It’s a wrap: News this week (Nov 18 — Nov 24)

There have been multiple developments this week on the tech front. From the Deepfake issue to TCS’ lawsuit, this is the list of the most important developments for a quick catch-up:

Adobe acquires Rephrase.ai

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based video company Rephrase.ai has been acquired by digital media company Adobe. Ashray Malhotra, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Rephrase.ai said in a social media post, “After an incredible 8-year startup journey, I'm thrilled to announce a significant milestone: Rephrase.ai is getting acquired by a leading tech giant.” He further added, “These are early days for Generative AI, and early days for everything that we plan to build in Generative AI. Never been more excited to get back to building! We are excited to announce the launch of our new project!”

MeitY on Deepfakes

On November 23, Union Minister for Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw held a meeting with key social media players. Calling it a threat to democracy, Vaishnaw told the media that the government will shortly start drafting regulations for deepfakes, which could be either in the form of amending existing frameworks or introducing new rules. He also said that social media companies have agreed on the need for detection, prevention, and strengthening of reporting mechanisms.

Salesforce’s growth in India

Salesforce announced the expansion of its Bengaluru office. This comes after the CRM company announced the extension of flagship center of excellence (CoE) in Hyderabad. Salesforce also announced that its total revenue rose over 50% to ₹6000.3 crore in FY23.

Further, as per data collated by TechCircle, Salesforce has been growing at a breakneck speed in India with an annual growth rate pegged at around 70% over the last eight years. While it saw a deceleration in the country last year, albeit still clocking above average growth numbers. Indeed, even if the firm decelerates further, as is natural with any company that gains scale, given the momentum, it is likely to breach the $1 billion (₹8,300 crore) mark in the country in the year ending March 2024, the numbers suggest.

Wipro-NVIDIA partnership

Technology services and consulting company Wipro has joined hands with chipmaker NVIDIA to accelerate the adoption of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) in the healthcare sector. The collaboration aims to implement AI-driven strategies, products, and services, utilising NVIDIA AI Enterprise software. Wipro will integrate NVIDIA AI Enterprise software into its existing healthcare solutions portfolio, focusing on Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicare, and Medicaid. The goal is to enhance member experience, boost enrollment, and streamline claims adjudication processes. 

In the last few months, NVIDIA has announced with Indian companies like Infosys, Tata Group, and L&T Technology Services.

TCS’ lawsuit

India’s largest IT services company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said on Tuesday that it will take a hit of $125 million in its financial statement for the third quarter. This is in relation to the lawsuit filed by Epic Semiconductors in 2014 that alleged that the IT giant stole its intellectual property while it was contracted to implement the former’s healthcare software.