In Brief: Zomato may raise $100 mn from Temasek; RIL to buy the retail business of Future Group

Singapore's state investment arm Temasek Holdings may pump in around $100 million in online food ordering platform Zomato, The Economic Times reported. This move comes at a time when a previously announced investment by Alibaba’s fintech arm Ant Financial has been delayed amid new foreign direct investment (FDI) rules, the report said. The discussion between the two companies is still in progress, it added.

Read: Chinese FDI restrictions may stall proposed Ant Financial investment in Zomato

Vedantu in talks with Coatue to bag around $100 mn

Online live tutoring platform Vedantu is in talks with investment advisory firm Coatue Management to close a $100 million financing round, according to a report by the Economic Times. The New York-headquartered investor has backed cab aggregator Uber, food delivery service Meituan Dianping and logistics company DoorDash among others.

Read: Vedantu invests $2 mn in doubt solving startup Instasolv for full rights to acquisition

RIL nears the  acquisition of the retail business of Future Group

Reliance Industries (RIL) has almost clinched a deal to buy the retail businesses of Kishore Biyani’s Future Group, The Economic Times reported. With the acquisition, RIL is expected to to strengthen its presence across categories such as groceries, fashion and general merchandise, the report said.

Esper offers free access to its Android DevOps tools

Esper, a platform built for Android enterprise device management and DevOps, has announced that it will offer free access to its Android DevOps tools for innovators and entrepreneurs worldwide, a statement said. The Madrona Ventures-backed firm’s core product is advanced device and app management tools for single-purpose Android devices of any form factor, including kiosks, mobile point-of-sale (mPoS), and non-traditional IoT hardware. Additionally, Esper is free for fleets of 100 or fewer devices, it added.

French software firm Dassault Systèmes inks deal with GTTC

Vélizy-Villacoublay, France-based software firm Dassault Systèmes has joined hands with Government Tool Room & Training Centre (GTTC), to set up four 3DEXPERIENCE innovation centres in the districts of Raichur, Bellary, Bidar and Yadgir in Karnataka. This move is aimed at reducing the skill gap between the students and the industry to facilitate employment opportunities in the state, a statement said. These centres will offer students training on Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform and will be provided industry-grade skill enhancement to enable better productivity and job prospects. 

F5 appoints Dhananjay Ganjoo as MD for India and SAARC

Technology firm F5  has appointed Dhananjay Ganjoo as its managing director (MD) for India and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). In his new role, Ganjoo is expected to drive F5’s growth strategy the region, establishing the company as a leader in multi-cloud application services, according to a company statement. He succeeds Edgar Dias who was recently appointed to regional vice president of channel and partnerships for Asia Pacific. Ganjoo joined F5 in 2018 and was responsible for building the company’s global system integrators (GSI) business. Prior to F5, he held leadership roles across leading enterprise and telecom organisations including, Nortel, Juniper Networks and Microsoft. 

Microsoft, Accenture partner to host third edition of Accenture Ventures Challenge

Technology behemoth Microsoft’s 100X100X100 programme has collaborated with technology consultancy firm Accenture to host the third edition of the Accenture Ventures Challenge for startups in India. The event will be held on August 11 in a virtual format and will recognise startups in India across four categories, which include supply chain resilience, channel shift to digital commerce, systems resilience and responsible technology. The winners from each category will be given an opportunity to join the Accenture Ventures Open Innovation partner program and co-create solutions for Accenture clients around the world.

UC News might cease India operations

UC News, a news outlet of UC Web, may shut down its India operations, Entrackr reported. The reason behind the plans to shut down is the lack of traction since its launch four years ago. 

Read: TikTok, WeChat, Club Factory among 59 Chinese apps banned by Indian govt

Bold Care raises fresh fund

Digital men's health and wellness platform Bold Care has raised an undisclosed amount in a bridge round, dubbed pre-seed, from an array of strategic investors including, Rajesh Ranavat, executive director at Fung Strategic Investments; Abhishek Shah, founder of digital marketing agency, CommerceX; Sheetal Bahl, Manu Rikhye, Ashish Taneja, and Kabir Kochhar, formerly founding partner at The Glitch, according to a statement. Bold Care, established in 2019 by Rajat Jadhav, Rahul Krishnan, Harsh Singh, and Mohit Yadav, is a digital platform that offers free sexologist consultations and discreet delivery of holistic sexual wellness kits.