiveness. In fact, investments in artificial intelligence in AI startups had slowed down, even though tech leaders like Google, Amazon and Microsoft were going ahead unperturbed.

Reports have stated that the Sam Altman led OpenAI is on course to generate $3.6 billion this year, though its losses might end up at a massive $5 billion. Revenues are expected to treble by end next year. It has about 1,700 employees, adding more than 1,000 in the past nine months. It has also gone through some turbulence on the leadership level with chief scientist & cofounder Ilya Sutskever, CTO Mira Murati, chief research officer Bob McGrew, vice-president research Barret Zoph leaving or announcing their departures.

OpenAI which began as a non-profit, but was later converted to a capped-profit company by Altman is said to be undergoing a restructure to become a for-profit company, a commitment which it has made to investors. Timelines are however not clear.

The company made a post on its website. Read on to know what it said:

We are making progress on our mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. Every week, over 250 million people around the world use ChatGPT to enhance their work, creativity, and learning. Across industries, businesses are improving productivity and operations, and developers are leveraging our platform to create a new generation of applications. And we’re only getting started.

We’ve raised $6.6B in new funding at a $157B post-money valuation to accelerate progress on our mission. The new funding will allow us to double down on our leadership in frontier AI research, increase compute capacity, and continue building tools that help people solve hard problems.

We aim to make advanced intelligence a widely accessible resource. We’re grateful to our investors for their trust in us, and we look forward to working with our partners, developers, and the broader community to shape an AI-powered ecosystem and future that benefits everyone. By collaborating with key partners, including the US and allied governments, we can unlock this technology’s full potential.

(Pix: courtesy open AI)

October 2, 2024
Kore.ai secures $150 million investment to drive AI-powered for global brands

Mumbai: Kore.ai, one of the leaders of enterprise conversational and generative AI platform technology announced $ 150 million in funding. The strategic growth investment was led by FTV Capital, a sector-focused growth equity investor with a successful more than 25 year track record investing across enterprise technology, along with participation from NVIDIA and existing investors such as Vistara Growth, Sweetwater PE, NextEquity, Nicola and Beedie. The new funding will accelerate Kore.ai’s market expansion and continuous innovation in AI to deliver tangible business and human value at scale.

Poised to seize market momentum around putting AI to work

The AI market has seen rapid growth and disruption driven by advancements in technology and shifting user expectations. Gartner estimates the conversational AI market to reach $ 377 billion in revenue by 2032, up from $66 billion in 2023. This reflects an exponential demand for enhanced customer experiences, streamlined business operations and innovative GenAI applications addressing specific business tasks.

Kore.ai provides an enterprise grade no-code platform to help companies of all sizes power business interactions with AI safely and responsibly while driving significant revenue and cost savings. From conversational virtual assistants to generative AI (Gen AI) applications, Kore.ai’s differentiated platform offers purpose-built workflows, highly configurable tools and a flexible, open architecture that are recognized as the leading approach by customers and analysts. This gives teams the ability to craft custom solutions or deploy pre-built, domain-trained virtual assistants across multiple industries such as banking, healthcare and retail and across a variety of functional roles such as IT, HR and others, to accelerate time-to-value.

Kore.ai founder and CEO Raj Koneru said, “We have been working with advanced AI for a decade now – our deep technology expertise and market understanding put us in a prime position to take advantage of the momentum and to do AI right in order to meet growing customer needs. Sitting above the infrastructure layer and LLM chaos, our open approach grants businesses freedom of choice with built-in guardrails for effective AI implementation. As we look to enhance our Gen AI-powered innovations and drive wider adoption across a variety of market segments, we are pleased to have the backing of FTV Capital, a firm that has significant experience in our space and invaluable connections across the enterprise to augment our exciting growth trajectory.”

FTV Capital partner Kapil Venkatachalam said, “We’ve spent significant time examining the landscape and evaluating advanced-AI platforms, and Kore.ai clearly stood out with its proven enterprise-grade platform capabilities, visionary leadership, strong R&D focus, established global customer base and clear path to profitability. We’re excited to partner with such an experienced and high-calibre team that consistently delivers world-class innovations, and we look forward to leveraging our deep knowledge and network to catalyse Kore.ai’s success.”

Market understanding and expertise across diverse use cases

Today, several Fortune 2000 companies across a variety of industry verticals leverage Kore.ai to enhance their customer, employee and contact centre agent experiences and drive measurable ROI. Customers include leading financial institutions, such as PNC Bank and large global banks, as well as major brands such as AT&T, Cigna, Coca-Cola, Airbus and Roche.

Over the past several years Kore.ai has consistently demonstrated triple-digit year-over-year growth in revenues. The company automates 450 million interactions a day for about 200 million consumers and two million enterprise users worldwide. In addition to domestic growth, Kore.ai’s growth has been fuelled by rising demand from emerging markets in Asia Pacific, Europe, LatAm and the Middle East. As a result, Kore.ai has added new global 2000 enterprise customers across major verticals.

January 30, 2024
Immerso AI and Yotta announce strategic partnership for generative media

Mumbai: Immerso AI, part of the Eros Investments Group, a leading Generative AI company with intellectual property and licensed data, has announced their strategic partnership with Yotta at Vibrant Gujarat 2024. With this partnership, Immerso AI will leverage the Omniverse platform by NVIDIA and high-fidelity custom development to develop high-quality movie characters from the Eros Now library and Conversational AI and as Avatars and Characters for Gaming and other use cases. This development will leverage the NVIDIA-powered reference architecture with NVIDIA Infiband Networking infrastructure as being deployed by Yotta in Q1 2024. The companies will leverage the recent partnership announcement between the Govt. of Gujarat, GIFT City and Immerso AI Parks to engage local talent for research, development, and deployment.

“India has the rich talent, vast scale, and deep pools of data to harness Generative AI to help solve the nation’s and the world’s greatest challenges,” said NVIDIA, South Asia MD Vishal Dhupar. “To help achieve this potential, NVIDIA is working with leading Indian businesses, as well as the larger ecosystem, to create cloud-based sovereign AI accelerated computing infrastructure.”

Government of Gujarat principal secretary, IAS department at science and technology Mona Khandhar mentioned “Gujarat will play a pivotal role in the future of Deep Technology for Digital India and we are very pleased with this collaboration from leading companies like NVIDIA, Yotta and Immerso AI in the Generative AI space developing in Gujarat.

Immerso AI CEO Ali Hussein mentioned “2024 is going to be the year of Generative Media, unlike other digital business infrastructure and performance will play a key role in generative Media and Gaming. Our core vision to develop India’s largest AIIP company is augmented with this partnership.”

Yotta co-founder & CEO Sunil Gupta shared “Yotta is dedicated to harnessing AI’s power to transform various industries throughout India. Our collaboration with NVIDIA signifies a notable advancement in this endeavor, reinforcing our dedication to offering top-tier services to both existing and future clients. Through Immerso AI’s capabilities, we believe we can significantly enhance the M&E sector, greatly boosting our abilities in movie production and gaming development.

As of May 2023, the Indian Generative AI landscape had more than 60 startups dedicated to offering solutions and services to their customers spread across various industry verticals. More than $590 million in funding has already flown into this space, with 2022 being the year with the heaviest funding inflow. 2024 will be a pivotal year in the development of the Generative AI eco-system in India and the native technology will cut across industry verticals.

January 17, 2024
Coronavirus fallout: MWC cancelled; HK FilMart postponed

MUMBAI: The Wuhan-originating coronavirus is leaving its impact on industry confabs in Europe and Asia.

The Mobile World Congress which was scheduled to be held from 24-27 February in Barcelona was cancelled yesterday, following the pullout by a large number of partner companies, with concerns over the spread of the viral menace. LG, Ericsson, Nvidia, Intel, Vivo, Nokia, Amazon, Sony are some of the major players who decided to give it a skip.

Chinese companies are some of the major participants in the Mobile World Congress and with many embassies in China refusing to issue visas to travellers, many of them would not have been in a postion to attend.

Keeping all this in mind, the GSMA – which organises the congress – decided to cancel it for the year.

Then the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) announced on 13 February that it would push forward the dates for its Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FilMart) 2020 from 25-28 March to 27-29 August 2020.

“The safety and well-being of our exhibitors and participants has always been our priority,” said the HKTDC in a note sent out to participants. “The decision is made in response to the preventive measures taken by the Hong Kong SAR government and health authorities worldwide to contain the novel coronavirus epidemic. Your admission badge record will still be valid for the postponed FilMart 2020. Details will be announced later.”

February 14, 2020
HP strengthens Z by HP portfolio of mobile workstations for Creative Professionals in India

New Delhi: HP Inc. India today introduced a series of new, next generation Z by HP mobile workstations designed for creative and technical professionals, executives and students who demand high-performance computing and premium experiences. Z by HP mobile workstations come with unmatched productivity and versatility, precision inking experiences, the brightest displays, tool-less access and refined design aesthetics.

This new lineup features cutting-edge design, innovative collaboration tools and advanced security features to transform the creative process. Z by HP devices are built on precision-crafted machined aluminum for enhanced structural integrity, durability and weight-savings, and streamlined narrow border displays enabling more screen space in a smaller chassis.

Vickram Bedi, Senior Director, Personal Systems, HP Inc. India said, “The modern design professionals require devices that don’t just enable the creative process but elevate it. Creative and technical professionals need accelerated performance that can improve workflows and robust security features that provide constant protection and resiliency. From the most powerful convertible PC to the most powerful and secure mobile workstations, Z by HP are the ideal computing devices for these consumers.”

The Z by HP workstations are designed for artists and creative professionals who value the freedom to express their craft and creativity. HP’s #IAmAChangemaker campaign powered by Z by HP, aims at inspiring the creative minds to expand their horizons and unlock their creativity. With this new campaign, HP invites changemakers from across India to come together and become a part of a larger community that is bound with its shared love and passion for art and creativity. Details of the #IAmAChangemaker campaign available on: www.zchangemaker.com

Ms. Neelima Burra, Country Marketing Director, HP India said, “Today’s generation aspires for significance, have a different perspective and challenge the stereotypes. They think freely, follow their passion and create what their heart desires. With Z by HP, we are enabling these artists to take the next leap in creativity and become part of the #IAmAChangemaker campaign. The campaign will inspire individuals to fuel their creative ambitions and also offer an opportunity to be mentored by the best minds in the industry.”

The new Z by HP portfolio in India includes:

The HP ZBook 14U G6 is a Thin-and-Light Mobile Workstation Laptop perfect for next generation of power users who want true mobility and use professional ISV certified applications. The ZBook 14u is the world’s first 100% AdobeRGB 14” mobile workstation laptop with a 600 nit panel. These features combined with the ambient brightness sensor that automatically changes based on environment ensure consistent color accuracy and brightness. The new G6 Workstation comes with 4GB dedicated graphics that enables manipulation of 3D CAD models or rendering of videos for better performance. The new HP Sure View Gen3 privacy screen is brighter and optimized for better battery life.

The HP ZBook 15U G6 is a Thin-and-Light Mobile Workstation (18.6mm and 3.89lbs) that can cater to the next generation power users who want high performance without the weight. This mobile workstation, delivers power, security, and durability in an ultra slim design. Moreover, with 15 inches (diagonal) of screen size, users can work in multiple tabs for maximized productivity. It also offers full-size numeric keypad, which can get the data-driven tasks done in a short span of time. The new G6 Workstation comes with 4GB dedicated graphics that enables manipulation of 3D CAD models or rendering of videos for better performance. The new HP Sure View Gen3 privacy screen is brighter and optimized for better battery life.

The HP ZBook Studio X360 is a powerful Convertible PC, meant for creative professionals who want the latest convertible design but also need the pro-grade performance. It provides ultra-fast performance and renders photorealistic images with the latest Intel® Core™ i9 processors and certified NVIDIA® Quadro® P2000 graphics. It is a device that provides the comfort of a laptop, the convenience of a tablet, and the luxury of additional modes.

The HP ZBook 15 G6 is a Mobile Workstation ideal for product developers and engineers who do heavy design, engineering and simulation workflows on location. It provides blazing-fast performance with the heaviest multi-app and VR workloads with next gen, VR-ready NVIDIA® Quadro® graphics. HP Sure View privacy screen stops visual hacking, and RAID 1 keeps a backup copy of all of user files.

The HP ZBook 17 G6 is a powerful mobile workstation, built for video editors and VR developers who need desktop performance on-set and when traveling. It enables a studio quality experience for the users on the go with the 17" diagonal HP DreamColor anti-glare display. Users can blitz render times and speed through multi-app workflows with next gen NVIDIA® Quadro® graphics, 128 GB of memory and multiple cores. The distinct thermal design keeps the machine cool and quiet

The standard features in the new Z by HP workstations include long battery life with HP Fast Charge, HP Client Security Manager, Bang & Olufsen audio more.

Pricing and Availability

HP ZBook 14U and HP ZBook 15U will be available from a starting price of INR 98,900and INR 96,990 respectively
HP ZBook Studio X360 will be available from a starting price of INR 159,900
HP ZBook 15 G6 and HP ZBook 17 G6 will be available from a starting price of INR INR 121,900 and INR 167,900 respectively

July 25, 2019
eSports viewers to cross 800 mn globally by ’22; India’s share minor

MUMBAI: In a new research, the UK-based Juniper Research has forecasted that unique viewers of eSports (competitive playing of video games) and Let’s Plays content (tutorials and talk-throughs of game content) will reach 858 million by 2022, up from 630 million this year with the Indian sub-continent too being a minority contributor.

The largest driver and most significant revenue source of the eSports industry has been the use of advertising and sponsorship deals.

Juniper said that advertising spend will dominate in terms of revenues and spend (accounting for 50 per cent in 2022), with this currently the preferred monetisation strategy. As more non-endemic advertisers come on board, this will only strengthen with a greater number of brands seeking to take advantage of a rapidly growing audience, the report explained.

The unique viewers forcast has been split by eight key regions, which include North America, Latin America, West Europe, Central and East Europe, Far East and China, the Indian sub-continent, Rest of Asia Pacific and Africa & Middle east. The region which contributes the biggest is Far East and China.

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.

The report highlighted that instead of having sponsorships from more traditional players in the market such as NVIDIA, the past year has seen increased prevalence of non-endemic advertisers, including brands such as Lynx, Gazprom, Visa, Xfinity, T-Mobile, Taco Bell and Mountain Dew. Juniper believed that this has grown purely due to the audience size and scale seen at major tournaments.

“While some brands show links to traditional gaming culture, i.e food and drink brands, others are more commonly associated with traditional sports sponsorship, ie Gazprom, and their branching into eSports shows belief that this will also become a major sporting industry,” the report stated, adding, “The issue is that eSports has been a volatile industry for a number of years, having previously had periods of growth and interest. In the mid 2000s, for example, where hype spiked, before furore around the market died down, only to be rejuvenated from 2010 onwards.”

Meanwhile, eSports arrived in the Indian sub-continent later than other western countries and also regions in Asia like China. However, it has been announced as a medal event in 2022 Asian Games, which is a testimony to its rapid growth in this part of the world.

Indiantelevision.com’s research shows that U Cypher promoted the first multi-gaming platform on TV for eSports competitions in India. It comes under U Sport, which is founded by media tycoon-turned-angel-investor Ronnie Screwvala and his partner Supratik Sen.

U Cypher’s ambition is to present a platform to talented gamers that helps them achieve their maximum potential as well as shape their careers in e-Sports leagues.

When Indiantelevision.com spoke to eSports experts in India, one of them said, “The combined eSports and gaming market is estimated to be Rs 3,900 crore with more than 2,000 teams consistently participating in tournaments across India and abroad with over 500 million players worldwide. The industry has a number of major tournaments throughout the year with viewership in the tens of millions.”

June 7, 2018