It’s a wrap: News this week (July 27 – August 2)

There have been multiple developments this week on the tech front. From Intel’s layoff to Cognizant’s quarterly results, this is the list of the most important developments for a quick catch-up:

Ransomware attack impacts Indian banks

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) issued a notice on Wednesday which said that C-Edge Technologies Ltd, a technology service provider that services major cooperative and regional rural banks has been struck by a ransomware attack. The customers of the impacted banks were temporarily not able to access services such as cash withdrawals and using UPI. At the time, NPCI disclosed that it had temporarily isolated C-Edge Technologies from accessing the retail payment systems in which it operates. The ransomware attack that crippled about 300 Indian banks is being attributed to RansomEXX Group. This was unveiled by an investigation done by cybercrime monitoring firm CloudSEK. 

Intel lays off 15k jobs

Chipmaker Intel is cutting 15% of the total jobs, impacting 15,000 people across the organisation. CEO Pat Gelsinger in a memo to employees said, "Our costs are too high, our margins are too low." He emphasized the need to align company’s cost structure with its new operating model. Employees will also be offered enhanced retirement options and voluntary departure programs, the company informed. 

Intel’s revenue declined 15 year-on-year in the second quarter. It registered $1.61 billion in net loss. The company aims to save $10 billion by 2025 and streamline operations to improve financial performance. 

GenAI drives Cognizant’s quarterly earnings

Cognizant Technologies, a US-based IT and professional services firm, announced on Thursday that its performance in the April-June quarter surpassed analysts' expectations, driven by its generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) strategy, a strong healthcare sector presence, and a rebound in financial services.

Operating on a January-December calendar, Cognizant reported a net profit of $566 million, reflecting a 22.2% increase from the previous year. Revenue for the quarter was $4.85 billion, slightly down 0.7% year-on-year (YoY) but exceeding the industry estimate of $4.8 billion. Sequential revenue growth was 1.9%. 

Aurionpro Solutions wins $3 million deal from Malaysian Bank

Indian IT services and consulting firm Aurionpro Solutions Limited announced a strategic win with a Malaysian bank on Wednesday, although the bank's name was not disclosed. The deal, valued at approximately $3 million, aims to modernise the bank's corporate processes such as the loan origination system and credit risk platform. The implementation is expected to take place over 15 months.

EU AI Act comes into force

The European Union’s landmark artificial intelligence law came into force during this work. This is the world’s legislative of this nature. This rule will govern the way firms build, use, and apply AI. It was approved by the EU member states, lawmakers, and the European Commission in May after being proposed in 2020. The regulation sets out a comprehensive regulatory framework for AI across the EU.