In Brief: C-Dot to develop video conferencing platform; VC firm Iron Pillar secures funds

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) is building a video conferencing platform for the government and the courts, The Economic Times reported. The platform, which is almost ready for deployment, will also roll out a public version. C-DoT's videoconferencing platform competes with Zoom and Microsoft Teams among others.

VC firm Iron Pillar secures $45 mn in top-up for Fund I

Mumbai headquartered venture capital firm Iron Pillar has raised $45 million in top-up for its Fund I of $90 million, Inc42 reported. The investment came from three undisclosed global institutions, including a global alternatives investor and one European family office. The firm will use the funds back some of its portfolio companies. Launched in 2017 by former Morgan Creek director Anand Prasanna, former Citigroup India investment banking head Sameer Nath and former DFJ India head Mohanjit Jolly, Iron Piller has so far invested in eight firms. 

Chemist outlets urge govt to de-link illegal foreign e-pharmacies

Over 8 lakh chemist outlets across India have urged the government to remove foreign-funded e-pharmacies from the Aarogya Setu Mitr portal, The Economic Times reported. The chemist outlets claim that these pharmacies are operating illegally to advance their business interests in India. The Aarogya Setu Mitr portal lists several e-pharmacies and telemedicine services.

IT training company SpringPeople partners with Google Cloud 

Bengaluru headquartered information technology training company SpringPeople has partnered with Google Cloud to help people upskill. Under the deal, SpringPeople will offer Google Cloud training in key areas, such as infrastructure, Google Kubernetes Engine, Google Compute Engine, and Cloud Architect training, among others.

Micro Focus rolls out new LoadRunner Family

Newbury, UK-based software company Micro Focus has unveiled new LoadRunner family, which is a unified set of enterprise-grade performance engineering solutions spanning developers to performance engineers. The solutions support extensive integrations with DevOps and application performance monitoring (APM) tools, according to a statement. With the new software, organisations can design better performing software from scratch as they quickly root out issues and deploy high-performing applications, it added.

Bengaluru based Housejoy appoints Gaurav Joshi as senior vice president for growth and strategy

Home construction and management company Housejoy has appointed Gaurav Joshi as its senior vice president of growth and strategy. In his new role, Joshi will lead the business excellence and growth-related initiatives at Housejoy. With over 15 years of industry and consulting experience, Joshi has worked with firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers, HP India, and IBM India, prior to joining Housejoy. He holds a  degree in mechanical engineering from IIT- Bombay and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.

Social Alpha, Aster DM Healthcare collaboration 

Dubai headquartered healthcare company Aster DM Healthcare has partnered with Social Alpha, an initiative supported by the Tata Trusts and Government of India, to support entrepreneurs and innovators working in the areas of digital health and medical technologies, according to a statement. Additionally, the companies rolled out Aster – Social Alpha Co-Innovation and Clinical Practice Integration Initiative.  The partnership will support selected startups to take their solutions and technologies to market via Aster and Social Alpha’s platform and ecosystem. It will offer access to a shared pool of mentor networks and market access opportunities, it added.

 Affle appoints Sujoy Golan as chief of marketing and omnichannel platforms

Bengaluru headquartered technology firm Affle India has appointed Sujoy Golan as its chief of marketing and omnichannel platforms. In his new role, Golan will spearhead the marketing function and help drive the business growth for Affle’s omnichannel platforms on software-as-a-service business models, according to a statement. He has over 14 years’ of experience in driving and scaling high-growth businesses across fintech, SaaS, AdTech, and e-commerce industries. Prior to Affle, Golan served in leadership roles at Lendingkart, Unbxd, InMobi, Flipkart and Directi.  He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) from IIM-Kozhikode.