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India’s online gaming industry is levelling up.

The country’s ecosystem, already the world’s second-largest in terms of the number of players, is buzzing with activity as Nazara Technology prepares to raise about Rs 900 crore and increase its stake in Sportskeeda. 

The gaming and sports media company had earlier injected Rs 832 crore for a minority stake in PokerBaazi parent and had also acquired ‘Love Island’ games creators Fusebox Games. 

But too much of something can be bad.

The rise of online gaming is also matched by the rise in parental concerns as 80% of Indian parents, according to a Baatu Tech survey conducted earlier this year, worry that their kids might get addicted to gaming. Also, stories of financial ruin while playing real money games are heartbreaking.

This is one of the reasons why states like Tamil Nadu are keen on regulating the industry. The Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority is looking at cash limits on online gaming, restricting playtime to four hours, and a total ban between midnight and 5 am. 

Meanwhile, one of the reasons behind the growth of online gaming is working from home. But all that is now changing. 

Amazon’s plan to get employees back to the office five days a week is sparking global panic among professionals that their employer may do the same. Wipro too recently linked office attendance to leaves. CEOs are even willing to offer rewards to employees who make an effort to come into the office with favourable assignments.

But will the back-to-work move sustain? Not according to a Flex Index report, which found that two-thirds of companies that announced strict five-day-in-office mandates in 2023 shifted to hybrid work. 

After all, why can’t one make a PPT and do the laundry at the same time?

Lastly, TechSparks Bengaluru is just under a week away. Here is the who’s who of India’s startup ecosystem coming to India’s largest startup-tech summit.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• The tech hub powering Providence
• Challenging legacy HRM firms
• Investing made intelligent

Here’s your trivia for today: What is the world’s most expensive restaurant dish?

Interview

The tech hub powering Providence

Providence Health & Services, the 170-year-old not-for-profit US-based healthcare company that manages 51 hospitals and 1,000 clinics, has sharpened its focus on software technology for solutions that provide better outcomes for employees as well as caregivers and patients.

Helping Providence in this endeavour is its global technology centre (GCC) in Hyderabad, which employs over 1,500 people and is a key pillar for Providence to deploy digital platforms and develop new solutions in the areas of value-based care, predictive analytics, genomics, clinical research and sustainability.

Key focus areas:

• Providence India is playing an important part in the transformation of Providence and also for the larger US health systems, says Murali Krishna, Chief Global Officer and Head, Providence India, by digitally enabling health systems and bringing in technology to transform care.
• Technologies like AI have a significant role to play in healthcare, especially in enhancing experience, reducing administrative burden, and elevating health system efficiencies and performance, according to Krishna.
• Providence India is looking at doubling its headcount in the next few years, as well as getting into healthcare consulting services to advance its digital agenda through partnerships with other health systems.

Funding Alert

Startup: Nazara Technologies

Amount: Rs 900 Cr

Round: Preferential equity issue

Startup: Kaleidofin

Amount: $13.8M

Round: Equity

Startup: Schmooze

Amount: $4M

Round: Series A

Startup

Challenging legacy HRM firms

The human capital management market is highly competitive, with hundreds of companies in the space overall. However, when it comes to solutions built specifically for enterprises, the competitive landscape narrows significantly, with only five to six players.

Built in 2015 by Chaitanya Peddi, Rohit Chennamaneni, and Jayant Paleti, Darwinbox competes with established vendors such as Oracle and SAP, which have long been leaders in the enterprise resource planning and human resource management space. 

Streamlining HR processes:

• Darwinbox, which operates as an HCM platform, provides a comprehensive suite of solutions tackling various HR needs such as recruitment, onboarding, performance management, payroll, and employee engagement. 
• The startup’s offerings include its all-in-one reporting and analytics engine, integration with Microsoft Teams, AI virtual assistant, and an advanced payroll platform.
• The company currently serves over 900 global clients, with the largest customer base coming from the banking and finance sectors. Some of its clientele include BigBasket, More Retail, JSW, Emcure, Glenmark, WeWork, and CRED, among others. 

Woman Entrepreneur

Investing made intelligent

Quantitative finance, or quant finance, uses statistical and mathematical methods to analyse and predict financial markets.

Believing in the potential of quant investing, Sonam Srivastava wanted to tap into a clientele comprising larger clients like HNIs and institutions, and also create access to anybody interested in it, which eventually led to the creation of  Wright Research in 2019.

Data-based quant investing:

• Wright Research offers services in equity advisory, thematic portfolio subscription, mutual fund advisory, alternative advisory and existing portfolio review service, runs futures-based statistical arbitrage strategies for HNI clients and algorithmic models for trading futures and options.
• The company has managed more than a lakh clients over five years and currently has 25,000 active clients, who belong to the 25-40 years age group usually working in the tech industry.
• The company raised money through a pre-seed round from BSE Institute Limited Ryerson Technology startup Incubation Foundation (BRTSIF), Govt. of India, Nidhi SSS in 2020, and Orios Venture Partners in 2022.

News & updates

• Party over: Tupperware, known the world over for its plastic food storage containers, has filed for bankruptcy after years of falling popularity and financial troubles. Tupperware has historically sold to consumers only through so-called direct sales, most commonly at “Tupperware parties”.
• To the moon: Intuitive Machines’ stock jumped in early trading after NASA awarded the lunar-focused company a major contract to build moon data satellites. The company was the sole awardee to build “lunar relay systems” for the agency’s Near Space Network, a system that communicates with missions that are up to 1 million miles from Earth. 
• Rare win: Google has won its challenge against a €1.49 billion fine from the EU for blocking rival online search advertisers. Europe’s second-top court ruled the European Commission—which levied the fine—”committed errors in its assessment”.

What is the world’s most expensive restaurant dish?

Answer: Chocolate Pudding at Lindeth Howe Country House in England. The dish costs $35,000.

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