It's a wrap: News this week (Aug 30 -- Sept 5)

There have been multiple developments this week on the tech front. From UST divestment to India’s first indigenous space grade chip, here is a list of the most important updates for a quick catch-up:

UST divests healthcare IT unit

IT services firm UST on Thursday has agreed to sell its healthcare management solutions unit, UST HealthProof, to private equity firm Bain Capital for over $1 billion, in a move that will allow the IT company to sharpen its focus on faster-growing areas such as enterprise AI, cloud transformation, and data modernisation.

The California-headquartered company, which has a significant India presence, said it plans to channel proceeds from the deal into building AI-enabled platforms and vertical industry solutions. It is also betting big on platform engineering, which it said is reshaping the digital paradigm for clients across healthcare, banking and financial services, insurance, and retail.

Syrma SGS forms JV with Italy’s Elemaster

Chennai-headquartered electronics components manufacturer Syrma SGS Technologies on Tuesday announced a strategic joint venture (JV) with Elemaster, an electronics design and manufacturing company headquartered in Italy.

The new entity, to be renamed Syrma SGS Elemaster Private Limited, will create an India-focused platform with a focus on delivering advanced, high-reliability electronics solutions for railway, industrial, and medical applications, the company said in an exchange filing.

Located in Bommasandra Industrial Area, Bengaluru, the facility will initially cover nearly 20,000 square feet, equipped for SMT, THT, and box-build assembly lines, it added.

SiMa.ai partners with LTTS

IT services firm L&T Technology Services has announced a partnership with San Jose-based AI startup SiMa.ai. Through this partnership, the firms will be providing AI-based solutions across industries such as mobility, healthcare, industrial automation, and robotics. The joint development of use cases in these areas is expected to drive the expansion and broader adoption of SiMa.ai’s platform.

This partnership integrates LTTS’ deep engineering expertise and domain focus with SiMa.ai’s Machine Learning System-on-Chip (MLSoC) ONE platform and software SDK. SiMa.ai will deliver industry-leading AI hardware and software solutions by leveraging LTTS’ core engineering capabilities and human capital investments across key areas.

TCS to implement Odisha Government’s AI-enabled financial management system

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been selected by the Government of Odisha to design and implement the third version of the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS 3.0). The new platform will use artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud-native technologies to automate and streamline the state’s financial processes.

TCS has been working with the state since 2005, beginning with the Odisha Treasury Management System, followed by IFMS 1.0 and 2.0. The launch of IFMS 3.0 marks the next phase of this partnership.

In a separate but related news, TCS, on Monday said that it has completed a major digital migration for Scottish Widows, transferring over 3.8 million customers to TCS' BaNCS platform, which is managed by its subsidiary, Diligenta. TCS also entered into a €550 million agreement with Tryg, a Scandinavian non-life insurance company, to support a large-scale digital transformation over the next seven years.

Semicon India 2025

The main highlight of Semicon India this year, held between September 2 and 4, was the launch of the indigenous 32-bit microprocessor. Called VIKRAM3201, the microprocessor has been designed and developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of ISRO in collaboration with Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL), Chandigarh. It is best suited for space missions. It is an advanced successor to the 16-bit processor called Vikram1601, that has been used in ISRO’s launch vehicles since 2009.

Jointly organized by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and SEMI, the global industry association for the electronics manufacturing supply chain, the event saw about 13 high profile memorandum of understanding (MoU) being signed.