Infosys in JV with Temasek for cloud, AI tech, expanding SE Asia presence

India’s second largest IT services company Infosys has formed a joint venture with Singapore's state fund Temasek that will help the Bengaluru-headquartered firm increase its footprint in South East Asia by offering services in areas like cloud, analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

As part of the agreement, Infosys will invest up to $8.7 million to acquire 60 per cent in the joint venture entity, while Temasek will hold the rest. Around 200 of Temasek’s employees who were part of its wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore Trusted Source Pte Ltd, will be part of the joint venture, while Infosys’s staff will join over time.

Trusted Source currently delivers IT services to Temasek and a number of other clients in the region.

"Infosys gains significant capacity in terms of the workforce as it focuses on strengthening its footprint in Southeast Asia, while Temasek will see a rapid enhancement of its IT services through the JV entity," Infosys said in a filing with the exchanges.

Google India's literacy programme 'Internet Saathi' now in 100,000 villages

Riding on the 'Internet Saathi' programme - a digital literacy initiative aimed at empowering women in rural India, Google India on Wednesday announced that it has now reached 100,000 villages in the country.

Launched as a pilot in Rajasthan in July 2015 along with Tata Trusts, Google announced plans to scale the programme to cover 300,000 villages across India in December the same year.

"From being afraid to touch a smartphone, worried that they will spoil it, to now demanding services that can help them get more from the Internet - women in rural India have come a long way," Sapna Chadha, Director Marketing, South East Asia and India at Google, a statement said.

"We are delighted with the progress we have made with the 'Internet Saathi' model and it is remarkable to see the passion of these women learning about the Internet," she added.

In its two-year journey, the initiative has continued to gain momentum and is today live in 10 states in India.

Nearly 25,000 fully-trained 'Internet Saathis' are working everyday in these villages to help women and children learn about the internet.

In total, over 10 million women have gained from the programme so far and have become familiar with the benefits of using the Internet in their daily lives.
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