#AdvantageSpeed – ACT Fibernet Joins UTT 2019 as 'Official High Speed Internet Partner'

ACT Fibernet, India’s largest fiber-focused wired broadband ISP (Internet Service Provider), today announced its partnership with Ultimate Table Tennis 2019 (UTT), India’s premier Table Tennis league as their Official High-Speed Internet Partner.

As part of the tie-up, ACT Fibernet will power the Thyagaraj Sports Complex, Delhi and provide connectivity to UTT for the entire league duration from July 25 to August 11. This includes diverse requirements encompassing areas like the field of play, broadcast, media tribune, technical table, field of play photographers and streaming, technical table, commentary box among others.

Ultimate Table Tennis, which began in 2017 with six franchises, has set high standards for the sport in the country. With top players from India and the rest of the world UTT has become a truly global phenomenon. A world class league that inspires the youth, entertains and engages fans, drives development at grassroots and delivers value to all stakeholders.

Speaking on the partnership, Saurabh Mukherjee, COO, Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd said, “Ultimate Table Tennis is the premier table tennis league in India and we are thrilled to be a part of the league this season. It is our constant effort to leverage platforms that encourage sports in India and bring together sports enthusiasts. We hope that our fibernet connectivity will enhance the tournament experience for the teams, fans both in stadia and across the country”.

Commenting on the initiative, Ganeshaya Sodha, Head of Sponsorships & Marketing, UTT said, "We believe ACT Fibernet is a proven name in the industry who are well-equipped to cater to our needs at UTT. Their range of services and dedicated customer-first approach is the reason we have associated with them to take care of our entire broadband internet requirements. In an intensive league like UTT, the internet requirements are diverse, and ACT Fibernet have a proven track record of delivering reliably."

SoCash Raises US$6M in Series B Round Led By Glory Ltd, SC Ventures and Vertex Ventures to Expand their Footprint

soCash, the Singapore-headquartered FinTech start-up which allows bank customers to perform banking services (like cash withdrawal, loan applications) at shops via its mobile app, today announced it has raised US$6 million in its series B funding round led by GLORY LTD (GLORY) and participated  by SC Ventures and Vertex Ventures.

With the new funds, soCash will grow its distribution network to improve the accessibility and convenience of banking services in Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong; as the company has already acquired the relevant regulatory clearances in these three markets. The start-up is aggressively building its team in all three markets to cater to demands from virtual/digital bank players looking for the smarter distribution alternative to branches and ATMs

“We started soCash to make cash circulation efficient; our platform has now evolved to become the only network that converts neighbourhood shops into "virtual branches", said Hari Sivan, Co-founder & CEO of soCash. With the emergence of virtual banks and open banking, our network is well equipped to offer sales & distribution with flexibility and massive scale.”

For GLORY – a global leader in cash automation which engages in the development, manufacturing, and sale of high-end cash processing & retail automation machines – its participation in the funding round signifies the company’s ambition to venture into the creation of new software & data-driven growth trajectory.

“We are pleased to announce our strategic investment into soCash as the lead investor and proud to be a partner in its growth. GLORY is a global leader in cash processing and retail automation, and we believe that the current supply chain of cash needs to transform as the transportation of cash across large distances costs billions of dollars each year, a cost largely passed on to consumers. soCash’s approach of connecting retailers, banks & consumers on a platform for cash circulation is a perfect fit to GLORY’s hardware & IoT business,” said Minoru Higashiyama, Leader of the Long-Term Vision Project Team at GLORY.

“The combination of data, hardware and software lead to opportunities that help the society to meet its flexible payment needs. As our long-term vision, GLORY would like to make the cash society a better place by optimizing the physical and digital cash cycle. soCash is realizing this concept in the Asia-Pacific region and aligns perfectly with GLORY's long-term vision.”

As the first bank in Singapore to partner with soCash, Standard Chartered has integrated soCash into SC Mobile, its mobile banking app in Singapore, since 2017 to increase customer convenience by enabling them to withdraw cash through a network of retail outlets instead of depending solely on branches and ATMs.

Alex Manson Global Head of SC Ventures, Standard Chartered Bank’s innovation, investment and ventures arm, said: “While banking becomes more and more digital, cash remains one of the primary modes of transaction in most of the world. Any digital strategy needs to connect digital and cash ecosystems, so consumers gain access to services even in the absence of physical distribution networks. Our investment in soCash will give us valuable insights into the usage and the future of cash, without conventional costly channels such as branch counters and ATMs, while supporting soCash’s plans to scale up in markets within our footprint.”

Launched in mid-2018, the soCash app started off by allowing bank customers to withdraw cash from stores as they would at conventional ATMs, without the need for card and pin. As its technology directly plugs into the banks’ APIs, users can place a cash order via the soCash app and select a nearby merchant to collect the cash from, while the app deducts the selected amount from the customer’s account.

The start-up recently added ICBC to its list of partner banks in Singapore, which also includes Standard Chartered, DBS and POSB. Meanwhile, its cash network platform now comprises more than 1,400 shops around Singapore and is creating the network in Malaysia and Indonesia; with its service available at retail chains such as SPH Buzz, U Stars supermarket, iECON stores, U Mart, 7-Eleven and HAO Mart. Following its Series B round, the company is looking to quickly scale up the penetration of its services across Southeast Asia and will seek to form partnerships to scale up in the region.

United Technologies Selects L&T Technology Services as Strategic Partner for Collins Aerospace

L&T Technology Services (NSE: LTTS), a leading global pure-play engineering services company has been selected as a strategic partner by United Technologies Corporation (UTC) for Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of UTC.

Collins Aerospace comprises of the former UTC Aerospace Systems, Rockwell Collins and BE Aerospace, and is one of the leading providers of intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industries.

LTTS has been a long-standing engineering partner for UTC. It has been ‘UTC Supplier Gold’ since 2015. LTTS was also recognized as UTAS Supplier of Year in April 2016 for its high-quality services and value creation.

Alind Saxena, Chief Business Officer, L&T Technology Services said “We are very excited to collaborate with Collins Aerospace for their advanced aerospace and defense service needs. At LTTS, our constant endeavour is to be our customer’s most reliable engineering and digital services partner. We look forward to playing a more significant role in Collins Aerospace’s engineering road map.”

Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue to Decline 9.6% in 2019: Gartner

Worldwide semiconductor revenue is forecast to total $429 billion in 2019, a decline of 9.6% from $475 billion in 2018, according to Gartner, Inc. This is down from the previous quarter’s forecast of -3.4%.

“The semiconductor market is being impacted by a number of factors. A weaker pricing environment for memory and some other chips types combined with the U.S.-China trade dispute and lower growth in major applications, including smartphones, servers and PCs, is driving the global semiconductor market to its lowest growth since 2009,” said Ben Lee, senior principal research analyst at Gartner. “Semiconductor product managers should review production and investment plans to protect themselves from this weaker market.”

A demand-driven oversupply in the DRAM market will push pricing down 42.1% in 2019 and the oversupply is expected to extend through the second quarter of 2020. The decline is due to signs of a slower demand recovery at the hyperscale vendors and the increasing inventory levels of DRAM vendors. This ends the longest period of undersupply seen in the DRAM industry.

The ongoing dispute between the U.S. and China is causing uncertainty over trade rates. U.S.-imposed restrictions on Chinese businesses are based on security concerns and will have a longer-term impact on semiconductor supply and demand. These combined issues will accelerate China’s domestic semiconductor production, as well as create local forks of technologies such as ARM processors. Some manufacturing will relocate outside China during the dispute and many companies will seek to diversify their manufacturing base to reduce any further disruption.

The global NAND market has been in oversupply since the first quarter of 2018 and is now more pronounced as the near-term demand for NAND is weaker than expected.

“We expect that high smartphone inventory and sluggish solid-state array demand will last for a few more quarters,” said Mr. Lee. “Given the aggressive price declines for NAND, it is possible to see a more balanced supply/demand outlook in 2020. However, looking further out is concerning given slowing demand drivers, such as PCs and smartphones, and more capacity as new fabs in China impact the market.”

Helo Partners with Vijay Devarakonda Starrer ‘Dear Comrade’

Helo, India’s leading social media platform, recently announced its partnership with the upcoming Vijay Devarakonda starrer movie, ‘Dear Comrade’ as the film’s Presenting Partner.

As a part of the partnership, Vijay Devarakonda of ‘Arjun Reddy’ fame, along with his co-star Rashmika Mandaara and the entire cast and crew, joins Helo and will be sharing film campaigns and call-to-action videos and posts on the platform. The movie is scheduled to release on the 26th of July 2019 in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada.

Commenting on this partnership, Shyamanga Barooah, Head of Content Operations, Helo said “The partnership with Dear Comrade is aligned with our intent to make local and latest entertainment content accessible to our users. In fact, ‘entertainment’ is the most popular category for our users in the southern markets as we see the most content consumption and creation related to the category. These partnerships give our users an opportunity to engage with their favourite stars on the app and build a special connection with them. We’re already seeing great engagement on the app and are sure that this film is going to be a blockbuster.”

Helo users will get access to licensed movie content such as movie posters/clips/trailers/celebrity videos etc, exclusively on Helo. Users can also get their hands on movie tickets, merchandise, cast’s autographs as campaign gratification.

Samsung Opera House Offers K-Culture Treat to Bangaloreans

Bangalore’s favourite technology, cultural and entertainment hub, Samsung Opera House, hosted a special event for K-Pop fans in the city, organised by Bengaluru’s most popular Korean fan group Indhangul.    Korean pop culture is the most prominent aspect of the Korean cultural wave that has taken the world by storm. This extremely youthful musical form — along with K-dramas — has driven the love for South Korean content among millennials around the globe. In Bengaluru alone, there are about 8-10 K-pop fan groups with close to 3000 fans.

The Korean pop culture has received an overwhelming response in India and is a major hit amongst Indian millennials. Keeping the growing popularity of ‘K-pop’ in mind, this day-long event brought K-pop fans from across Bengaluru under one roof. The excitement among K- pop fans was evident among the crowd as this event gave them a platform to explore latest K-pop music powered by Samsung My Galaxy app. It's fascinating to see how Korean music has achieved such an incredible fan following in India.

Participants engaged in wide range of engagement-led activities themed around K-Culture which include screening of Korean content, K drama Quiz, singing and dance performances. Amongst the many activities planned for the attendees, ‘Guess the K-pop song with the help of emojis’ got the audience going with participants showing off their knowledge on K-pop culture.

Samsung has been at the forefront of understanding the millennial mindset and has been investing in building technologies that complement the evolving needs of consumers. Taking note of the huge popularity of K-content amongst its consumers, Samsung recently introduced a wide range of Korean content on its My Galaxy App - International blockbuster K-drama titles like Jugglers, Queen for Seven Days and Manhole are exclusively available on the app along with access to over 750 K-Pop songs of top artists and bands such as BTS, Exo, BTOB, and MONSTA-X.

Since its inception, Samsung Opera House has been evolving into a hub in the heart of the city. Over 60 events have been organised at the premises of Samsung Opera House in the past 10 months. Samsung is in a constant endeavour to delight the consumers and has organised a diverse range of events like workshops, tech talk shows, portrait photographer’s meet up, UK High Commission Talk Show, band performances, traditional form of art like malkhamb & Kalaripayattu performances, Screening movies and much more. Each event held at Samsung Opera House has been different and unique in its nature to keep the Bangaloreans exited and entertained. In keeping with the pulse of millennials, Samsung will host more K-Culture events at Samsung Opera House.

Streax Professional Reinvents Vintage Styles with Latest Launch ‘Retro Remix’ at Mega Hair Show ‘Hair & Beyond’

Retro-inspired trends are back again to reinvent contemporary fashion in 2019. Leading the way is Streax Professional, the premium product range for hair care, colour and style, specially crafted for salon professionals and technicians, which today showcased Retro Remix, its new collection of vintage styles, reimagined for present-day fashionistas. The collection was launched in Bengaluru at the 2019 edition of its mega hair show “Hair & Beyond”. Using products such as Argan Secrets hair colour, CanvoLine straightening cream, and the Hold & Play styling range, Retro Remix mixes brunette, gold and copper blonde, and brown shades to create a range of sophisticated retro styles for Indian women.

Announcing the launch of its new collection, Mrs. Rochelle Chhabra, Professional Division Head, Hygienic Research Institute said, “Streax Professional is proud to present this new vintage range, inspired by ultra-glamorous 70s hairstyles created for style icons like Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn in the West, and Zeenat Aman and Hema Malini in the East. Our collection, which highlights the brown palette, has been specially designed for the fashion-conscious Indian woman. It combines old world charm with contemporary freshness, making Retro Remix a perfect fusion of the old and the new.”

Actress Pranitha Subhash, who was the showstopper, did her part in turning up the glamour quotient when she walked the ramp at the event. She made heads turn in her retro chic hairdo accompanied by other models who looked their classic best. The event showcased an array of hairstyles including the romantic amber retro chignon, bouffant fudge sleek, the dark chocolate precision bob, undone beige messy ponytail, gypsy tangerine blonde heart shaped braid, all created using the perfect blend of the collection’s range of products.

International celebrity hair stylist Yolly Ten Koppel, also known as ‘Queen of Hair’, who was hosting the training sessions at the event said, “I am delighted to participate in Streax Professional’s mega hair show. Besides the high profile launches that it showcases, “Hair & Beyond” provides India’s hair technicians with a unique opportunity to receive new insights and learning about hairstyling, helping them emerge as true experts of their craft.”

Yolly Ten Koppel joined Agnes Chen, Technical Head of Streax Professional to lead the training sessions at Hair & Beyond 2019—sharing styling tips, haircut tutorials, and colouring techniques with the audience.

Streax Professional continues its endeavor to educate and train hair professionals through ‘Hair & Beyond’, making international standards and global techniques accessible to Indian professionals. The brand has already conducted a Hair & Beyond 2019 Seminar in New Delhi, Kolkata, Kathmandu, Mumbai, Chennai, Dehradun, Jammu, Ahmedabad and Vijayawada. After Bengaluru, Retro Remix will also be showcased in Jaipur and Faridabad.