CEO Financial News

LONDON — British tech bosses and venture capitalists are questioning whether the country can deliver on its bid to become a global artificial intelligence hub after the government set out plans to increase taxes on businesses.

Kunal Kamra’s criticism of Ola Electric’s customer service has turned into an ongoing and highly publicized exchange with Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, bringing significant attention to the company’s handling of after-sales support. Kamra’s complaints, initially shared on social media, pointed to the company’s high volume of unresolved service issues, reportedly reaching 80,000 complaints monthly. As Kamra continues to press for transparency, he has repeatedly taken aim at Aggarwal for allegedly ignoring Ola customers’ concerns.

logistics services provider the Rhenus Group, which entered India through a joint venture in 2010, is now expanding its business by focussing on smaller towns. It expects more demand for efficient logistics as e-commerce grows.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s compensation surged by 63% in fiscal year 2024, reaching around $79.1 million (approximately Rs 665 crore), largely due to a substantial increase in stock awards, TOI reported, citing Microsoft’s recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. Stock awards rose from $39 million last year to $71 million, significantly boosting his overall earnings. However, the filing also revealed that Nadella requested a reduction in his cash compensation, citing cybersecurity concerns and hinting at a possible “China angle” in the decision.

Intel on Thursday posted the biggest quarterly loss in its 56-year history, as the onetime highflying chipmaker struggles to turn itself around. The Silicon Valley company said its loss for the third quarter totaled $16.6 billion, a result of $15.9 billion in charges to reflect lowered valuations of company assets and a $2.8 billion restructuring charge associated with cutting more than 15,000 workers. Pat Gelsinger, Intel's CEO, had ordered the restructuring in August in response to shrinking profit margins caused by the costs of catching rivals in manufacturing technology and little success in the booming market for artificial intelligence chips, among other factors.

IT firms are increasingly snapping up Indian startups at a time when the startup ecosystem is amid a funding crunch. Several of the acquired firms are working in the segments of AI, semiconductor, data and analytics and spacetech among others. Most of them are making acquisitions to strengthen their capabilities so that they do not miss out when technology spending, especially in discretionary spends, returns, say analysts. Big IT firms such as Accenture, Infosys and IBM along with many midcaps like Persistent, Cyient, Global Logic and others have recently acquired smaller Indian firms working in cutting-edge technologies. This month, IBM acquired a Bengaluru-headquartered software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup Prescinto for an undisclosed amount. Later in the month Hyderabad IT engineering service provider Cyient acquired 27.3% in US based Indian startup Azimuth AI for $7.25 million. The acquisition will expand Cyient’s capabilities across the semiconductor industry.

Amazon reported a boost in its quarterly profits Thursday and exceeded revenue estimates

Amid the backdrop of a sales misconduct investigation and other legal troubles, security technology company Evolv is now firing its CEO

Peloton has appointed its next CEO

Housing society management app Mygate saw its operating revenue rise 35% to Rs 96 crore in the financial year ended March 31 from Rs 71 crore in 2022-23. The Bengaluru-based company's consolidated net loss narrowed significantly by 82% to Rs 40 crore from Rs 227 crore a year ago. This sharp cut in losses was driven by a 51% reduction in its total expenses, which came down to Rs 149 crore in 2023-24 from Rs 304 crore in the previous year. In 2023-24, the company spent Rs 82 crore on employee benefits while incurring other expenses of Rs 61 crore.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Microsoft reported strong quarterly growth in its cloud-computing business that indicated its heavy investment in artificial intelligence is paying off. Revenue for the tech giant’s Azure cloud business—a core of its AI offering—rose 33% in the quarter through September, beating analysts’ expectations.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s growing prominence on the global tech stage is attracting industry heavyweights, though not without friction. The country’s IT sector is globally renowned not just for its scale but also for its deep expertise in computer science.

Microsoft on Wednesday reported its quarterly sales grew 16% to $65.6 billion as the company sought to assure investors its huge spending on artificial intelligence is paying off

Nike executive John Slusher is moving into the Olympic world to head the commercial arm for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

Autonomous truck company Aurora Innovation says it won’t start hauling freight without humans on board until April of next year

Saudi startup airline Riyadh Air has ordered 60 Airbus aircraft

Shares of Super Micro Computer plunged more than 30% by midday Wednesday, after the server maker disclosed that Ernst & Young had resigned as its public accounting firm

Starbucks is discontinuing its Oleato olive-oil infused beverages at most locations, part of an effort to streamline the chain’s menu

LONDON — Britain's Labour government on Wednesday announced plans to raise the rate of capital gains tax on share sales, news that offered some relief for technology entrepreneurs who feared a more intense tax raid on the wealthy.

Dropbox, a cloud company offering cloud storage and client software facilities, announced the layoff of 20% of its workforce impacting a total of 528 people. In a letter to staff, the cloud company’s CEO Drew Houston said that the company is going through a significant transition as it shifts from a mature Financial Shared Services (FSS) business to focus on future growth with new products like Dash. “And while I'm proud of the progress we’ve made in the last couple of years in some parts of the business, we’re still not delivering at the level our customers deserve or performing in line with industry peers. So, we're making more significant cuts in areas where we're over-invested or underperforming while designing a flatter, more efficient team structure overall,” Houston wrote.

Shares of Chewy slid close to 2% in overnight trading after a regulatory filing revealed that the meme stock trader known as Roaring Kitty had sold his stake in the online pet store