Apigee Acquires InstaOps
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Apigee, an application program interface firm, has acquired Austin, Texas-based InstaOps, a mobile application analytics developer. Terms were not disclosed. InstaOps co-founders Prabhat Jha and Alan Ho are joining Apigee, which has opened an office in Austin. The company, which has offices in Bangalore and London, U.K., in July raised $20 million led by new investor Focus Ventures, with participation by current investors Bay Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, SAP Ventures and Third Point Ventures. “Every business — from technology start-ups to bricks-and-mortar giants — needs an API (application program interface) to compete in a digital economy that is increasingly dominated by apps as the primary vehicle for communicating, connecting and e-commerce," said Apigee CEO Chet Kapoor. Added Promod Haque, managing partner at Norwest Venture Partners, “Apps are becoming the foundation of mobile computing as well as enterprise IT, and Apigee enables businesses to embrace the new economy built on APIs and apps.” Kapoor is a former VP of content management and search products at IBM; and VP, integration group, at BEA Systems. Serial entrepreneur Raj Singh, founder and general partner at Redwood Ventures, is Apigee’s co-founder.
Genpact, IIMU Ink Agreement
Genpact, a New York-based business process management and technology services firm, has signed a seven-year agreement with the Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur, to create a “knowledge partnership.” IIMU and Genpact will jointly develop a center for asset-based lending and finance and an analytics laboratory to provide students chances to “solve real time problems, work on proprietary and industry leading software tools and technology as well as get hands on industry experience.” Genpact will offer summer internships to full-time students and set up a merit-based scholarship. Students who earn post-graduate diplomas in management will be eligible for full-time employment at Genpact in the banking, analytics and finance units. “It is paramount for the industry to work closely with educational institutions to integrate market evolution with business curriculum," said Mohit Thukral, senior VP and business leader, banking, financial services and insurance, Genpact. “This unique partnership aims to create leaders for financial sector, advance knowledge in the field and in the process make a difference to the sector,” added Janat Shah, director, IIMU.
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Trump Towers Pune Launch
India’s Panchshil Realty has launched Trump Towers Pune, a Trump-branded residential project at Kalyani Nagar, Pune. “We are thrilled to announce Trump Towers Pune,” said noted U.S. hotel and real estate developer Donald Trump. “It will be an amazing building in one of the hottest locations in India. The developers, Panchshil Realty, are a great team of professionals who plan to deliver a product unlike anything else in the region.” Located less than five kilometers from Pune International Airport, the hotel will be completed by 2015. “As a company, Panchshil has always believed in providing the best living spaces to customers by creating innovative projects,” said Panchshil Realty director Sagar Chordia. “We are proud to bring the Trump brand to India and are excited to introduce one of the most luxurious living experiences in Pune.” Trump Towers Pune is one of the tallest residential buildings in the city, spread over a 2.5-acre site with 44 condominiums across two towers of 22 stories each.
Benjamin West in New Delhi
Boulder, Colo.-based Benjamin West, a purchasing firm for hotel furniture, fixtures and equipment and operating supplies, has opened an office in New Delhi with an initial order from SAMHI, an India-based firm developing five hotels under the Marriot and Hyatt brands. The hotels under agreement include the 178-room Hyatt Place, Gurgaon, the 171-room Courtyard Marriott, Bengaluru, the 161-room Fairfield by Marriott, Bengaluru, the 153-room Fairfield by Marriott, Sriperumbudur, and the 148-room Fairfield by Marriott, Bengaluru. “Easily for the next decade, India has vast development potential that is just beginning to be realized," said Suprio Ghosh, managing director for Benjamin West India. “Benjamin West has a proven track record of working with all of the major brands, most of whom are active in India," he added.
TCS Buys Tata Sons’ Unit
Indian IT firm Tata Consultancy Services has acquired Computational Research Laboratories, a high performance computing solutions subsidiary of Tata Sons, for about $34 million in cash. “CRL’s core capabilities in designing and building high performance environments coupled with our strong focus on cloud-based, domain-rich industry platforms makes TCS very relevant to address the customers’ growing requirement of HPC applications," said TCS managing director and CEO N. Chandrasekaran.
India Pharma Sector Grows
A new study by marketing analytics company GlobalData predicts that India’s pharmaceutical market, which had a valuation of $15 billion in 2011, will skyrocket to $54 billion by 2020. “A substantial portion of India's pharmaceutical industry growth can be attributed to its export sector, which had a 2010 value of $8.8 billion — 40% of the country’s pharmaceutical industry turnover,” the research firm said.
Cambrios Closes $3.9M Round
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Cambrios Technologies, a developer of portable touch-screen technology, has closed a $3.9 million round from non-disclosed investors. Vinod Mahendroo, who previously held senior marketing and operations posts at Intel Corp. and Applied Materials, is the company’s COO. He has a B.S. in electrical engineering from IIT-Delhi and an MBA from Harvard University.
Audingo Nets $3 Million
Austin, Texas-based Audingo, which provides a mobile platform allowing users to receive personalized audio and video messages via calls, text or e-mail, has received $3 million in angel funding. Sai Ganesh is the company’s chief architect. He formerly was chief application architect and director of development of a deregulated energy market billing application.
Inerol Solutions’ New Site
U.S. firm Inerol Solutions, a hosted platform provider, has opened an India office and Web site (www.inerol.in).