In Brief: OutSystems appoints India VP; Shiprocket sees surge in seller base

Global AI-powered application development company OutSystems on Monday said it has appointed Subrato Bandhu as the regional vice president for its India business. Bandhu will be responsible for expanding the Boston-based company’s footprint in India by strategising business, building teams and increasing clientele, a statement said. With over 20 years of experience in B2B enterprise software development, he was instrumental in setting up business for B2B software firms such as Sprinklr, AppDynamics and BMC Software.

Seller base on logistics platform Shiprocket crosses 85,000  

The number of sellers on BigFoot Retail Solutions-run online logistics services platform Shiprocket have increased from 11,521 in September 2019 to 85,385 in September 2020. The company, in a statement, attributed the increase to small sellers moving online due to the impact of Covid-19. The Delhi-based startup has over 40% and 59% of its sellers in tier-1 and tier-2 cities, respectively. Shiprocket witnessed a 511% growth in the first-time sellers on its platform between March and September 2020 and a 182% increase in the number of active sellers for the same period.  

NPCI looks to drive digital payments with RuPay discounts programme  

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Monday launched a programme, dubbed RuPay Festive Carnival, to offer shoppers benefits and discounts across several brands. RuPay card holders, a statement said, will have access to over 600 offers in categories such as health, education, ecommerce, dining and food delivery, and pharmacy. In a bid to boost contactless payments, the programme will offer discounts on platforms including Amazon, Swiggy, Samsung, P&G, Zee5, Tata Sky, McDonald’s, Dominos, Dineout and Apollo Pharmacy, it said.

Starlink project fetches $100 bn valuation for SpaceX

US investment bank Morgan Stanley has reportedly valued Elon Musk-run SpaceX at $100 billion, a significant increase from its valuation of $52 billion just three months ago. The increase was driven by the company’s Starlink project, Forbes reported. In the best case scenario, the bank said the firm’s valuation could touch $200 billion, of which $81 billion would be Starlink’s alone. The news comes a week after the company launched 60 low Earth-orbit satellites, taking the total to 788. SpaceX looks to create a constellation of 30,000 satellites, with which it aims to offer low-cost high speed broadband globally.