One fast factor: India, US signal rare earth and critical minerals pact amid world provide chain push.
In at this time’s publication:
- Nandan Nilekani’s new deep tech fund
- CERT-In’s AI warning for India Inc
- IT companies kind almost 30% of India’s GCC tech workforce
P.S.: Tune into Tech3 Podcast, your day by day dose of tech and startup insights. Monday to Friday! Test it out on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. And don’t overlook to sign up to The AI Edge, our weekly publication on all issues synthetic intelligence (AI).
Was this text forwarded to you? You possibly can sign up for Tech3 here
High 3 Tales
Nandan Nilekani’s new deep tech fund
If India’s enterprise capital ecosystem is coming into its AI period, Nandan Nilekani needs a front-row seat.
What’s occurring?
Fundamentum Frontier Advisors (F2A) is the most recent signal. It’s a new Rs 2,000 crore ($210 million) deeptech and AI fund floated by Ashish Kumar, co-founder of Fundamentum Partnership.
- The fund will likely be below the identical Fundamentum umbrella and anchored by Nilekani himself.
- Of the Rs 2,000 crore, Rs 1,000 crore is the inexperienced shoe choice (which Kumar expects to train over the approaching months)
“I’m excited to assist Ashish and the workforce to additional Fundamentum Frontier’s AI and DeepTech technique and its give attention to long-term worth creation,” Nilekani mentioned.
Months of deliberation
Kumar launched F2A after months of backwards and forwards with the highest administration at Fundamentum.
- He was earlier considering a brand new and impartial solo GP fund however has shelved these plans.
Kumar was in search of better flexibility in funding technique and a broader investing mandate, sources informed us. Since his calls for have been met, he has determined to remain again.
“I’m personally not an enormous fan of the solo GP setup,” Kumar informed us in an interview.
In the meantime, Fundamentum Partnership has entered its portfolio administration section – and Sanjeev Aggarwal is planning the following steps.
What is going to it give attention to?
F2A will make simply deeptech and AI bets. It is going to:
- Look to again 4-5 firms within the coming 6-9 months
- Make investments wherever between Rs 50 and 150 crore in every firm
- Do a complete of 12-15 investments with this fund
F2A may have a fund lifetime of 8 years. It has roped in Debraj Banerjee as Basic Companion and is trying to rent extra.
CERT-In’s AI warning for India Inc
AI is blurring the hole between a flaw in software program and a full-blown cyberattack
Driving the information
CERT-In has requested organisations to patch or isolate vital internet-facing vulnerabilities inside 12 hours “the place possible”.
Inform me extra
In a brand new blueprint on defending in opposition to AI-assisted cyber exploitation, CERT-In warns that conventional safety fashions constructed round periodic audits and reactive responses are not sufficient.
The company says generative AI, autonomous brokers and AI-enabled automation are:
- Accelerating vulnerability discovery
- Producing focused phishing campaigns at scale
- Enabling adaptive malware
- Reducing the barrier for less-skilled attackers
Concern is about pace
CERT-In repeatedly stresses “steady publicity administration”, steady monitoring and speedy remediation.
It has advisable takedown timelines for different vulnerabilities as effectively. They embrace:
- Patching, mitigating or eradicating of vital externally uncovered vulnerability inside a day.
- Patch or mitigate recognized exploited vulnerability affecting inside programs inside a day except different controls are carried out and so forth.
The answer
The blueprint warns that AI-assisted offensive instruments are pushing organisations in direction of Zero Belief Safety fashions, behavioural analytics and so forth.
- CERT-In additionally hyperlinks implementation again to India’s broader cyber compliance structure, together with six-hour incident reporting obligations and steady audits by empanelled auditors.
IT companies kind almost 30% of India’s GCC tech workforce
India’s GCC increase isn’t killing IT outsourcing, it’s simply altering what will get outsourced.
What’s occurring?
Whilst world functionality centres construct bigger in-house tech groups, 15-30% of their tech workforce nonetheless comes from IT providers companies, in response to knowledge from TeamLease Digital.
- Mega GCCs like Barclays which have over 32,000 staff in India, outsources about 30-40% of their tech expertise from IT companions.
What’s driving this?
Whereas GCCs are controlling core engineering, AI technique and IP-heavy work internally, they’re outsourcing capabilities together with legacy modernisation, cybersecurity operations and cloud migration.
- That shift is creating recent alternatives for IT majors reminiscent of Accenture, Tata Consultancy Companies, Infosys, HCLTech and Wipro.
- IT firms are repositioning themselves as AI transformation and execution companions of GCCs.
By the numbers
India now hosts 2,117 GCCs using 2.36 million professionals.
- The ecosystem is at the moment valued at $98.4 billion, in response to Nasscom-Zinnov.
Up subsequent
Specialists mentioned FY27 might mark a structural reset in GCC-IT partnerships, with contracts shifting from headcount-based outsourcing to AI-led, outcome-driven engagements.