It’s a wrap: News this week (June 15 – 21)

There have been multiple developments this week on the tech front. From Nvidia’s growth to Kaspersky’s US ban, this is the list of the most important developments for a quick catch-up:

Rise of Nvidia

Three decades after it was founded, chipmaker Nvidia has emerged as the most valuable company in the world with a market capitalisation of $3.34 trillion. The California-headquartered firm has dethroned Microsoft from the top position and pushed Apple to number 3. 

On June 18, Nvidia’s shares closed at $135.58, growing more than three times its value in June last year. Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Exxon Mobil, and General Electric are the only companies that have held this title since 2001, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Notably, Nvidia breached the $1 trillion-mark last year.

Accenture’s GenAI deals grow

IT consultancy firm Accenture has announced that it registered new books of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) projects worth $900 million in its third quarter financial results declared on Thursday. This takes the fiscal year-to-date to $2 billion. 
“We also achieved two significant milestones this quarter — with $2 billion in Generative AI sales year-to-date and $500 million in revenue year-to-date — which demonstrate our early lead in this critical technology,” said Julie Sweet, chair and CEO, Accenture. 

Google launches Gemini app in India

Google has formally launched the Gemini App in India on Tuesday. With this launch, the Gemini app and Gemini Advanced (Gemini 1.5 Pro model), will be available in nine Indian languages. It includes languages such as Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

In a blog announcing the availability of the Gemini App, Google said that the launch in the country’s ‘strong mobile-first culture’ marks a step forward in building ‘a truly conversational, multimodal, and helpful AI assistant’. Gemini will also be available in Google Messages to help users draft messages, plan events, or brainstorm ideas without leaving the Messages app.

Salesforce launches public sector division

Cloud-based software company Salesforce has announced two significant developments for its operations in India. The company will soon launch Digital Lending for India, a platform designed to help banks and lenders streamline consumer lending processes digitally. This platform aims to reduce the costs and complications associated with outdated, disconnected systems.  

Additionally, Salesforce has introduced its Public Sector division in India, focusing on empowering government agencies and public sector organisations to enhance citizen experiences using Salesforce technology. 

Kaspersky gets banned in US

The US has announced the ban of software from antivirus firm Kaspersky. On Thursday, US Secretary Gina Raimondo said that the company’s Moscowlinks (Kaspersky is a Russian company) poses a significant threat to US infrastructure and services. "Kaspersky will generally no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software within the United States or provide updates to software already in use," the Commerce Department said.

The cybersecurity company said that it will pursue all legally available options to fight the ban. Kaspersky also denies involvement in any activity endangering US security.

Cisco launches Meraki cloud in India

Cisco, announced the launch of Cisco Meraki India Region on Thursday. This new cloud region, supported by an approved service provider, aims to assist businesses in India with cloud-first strategies, ensuring local data storage and privacy. Meraki provides comprehensive networking solutions (Wired, Wireless, SD-WAN), secure networking, and IoT capabilities. It also offers centralised visibility and control, unified management of wireless and wired networks, and reduced operational costs. With over 810,000 global customers, Cisco aims to meet the evolving needs of businesses in a cloud-first environment through agility, flexibility, and secure access for operational efficiency and success.