It’s a wrap: News this week (Sept 21 – Sept 27)

There have been multiple developments this week on the tech front. From three new supercomputers to Accenture’s GenAI deal pipeline, this is the list of the most important developments for a quick catch-up:

Infosys to set up innovation hub for Polestar

Indian IT giant Infosys has entered into a partnership with the Swedish electric performance car manufacturer Polestar to create a foundation for the latter's development of in-car infotainment systems, software, electrical and electronics engineering, user experience, and cloud-based digital services. According to a regulatory filing, Infosys will set up a global technology and innovation hub for Polestar at its development centre in Bengaluru.

Further, Infosys on Thursday also announced a collaboration with Sally Beauty Holdings (SBH), a speciality beauty retailer and distributor based in the US, to enhance IT operations through hyper-automation and intelligence (AI)-driven solutions. The partnership aims to deliver efficiency in IT service delivery, allowing SBH to modernise its systems and drive enterprise-wide digital transformation.

Tredence launches AI center

Tredence, a California-based data science and AI solutions company, has opened an AI Experience and Collaboration Center in Bengaluru. This new center will allow clients and partners to engage with AI tools, focusing on generative and prescriptive AI solutions to address complex problems and drive business value. 

The new center will function as a hub for co-innovation and collaborative projects. It offers hands-on labs, proof-of-concepts, and rapid prototyping to turn innovative ideas into real-world applications. This approach is expected to help teams develop tangible solutions quickly, supporting enterprises in their journey from concept to execution, it said. 

India launches new supercomputers

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three PARAM Rudra supercomputers. These systems have been developed under the National Supercomputing Mission. The supercomputers have been built at ₹130 crore and deployed at Pune, Delhi, and Kolkata. Developed by C-DAC Pune, the Param Rudra supercomputing system has 1-petaflop processing capability. Additionally, PM Modi also inaugurated the ₹850-crore high-performance computing system for weather and climate research.

Accenture reports $3bn in GenAI bookings

Dubli-based IT consultancy Accenture reported an annual revenue of $64.9 billion, up by 1.24% from the previous year. For the quarter ending August, the company’s revenue dropped 0.6% sequentially to $16.4 billion.

The highlight of the financial results reporting was its GenAI bookings. For the last quarter, Accenture secured $1 billion in GenAI booking, taking the entire order segment for the full year to $3 billion.

"For the full fiscal year, we had nearly $900 million in revenue. In FY23, we had approximately $300 million in sales and roughly $100 million in revenue from GenAI. This was an area where our clients continued to buy small deals, and we focused on accelerating our growth here,” said Julie Sweet, CEO.

Star Health Insurance sues Telegram

Star Health, a leading Indian insurer, has filed a lawsuit against Telegram and a self-proclaimed hacker for reportedly using chatbots on the messaging platform to leak personal data and medical reports of policyholders. This legal action occurs amid increasing global scrutiny of Telegram, particularly after the arrest of its founder, Pavel Durov, in France last month, with allegations that the app's content moderation and features have been misused for illegal activities. Both Durov and Telegram have denied any wrongdoing and are working to address the criticisms.