Esper Secures $7.6M from Madrona Venture Group and Seed Investors

In a Series A funding round led by US-based venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group, Esper has raised $7.6 Million. Madrona Venture Group is well known as an investor in Amazon’s Series A round in 1995. The round also saw participation from their existing seed investors - Root Ventures, Ubiquity Ventures, Haystack Ventures, and Pathbreaker Ventures.

Esper is an intelligent cloud platform that helps enterprises deploy and scale Android dedicated devices and manage applications and devices in real-time. Their full-stack solution enables enterprises to efficiently develop, manage and monitor these devices securely across different versions of Android and device types. Esper has a large customer base in the US and India. The funding will be utilised for product development and to expand its customer base in India and the United States.

“We are excited to have the full support of these investors to expand our team and further scale our business to help customers move beyond Mobile Device Management into true device orchestration. Our vision is to provide a platform that allows our customers to focus on building their value proposition rather than their infrastructure,” said Yadhu Gopalan, Co-Founder, and CEO, Esper.

Android Devices are at the Forefront of Digital Transformation

Android-based devices such as tablets, point-of-sale devices, mobile payment devices, and kiosks are rapidly proliferating in the market and have become commonplace to consumers. India represents a strong market for these devices with over 97% of devices deployed using the Android operating system. These include tablets in cabs, biometric devices, POS, delivery and logistics devices.

“India has been an early adopter of Android devices for enterprise use cases, we have some leading POS, logistics, and retail customers in India who are using Esper to deploy their device fleet. We look forward to utilizing our Series A fundraise to grow our India market share and expand our engineering team in Bengaluru.” adds Shiv Sundar, Co-Founder, and COO, Esper.

Esper’s customer base in India includes leading enterprises from Retail, Logistics, Hospitality and Healthcare industries. Esper also has ongoing partnerships with MediaTek, Lenovo, and Zebra for hardware development and devices. Besides this, Esper is also Android Enterprise Recommended as a Google EMM partner.

By applying Esper’s intense customer focus, the founders identified the huge unmet need for effective device and app management in the Android dedicated device segment. The many customer pain points were poorly addressed by existing systems, typical leaving developers and Android firmware out of their solutions. In 2019 Esper set off on implementing a full-stack approach for customers building, deploying, and maintaining Android-based solutions all the way from offering Esper Enhanced Android, a full developer toolchain, and addressing the table stakes of application and device management honed to the unique market needs. This view and vision were made possible by the unique experiences of the founders including building the Windows CE kernel at Microsoft, working with and for major players in the Android market including Samsung, Huawei, and Cyanogen, and leading Android-based solutions for Amazon.

Esper’s growing team in Bengaluru is set to expand across engineering, sales, marketing, and customer success. The company’s unique culture focused on melding software and devices to impact and improve the human experience worldwide through intense customer focus has resulted in low turnover and high satisfaction. Yet the company prides itself on a cordial environment in a casual but intense atmosphere. Esper is the place to be for the highest caliber personnel in the Android industry.

About Esper

Esper was co-founded in the year 2018 by US-based, industry veterans Yadhu Gopalan and Shiv Sundar. In addition to providing a device and application management platform, Esper enables device manufacturers and chipset vendors to deliver a lean Android solution purpose-built for the smart dedicated device space. Esper allows its customers to control every aspect of their device fleet and go as far as real-time debugging of applications on a remote device when required.

This is How Senior Citizens in Bangalore Celebrated Ageless love this Valentine’s Day at Columbia Pacific Communities

To celebrate love in in all its forms and glory, senior citizens in Bangalore came together for Columbia Pacific Communities’ unique initiative of Valentine’s special meal comprising a 100 dishes at the Taj Yeshwantpur, Bangalore. The special lunch curated specially by Chef Selvaraju was served to three couples, including a single woman of 75 years who came with her friend. Through the unique experience for its senior residents, Columbia Pacific Communities takes the conversation of “positive ageing” forward.

Often seniors in our society are associated with various labels and celebrating love and being romantic is considered an impractical idea for seniors. As a brand, Columbia Pacific Communities has always stood against ageism, and attempted to break age-related stereotypes, whether it is through the campaign RELEARN or through initiatives such as organising south India’s first senior citizens flash mob.

Drawing parallels between food and relationships, Columbia Pacific Communities believes that both come with their own unique flavours, and both need time and patience to be nurtured. The initiative was a symbol of acknowledgment that love is ageless and selfless. It focuses on the fact that food often is an individual’s first love, and the love for food often builds lasting, loving relationships. Nothing spells ‘love’ more than a platter of delicious fare.

A contest titled #ExpressionsOfLove was run for residents of Serene Urbana by Columbia Pacific Communities and inviting poems, prose, photographs, painting, craft and other forms of art that depict an expression of love. The top three entries won a special Valentine’s Day meal comprising a 100 dishes at the Taj Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru.

Commenting on the initiative, said, Mohit Nirula, Chief Executive Office, Columbia Pacific Communities, "The Oxford dictionary defines "love" as "an intense feeling of liking and concern for another person." It is not bound by age, it can be felt by the most young and one can continue to feel this emotion until one's last day.  Columbia Pacific Communities is delighted to host three special couples from its senior living community Serene Urbana, a unique Valentine's Day experience. Taj Yeshwantpur will host three couples for a Valentine's special meal to celebrate love and demonstrate that love is ageless."

Aakash Institute Announces SPARRK -- A National-Level “Scholarship Exam for deserving students”

Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), the national leader in test preparatory services for aspiring doctors and IITians with more than 200 centres across the country, has announced a new scholarship exam, named Aakash SPARRK, aimed at giving deserving students from Class VII to Class IX an opportunity to take the first step in their endeavor to realise their dreams.

Aakash SPARRK is being offered for the first time from this year and is for students moving from Class VII to Class VIII; from Class VIII to Class IX and from Class IX to Class X. It will be held on March 15, 2020, across 24 states and Union Territories in the country.

Aakash SPARKK will offer students an opportunity to compete at a national level and win a scholarship of up to 90% of the tuition fee. Through SPARRK, Aakash aims to empower and enable students to utilize AESL’s coaching without financial constraints.

Commenting on the announcement of the new scholarship, Mr Aakash Chaudhry, Director and CEO, Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), said: “To succeed, it is important to take a step in the direction of your goal. From this year, we are pleased to introduce Aakash SPARRK, which will provide students an opportunity to win a scholarship at the national level. We are confident that SPARKK will generate great enthusiasm among students and enable them to strive onto the path of realising their dreams.”

DETAILS OF THE SCHOLARSHIP
• AAKASH SPARKK will be held on March 15, 2020, across 24 states/union territories in the country.
• The exam will be for one hour and will be conducted in two shifts i.e. from 11 am to 12 pm and from 3 pm to 4 pm.
• The last date for registration and receiving the duly filled-in application form is March 13, 2020. The registration fee is Rs 200.
• Students will be tested on subjects viz. Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics.

The exam will take place across all major cities in the states of Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. 

Aakash Institute aims to help students in their quest to achieve academic success with its standardized content and coaching methods, integrated teaching methodology, qualified faculty, comprehensive study material, diversified course offerings and delivery channels, modern infrastructure and disciplined and focused learning environment. It has a centralized in-house process for curriculum and content development and faculty training and monitoring, led by its National Academic Department. Over the years, students from Aakash have shown proven selection track record in various Medical & Engineering entrance exams and competitive and scholarship exams such as NTSE, KVPY, and Olympiads. 

MSSI Bengaluru Chapter is Celebrated India MS Day in Association with Department of Neurology – PMSSY (Victoria Hospital)

Multiple Sclerosis Society of India (MSSI), Bengaluru Chapter is a voluntary organization looking after the interests of Persons with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS). Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an auto-immune disease for which research has been ongoing globally, in order to find a cure.

Veteran actor Shri Srinath graced the occasion as a chief guest and encouraged our MSPs. Smt. Geetha Patil, Deputy Director, Department of the Empowerment of Differently Abled & Senior Citizens and Sri Umesh Chandrashekhar, District Disabled Welfare officer , were in presence and answered questions from our PMSSY (Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha. They mentioned about the government schemes that have been recently launched for the disabled, where  medical benefits up to INR 1 Lakhs can be availed. Along with this, the GOI has also launched the UDID, a unique identity card for persons with disability that will replace the need to carry multiple cards to avail benefits. This scheme is intended to become like Aadhaar card and is in the evolutionary stages. As MS has been included in RPWD Act recently government is working on the same for various schemes for the disabled.

In India approximately 200,000 people are estimated to have MS. MSSI has over 4000 persons with MS registered across its 8 chapters (Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune). We, at the Bengaluru Chapter have about 200 Persons with MS registered from all over Karnataka and we support them with free medicines, physiotherapy, and equipments.

Rehabilitation Department organised an awareness program on MS at the PMSSY seminar hall at Victoria Hospital. The program focused on how to work collaboratively to create a better world for people affected with MS. Panel discussion was held on topic Creating a better world for persons with MS - on various questions being answered by Smt. Geetha Patil, Sri Umesh Chandrashekhar, Dr. Rajesh Iyer, Dr. Praveen Kumar, Dr. Archana, and Dr. Karthik.

New Nanoparticle Can Turn Carbon Emissions into Fuel, Sustainability

In future, carbon dioxide emissions could be captured and converted to fuel, thanks to new nanoparticles.

Imagine a futuristic power plant. Instead of stacks that pump carbon emissions into the atmosphere, the plant captures all its carbon dioxide, converting it into fuel that can actually power the plant: A carbon-neutral closed loop.

Researchers at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering, collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), are working to bring this closer to reality. The team has discovered a metal carbide nanoparticle (a compound of carbon and metal) that can convert CO2 into fuel; a particle that for the first time, can be produced sustainably at low temperature.

This means that the particles can be produced at an industrial scale at a low cost, and with minimal environmental impact, providing a vital pathway toward reducing the world’s greenhouse emissions.

Noah Malmstadt, professor in the University of Southern California Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, is one of the authors of the research, in collaboration with Frederick G. Baddour from NREL and Richard Brutchey, professor of Chemistry at USC. Their work was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Malmstadt said that the aim of the project was to capture carbon emissions from an emission source, such as a flue, and then to convert it into usable fuels, with the nanoparticles functioning as a catalyst to enable the reaction.

“Basically what we're doing is we're turning the carbon dioxide from carbon oxygen bonds to carbon hydrogen bonds. So, we’re turning carbon dioxide back into hydrocarbons,” Malmstadt said.

“Hydrocarbons are basic fuel stock. You can either turn them into fuel stock chemicals such as methane or propane. Or you can use them as the basis for chemical synthesis so they can be building blocks for making more complex chemicals,” Malmstadt said.

He said that hydrocarbons were also “feedstock” chemicals that could potentially be used to create other carbon-based material, so carbon emissions could be converted into material to make consumer products as well as hydrocarbon fuel.

Malmstadt said that until now, the process for creating the catalyst particles has been very energy intensive, making it an impractical solution for converting carbon emissions. The carbides are created using a process where they are heated to temperatures higher than 600 degrees centigrade, a process that makes it difficult to control the size of the particles, which impacts on their effectiveness as catalysts.

He said that in contrast, the team’s discovery uses a millifluidic reactor process, a very small- scale chemical reactor system, which has a minimal environmental footprint. This means the particles can be produced at temperatures as low as 300 degrees centigrade, resulting in smaller, more uniform particles, which make them ideal for converting CO2 to hydrocarbons.

“We are producing the particles sustainably, using green chemistry methods,” Malmstadt said.

“The chemical reactor system operates in channels that are less than a millimeter across, which offers a ton of advantages over traditional reactors, particularly in terms of making materials that are very uniform and very high quality,” he said.

Malmstadt said that the resulting nanoparticles have a very high surface area to mass ratio.

“So for each amount of metal that you have in the catalyst, you get more active surface area that can do chemistry,” he said.

Malmstadt said that the reaction process could be compared to the way that supercomputers have evolved over time; how they were housed in large laboratories and required giant memory banks and energy-intensive cooling systems. Whereas present day distributed or cloud-based supercomputer systems are simply a grid of standard computers that run in parallel and share resources.

“So it would be the same way of thinking for this approach to scaling chemical production,” Malmstadt said. “Instead of using a large chemical reactor, instead you use a bunch of these millifluidic reactors, and you just operate them all in parallel.”

Malmstadt said that this process also offered significant cost savings over larger scale chemical reactor production of carbide nanoparticles.

“This offers an easy route to scale the chemistry, and from the point of view of sustainability in terms of energy use, and the amount of personnel hours that go into producing the materials, it's much lower for these millifluidic routes than it is for traditional approaches to manufacturing the chemicals,” Malmstadt said.

Land Rover Enhances the New Discovery Sport with Added Refinement and Versatility

Highlights

* Transformed interior, bold new exteriors and new enabling technologies increase the appeal of the New Discovery Sport
* Elevating the bold exterior design, the New Discovery Sport, now includes the all-new premium LED headlights with Daytime Running Lights, rear LED lights and Animated Directional Indicators
* Elevated levels of craftsmanship augment the versatility quotient on the New Discovery Sport with its 5+2 seating and an advanced and responsive 26.08 cm (10.2) Touch Pro screen with Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ 
* Technology highlights include Clear Sight Interior Rear View Mirror as well as the Terrain Response 2 technology to automatically detect and adjust as per the surface being driven on, a 31.24 cm (12.3) Interactive Driver Display, wireless charging, 4G Wi-Fi hotspot and more
* Powered by BS-VI compliant Ingenium Powertrains, the New Discovery Sport is available with a choice of 2.0 l (litre) Turbocharged Petrol with a 48-volt mild hybrid system, producing 183 kW and 365 Nm of torque or a 2.0 l (litre) Turbocharged Diesel producing 132 kW and 430 Nm of torque
* Delivery of the diesel powered New Land Rover Discovery Sport has now begun, and is priced at ₹ 57.06 Lakh for the S derivative and ₹ 60.89 Lakh for the R-Dynamic SE trim. Start of deliveries of petrol powered Discovery Sport will be subsequent to start of diesel and will be announced separately

Jaguar Land Rover India, today announced the launch of the New Model Year 2020 Discovery Sport - the more intuitive, practical and modern SUV. Available in the S & R-Dynamic SE derivatives, the New Discovery Sport is offered with BS-VI compliant 183 kW Ingenium Turbocharged Petrol powertrain and 132 kW Ingenium Turbocharged Diesel powertrain options.

Rohit Suri, President & Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover India Ltd (JLRIL), said:
The New Discovery Sport is a bold evolution of the original design, incorporating the latest in technological advancements. Fuelling the spirit of adventure, the vehicle consists of improved features that not only enhance the capability of the vehicle but also elevate the complete driving experience. It further strengthens the distinctive design and versatility that has made the Discovery Sport one of the leading models in the Land Rover portfolio.”

DISTINCTIVE DESIGN

The well-proportioned body and purposeful stance of the Discovery Sport is enhanced with new premium LED headlights with Daytime Running Lights and rear LED lights. The desirability of the exterior design continues into the cabin. The refined interiors lend a sense of calm, as one enters the vehicle. The interior delivers elevated levels of comfort, enhanced stowage space and a new SportShift gear Selector crafted from premium materials which have been responsibly sourced. The bold horizontal and vertical lines coupled with the fixed panoramic roof, further enhance the engaging interiors.

TECHNOLOGY AND INFOTAINMENT

The new display screen and centre console transforms the interior of the Discovery Sport to create a practical, high quality space with added sophistication. The Cabin Air Ionization technology enhances the well-being of both the driver and passengers alike.

Advanced and responsive Land Rover InControl® Touch Pro™ infotainment, fitted standard, is available with Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™. Furthermore, Smart Settings use artificial intelligence algorithms to learn driver preferences, adjusting massage and seat positions, music and climate settings and steering column positioning to suit each driver. Wireless charging for compatible mobile devices is also introduced for the first time within the lower center console, along with 4G Wi-Fi hotspot. Infotainment is taken a notch higher with Meridian™ Audio providing state-of-the-art entertainment. InControl Remote & Protect App allows you to interact with your Discovery Sport from anywhere. You can see your vehicle’s data remotely – from fuel level to door and window status, emergency call (eCall) and breakdown call (bCall) facility and more.

The ‘ClearSight Rear View Mirror’ is now available on the Discovery Sport, transforming the rear view mirror into an HD video screen at the touch of a button. It displays a rear-facing camera feed onto the mirror, ensuring the driver’s view remains unrestricted by passengers or large items in the back.

VERSATILITY AND CAPABILITY

Built on the new Land Rover Premium Transverse Architecture (PTA), the Discovery Sport provides greater capability. The Discovery Sport has All Wheel Drive and Hill Descent Control to make the hardest of drives seem effortless and with All Terrain Progress Control (ATPC), you can maintain a steady speed in the most challenging conditions. The ATPC works seamlessly alongside the standard Terrain Response 2, All Wheel Drive (AWD) traction and braking systems. Every All Wheel Drive Discovery Sport uses Torque Vectoring by Braking (TVBB) system which maximizes control and handling even through the tightest of corners. All this while retaining a class leading wading depth of 600 mm.

Further details on the New Land Rover Discovery Sport are available on the Land Rover India website www.landrover.in

Land Rover Product Portfolio in India

The Land Rover range in India includes the Range Rover Evoque (starting at ₹ 54.94 Lakh),  Discovery Sport (starting at ₹ 57.06 Lakh), the Range Rover Velar (priced at ₹ 71.87 Lakh),  Discovery (starting at ₹ 75.60 Lakh), Range Rover Sport (starting at ₹ 87.02 Lakh) and Range Rover (starting at ₹ 182.25 Lakh). All prices mentioned are ex-showroom prices in India.

Jaguar Land Rover Retailer Network in India

Jaguar Land Rover vehicles are available in India in 24 cities, through 27 authorized outlets in Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi ,Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kochi, Karnal, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mangalore, Mumbai , Noida, Pune, Raipur, Surat and Vijayawada.

Mobil and Raftaar Trend Nationwide with ‘Aage Chal’ Music Video

Mobil and Raftaar announced their collaboration to launch the story of Raftaar’s journey in a new single titled ‘Aage Chal’.

Speaking of the collaboration, Deepankar Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ExxonMobil’s lubricants business in India said, “Raftaar’s journey is inspiring to many young Indians embarking on their own journeys. As an automobile engine oil brand, Mobil is naturally connected to these journeys; and with Raftaar being a long time user of our products, we could together, tell an authentic story about pursuing one’s dreams.”

“Aage Chal was composed back when I was a struggling artist. I was determined to move forward regardless of the circumstances and conquer my dreams. A lot has changed since and with the love of the people, I have become what I am today. I hope to inspire others with this track and encourage them to keep moving forward irrespective of challenges. I am thrilled to collaborate with Mobil and share my journey. While I have changed my vehicles over time, Mobil has been a constant companion.” Raftaar added.

In recent times, the rap industry has taken spotlight with its radical language and references that relate to the youth. Raftaar, formerly a member of the urban music group ‘Mafia Mundeer’, shot to fame with the 2014 smash hit ‘Swag Mera Desi’, also featuring Manj Music. He has also been associated with a host of reality TV shows such as MTV Hustle, Roadies and Dance India Dance.

The new album was launched on February 10, 2020 and is live across all popular streaming apps.