It’s a wrap: News this week (May 3 — May 9)

There have been multiple developments this week on the tech front. From new acquisition deal to OpenAI’s data residency in India, here is a list of the most important updates for a quick catch-up:

OpenAI announces data residency in India

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has announced data residency in India for its select offerings to meet the local data sovereignty requirements. In an announcement, OpenAI said that data residency will be available for ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu, and the API Platform in Asian countries such as India, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

This data residency builds on its existing enterprise-grade data privacy, security, and compliance features. Until the recent announcement, most of ChatGPT's servers were housed in data centers in Texas, USA. To support users around the world, including in India, OpenAI relies on Microsoft’s Azure Cloud services.

BSE, NSE tighten security

As a result of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack, public institutions are maintaining heightened vigilance over the security of their digital infrastructure.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) have taken precautionary steps, including geo-blocking international access to their websites, as reported by Reuters.

BSE, a “market infrastructure institution”, said that it has placed this temporary restriction as a precautionary and protective measure. Additionally, a circular from the bourse on Wednesday, citing an advisory from nodal agency Cert-In, asked market participants to practice precaution. 

TEECL announces new digital arm

One of India’s leading power infrastructure companies, Techno Electric & Engineering (TEECL), has launched its wholly-owned digital infrastructure arm. Backed by an investment of $1 billion, the newly launched Techno Digital Infra Pvt Ltd will comprise an integrated network of hyperscale and edge data centers with a cumulative capacity of 250 MW across the country.

To be sure, in September 2024, TEECL announced that it had won a deal to build transfer edge data centres (EDC) for RailTel in 102 Indian cities. RailTel is a public sector undertaking wholly owned by the Indian Railways.

Nutanix makes key announcements

US-headquartered enterprise cloud computing company Nutanix made a slew of announcements focussing on artificial intelligence, Kubernetes innovation and strategic partnerships, aimed at hybrid multi-cloud infrastructure. The announcements made at their annual flagship event - .Next, held in Washington DC this year from May 7-9, attracted over 5,000 attendees.

One of the key announcements was the launch of Cloud Native AOS, a hypervisor-free iteration of Nutanix’s core storage software designed to run natively on Kubernetes clusters.

HCLTech announced AR-based solution for IT infrastructure

HCLTech has announced the launch of a new augmented reality (AR)-based IT infrastructure management solution. The solution is developed in collaboration with AR visual support provider CareAR and enterprise software provider ServiceNow. The offering aims to enable remote support, intelligent automation, and enhanced visibility into critical infrastructure operations.

This week HCLTech also secured a multi-year agreement with Taylor Wimpey, one of the UK’s leading residential property developers. As part of this deal, HCLTech will serve as Taylor Wimpey’s end-to-end IT services partner, delivering a comprehensive range of digital and infrastructure solutions aimed at modernising its IT landscape.

KPIT acquires Caresoft

Automotive and mobility focused tech firm KPIT Technologies said Tuesday it has inked a deal to acquire the engineering solutions division of US-based Caresoft Global for $191 million (₹1,614 crore).

The acquisition will involve full ownership of four units: Caresoft Global Technologies, Inc. (USA), Caresoft Engineering Services Limited (UK), CAREGLOTECH de RL de CV (Mexico), and OXI SRL (Italy).

Caresoft Global is into automotive benchmarking and cost-reduction-oriented engineering solutions. As part of the deal, it will restructure the business into benchmarking and engineering solutions units with KPIT acquiring the carved-out Caresoft Engineering solutions business globally that is primarily focused off-highway, truck and bus segments and manufacturing Solutions.