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Barco expands portfolio for hybrid meetings with ClickShare Present range

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Meeting room tech solutions provider Barco is about to expand the highly praised and awarded ClickShare family to enable businesses to prepare for a smooth return to the office and step into the new reality of the hybrid workplace. Completing the recent wireless conferencing range with two new models of ClickShare Present, their wireless presentation and collaboration solution, they offer customers worldwide the freedom to equip hybrid meeting rooms according to their own requirements, existing ecosystems, and company IT policies.

“There’s no going back to the way we worked before. We’re no longer prepared to slog to every meeting in person. And the virtual meeting has its shortcomings too. Instead, we are going for something better than both, which we call hybrid, a seamless blend of the physical and the virtual, of in-office and remote,” said George Stromeyer, Senior VP and GM Enterprise, Barco.

“In the past, technology has tried to recreate real life meetings. But in-person meetings aren’t perfect. At Barco, we have a different approach. We start with people. And how every person can be at their very best. Engaged. Agile. Fully involved. Inspiring each other. Only then we create the tech that makes that happen,” ?added Stromeyer.

“With ClickShare, our wireless presentation and conferencing hub, we make hybrid collaboration seamless for all. No matter where we are – in Barco Experience Centre in Singapore or at our workstation at home, all we need is one click to start collaborating and share content. Participants can engage in an immersive conferencing experience in a matter of seconds,” said Olivier Croly, Vice President – APAC, Barco.

Xiaomi claims record-breaking sales of Mi 11 Lite worth Rs 200 crores in a week

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The all-new Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite smartphone crossed sales worth over Rs 200 crores within the first week of its launch across all platforms – online and offline. Featuring as the slimmest and the lightest smartphone of 2021, Mi 11 Lite claims to have received an outstanding response from Mi Fans and consumers.

Dr Vivek Kumar, Business Lead – Mi smartphones, said, “While we continue exploring the different facets of technology to introduce best-in-class innovations, our endeavor has always been to prioritize consumers’ feedback and requirements. With the launch of Mi 11 Lite as well, we introduced the perks of a flagship level experience featured in an ultralight and slim form factor, for our fashionable young audiences. The 200-crore milestone is a testimony that we are constantly supported by our Mi Fans and consumers, when we try something new and exciting, and that there is an appetite for such devices in the market. We are grateful and overwhelmed for the love and trust that our consumers bestow upon us, always. We will continue exploring our potential to continue bringing nothing less than the best for all our Mi Fans.”

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite claims to come with power-packed features such as 6.55-inch 10-bit AMOLED DoT Display with 90Hz refresh rate. It is only 6.8mm thick and weighs at a mere 157gm. It features Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G and institutes a perfect blend of power and efficiency. It’s very capable triple camera setup with 64MP primary sensor, 8MP ultrawide lens along with 5MP telemacro lens are designed to offer natural yet professional grade shots. The smartphone also packs IP53 certification, preventing it from accidental splashes, and offers 100 per cent dust ingress protection.

Mi 11 Lite is available across Mi.com, Flipkart, Mi Home stores and over 10,000 partner retail stores.

Mi India joins hands with Cult.fit to promote health and fitness

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Smartphone player Mi India has announced its new partnership ‘Active with Cult by Mi’ with leading health and fitness platform Cult.fit. With consumers prioritising their health and wellbeing, Mi India aims to actively drive the narrative of Watchful living. The partnership will focus on taking small conscious decisions to enrich and enhance one’s wholesome mental and physical health, especially in the current times.

Mi India recently launched Mi Watch Revolve Active with #WatchfulLiving challenge. Collaborating with choreographer Shakti Mohan and Bollywood actor Aparshakti Khurana, it promotes healthy living and leads a productive lifestyle. This partnership with Cult.fit is another step in its journey of making its consumers live ‘better every day’.

Under ‘Active with Cult’, Mi India and Cult.fit will help in staying fit by making small tweaks in consumers’ lifestyle through exercise, food, mindset and introducing fitness regime with conscious incremental improvement. In addition to this, it will focus on mental health, functional watchful living, body positivity and home workouts, while also maintaining social distancing. The collaboration will be in the form of Fitness series powered by Cult, featuring Simran Nazare- Dance Fitness expert, Naveen Sharma- Yoga expert, Suvini Mehra- Strength expert and many more. It will also have Ask me Anything (AMA) Live sessions with personalities such as Shwetambari Shetty etc.

Xiaomi’s recently launched Mi Watch Revolve Active stands for watchful living through smart tech. With 32g super lightweight design, SpO2 monitoring, LifeQ health algorithm, advanced in-built GPS with Galileo, 117 sports modes with automatic workout detection and a long-lasting battery, Mi Watch Revolve Active aims to fit into every aspect of consumers’ lives. The built-in Alexa allows consumers to easily set reminders, alarms, etc, thus promoting a connected lifestyle. Taking a holistic approach to monitoring everything that matters, the watch also keeps a check on users’ vital stats at all times, thereby making it an ideal choice for those seeking an active lifestyle.

Karix Mobile, Truecaller partner to offer business caller ID solutions to enterprises

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Homegrown business cloud communications provider Karix Mobile has joined hands with Swedish caller ID firm Truecaller to launch the Verified Business Caller ID solutions for enterprises to enrich the user experience by fostering a communication ecosystem built on trust and safety. Enterprises in India can now leverage this solution to connect better with customers over voice calls through increased brand visibility, identity and credibility, they said in a statement.

With Truecaller business caller ID, Karix Mobile’s customers will bear a verified business badge and a verified icon when calls are placed to their end-users. In addition, the appearance of the brand logo and brand name on the handset will help enterprises identify themselves and facilitate improved service delivery when they connect with their users. The configuration of these features into voice calls will also help brands gain insights into the health of their call workflow.

Deepak Goyal, Chief Business Officer, Tanla Platforms, the parent company of Karix Mobile, said, “Our partnership is the coming together of two of the world’s most trusted names – Karix and Truecaller – in the enterprise to consumer communication ecosystem. The partnership is an extension of our commitment to provide purposeful, timely, and verified engagements to enterprises and their consumers.”

“The Truecaller business caller ID solutions will not only help enterprises improve the efficiency of their communication but also help end-users avail services by identifying the calls placed as genuine and important. On a real-time basis, enterprises will be able to establish their brand’s trustworthiness, improving their customers’ overall consumer experience,” Deepak added.

Enterprises attempt to reach out to millions of users each day to service, transact and interact with their customers. However, increasing instances of fraud and spam discourage users from answering calls, thereby, leading to a loss of customer delight, business opportunities, and revenue. With Truecaller business caller ID, enterprises can increase their customer outreach and service efforts. This results in improved response rates, driving higher customer satisfaction and call efficiency. For end users, the risk of falling prey to fraud, scams, or phishing is significantly reduced.

“Truecaller Enterprise has been set up with the goal of developing solutions for businesses that will not only increase the efficiency of their communications but also enhance their brand reputation and deliver considerable value and safety to consumers as a fraud prevention tool. With Truecaller Enterprise solutions, our reseller partners will play a critical role in facilitating productive communication for both end-users and companies. With Karix Mobile’s strong market presence and reach, they will play a critical role in expanding our business together and delivering tremendous value for end customers with the enterprise ecosystem,” said Priyam Bose, Global Head, GTM at Truecaller Enterprise.

Bharti to invest an additional $500m in OneWeb

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London-based satellite communications company OneWeb has secured further fund-raising on the anniversary of the successful bid by UK Government and Bharti Global to purchase it from US Chapter 11 to bring its total funding to $2.4 billion.

OneWeb has completed its transformation with the exercise of a Call Option by Bharti to invest an additional $500m into the company.

The announcement comes as OneWeb prepares for its eighth launch on July 1 (tomorrow), delivering highly anticipated and strategically valuable Arctic region coverage down to 50 degrees latitude.

The Call Option is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals. On completion of the Call Option and with Eutelsat’s $550m investment, Bharti will hold 38.6%. The UK Government, Eutelsat and Softbank will each own 19.3%.

The final shareholding structure may alter to the extent a member of the shareholders’ group chooses to exercise a part of this call option.

On completion, OneWeb will have secured $2.4bn of equity investment, with no issued debt.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, the Indian telecom tycoon who happens to be the Executive Chairman of OneWeb, said, “OneWeb represents a unique opportunity for investors at a key moment in the commercialisation of Space. With its Global ITU LEO Spectrum priority, Telco partnerships, successful launch momentum and reliable satellites, OneWeb is ready to serve the vital needs of high-speed broadband connectivity for those who have been left behind. Nation states can accelerate their universal service obligations, Telcos, their backhaul and Enterprise and Governments can serve remote installations.”

Rt. Hon Kwasi Kwarteng, MP, Secretary of State, BEIS, said, “Today’s additional $500m investment in OneWeb by Bharti marks yet another vote of confidence in the company from the market. It’s clear that investors see a strong future for this incredible, cutting-edge company and a robust commercial case for investment.” He added, “The Government’s equity stake in OneWeb not only allows the UK to deploy low Earth orbit technology, but will put our country at the forefront of the small satellite market which is set to rapidly expand over the years ahead.”

Neil Masterson, CEO, OneWeb, said, “The completion of our funding puts OneWeb in a powerful position. We have significantly lower entry cost of any LEO. We benefit from $3.4bn of pre-Chapter 11 investment by the original shareholders, making new OneWeb a three-times lower cost Constellation. With the forthcoming launch, we will have completed 40% of our network. We are intently focused on execution and just ten more launches will enable us to deliver global coverage. Investors have backed the extraordinary efforts of the OneWeb team to deliver more of the global connectivity the World needs.”

Infinix unveils dual colour-changing concept smartphone with 160W fast charging

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Infinix has announced its first concept smartphone that pushes the boundaries of innovative technologies and creative aesthetics to drive the future of smartphone designs forward. The Infinix Concept Phone 2021 combines the first dual colour-changing back cover and 160W fast charging technology, enhanced with 50W wireless charging, security protection mechanisms and new temperature control capabilities. Infinix is developing the next generation of accessible device features that consumers want, setting the tone for a new wave of commercially available smartphones.

“While many emerging features in the market today are expensive and unobtainable for the everyday consumer, Infinix is committed to offering consumers innovation at an attainable price,” shares Jessy Zhang, Senior R&D Manager of Infinix Mobility. “Creating valuable technology is the driving force behind the Concept Phone 2021. With Infinix being one of the most popular smart device providers among young people in emerging markets, our smartphones redefine productivity and efficiency and are a gateway to the future of digital life,” adds Zhang. Infinix will continue to develop and refine the technology showcased in the Concept Phone, so it can be implemented in future Infinix devices.

Infinix Concept Smartphone

The stunning Infinix Concept Phone 2021 combines electrochromic and electroluminescent technology to create the industry’s first dual colour-changing back cover, using light as the medium and electric field as the process. When there is an incoming call, the back of the smartphone changes between silver gray and light blue. When charging, it will change colour and flash in the middle of the device.

The concept phone uses ultra-thin, energy-saving and transparent solid electrochromic film (SECF) combined with an electroluminescence (EL) film. Infinix’s EL light emitting film opens the door for future developments with colour changing smartphones that have never been seen before.

To achieve 160W fast charging and 50W of wireless charging, Infinix integrates its Ultra Flash Charge (UFC) technology, Innovative Super Charge Pump, 60 security protection mechanisms and an 8C battery cell that enable the smartphone’s 4,000mAh battery to be fully and safely charged in 10 minutes.

The innovative Super Charge Pump is integrated with four high conversion charging chips that support high power conversion. This enables the smartphone to reach 98.6% charging conversion efficiency while avoiding overloading and overheating caused by large currents. Using 20 temperature sensors and intelligent control algorithms, the Infinix Concept Phone 2021 cleverly monitors the temperature while charging and adjusts the charging power to keep the smartphone under 40 °C/104°F. Infinix also collaborated with the world’s leading battery manufacturers to develop a new 8C battery cell that reduces more than 18% of internal resistance in comparison with a 6C battery and produces less heat.

Infinix-Concept Smartphone

Additionally, the added security protection is triggered during abnormal scenarios – such as high temperature, increased voltage, electromagnetic interference and more – to ensure the safety of the smartphone’s system.

The Infinix Concept Phone 2021 improves the 6.67-inch AMOLED display with the addition of an 88° limit radian that forms a perfect surface using 3D glass. Users are able to capture eye catching photographs with the phones’ intuitive AI-powered triple lens module comprising 64MP main lens, 120° ultra-wide angle lens and a telephoto lens that can achieve up to 60x digital zoom. The smartphone is also equipped with a 32MP front-facing camera for visually appealing selfies.

Other key features of the Infinix Concept Phone 2021 include:

  • A 64-bit octa-core processor with two performance core ARM Cortex-A76 and six power-efficient core Cortex-A55 CPUs clocked at 2.05GHz and 2GHz respectively. One of the fastest GPUs, the ARM Mali-G76 MP4(-900 MHz). Memory storage of 128 GB and 8GB RAM.
  • Android 11: The Android 11 software integrated into the Infinix Concept Phone 2021 incorporates a new power button menu, communication features and a notification history to further streamline the smartphone experience.

Firework comes up with open web livestream, shoppable videos for brands

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Firework is the world’s fastest growing short-video platform for publishers and businesses on the open web. Their open web initiative will now empower businesses and brands to sell their products through shoppable videos and livestream. Firework has launched their livestream and shoppable video capability with India’s first livestream sale on June 30 at 2 PM that will showcase more than 15 brands across various categories offering massive discounts and giveaways.

Firework is ubiquitous with their open web presence, drawing more than 100 million unique viewers each month in India alone and over 300 million globally. Now with their unique livestream and e-commerce capabilities, brands will be able to build their ecommerce ubiquity based on Firework’s open web shoppable videos debut.

With Firework’s livestream and shoppable videos, brands or ecommerce platforms can host a livestream and sell products on their own website.

Sunil Nair, CEO, Firework India, said, “There is a significant shift in the way people across the globe and India shop today. The pandemic influenced irreversible change in consumer habits and online shopping have replaced brick-and-mortar stores. However, for consumers a ‘serendipitous store – like’ shopping experience is what is missing from online shopping. Brands which are able to effectively offer the joy of brick-and-mortar shopping to an online shopping experience, will emerge as the winners in this space.”

Firework Livestream

Firework’s livestream commerce solution will bring a superlative shopping experience to their partner brands and will change the way consumers are buying online now. Firework shoppable video experience will be available for users to try out on June 30.

Some of the largest brands worldwide have recognised the power of livestream sales. Samsung, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger and Aldo, to name a few, have brought in a step change in the way they are engaging with their audiences and selling online. In fact, this market is growing at a CAGR of 28% globally and is expected to be a 247 billion USD market by 2027.

Firework is at the forefront of these innovations and Firework’s ‘in video’ commerce initiative brands can livestream content and influence purchase without really having to intrude into the viewers experience.

Nair further said, “It was essential for us as a business tool to make it easier for the brands to harness the advantages for mobile vertical videos, e-commerce and livestream coupled with the unlimited reach on the open web. Hence, brands can enable these with a simple integration rather than exhausting critical resources in developing this capability.”

“With ecommerce becoming hygiene, competition will only be a click away, delivering a superlative online shopping experience will be the single most important driver in the success of a brand. With Firework’s shoppable video and livestream capability, the brands will be able to add that all important ‘shopping experience secret sauce’ for their users,” he added.

With leading global brands already raking in billions through livestream shopping, this trend will see a lift-off in India as well. With a potent mix of shoppable videos and livestream, brands will not only be able to build that differentiator, but also pandemic-proof their business by driving immersive engagement through Firework’s livestream shopping capabilities.

Firework has an enormous partner network that includes publisher partners like Google, Airtel, Jio, Vi and leading traditional platforms and apps. Firework’s shoppable videos initiative will not be bound by the restrictions of an app or social media but will help brands harness the power of open with unlimited reach and more importantly, first party data to target audiences and drive superior ROI.

MediaTek brings in Dimensity 5G Open Resource Architecture for handset makers

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Global fabless semiconductor major MediaTek today launched the Dimensity 5G Open Resource Architecture that provides smartphone makers with more flexibility to customize key 5G mobile device features to address different market segments.

The open resource architecture gives smartphone brands closer-to-metal access to customize features for cameras, displays, graphics, artificial intelligence (AI) processing units (APUs), sensors and connectivity sub-systems within the Dimensity 1200 chipset.

“MediaTek is collaborating with the world’s largest smartphone brands to unlock customized consumer experiences that differentiate flagship 5G smartphones,” said Dr Yenchi Lee, Deputy General Manager of MediaTek’s Wireless Communications Business Unit. “Whether it’s novel multimedia features, unmatched performance, brilliant imaging or more synergy between smartphones and services, with our architecture device makers can tailor their devices to complement a variety of consumer lifestyles,” added Lee.

Key ways that brands can customize the Dimensity 5G Open Resource Architecture include:

Multimedia Experiences: With access to the in-chip, multi-core AI and display processors, brands can tailor multimedia experiences and unlock more synergy between the chipset and the smartphone’s display and audio hardware. Brands are able to utilize MediaTek’s artificial intelligence picture quality (AI-PQ) and AI Super Resolution (AI-SR) or can develop their own algorithms with customized video parameters and scenario detection backed by their own deep learning data or dynamically adjust display elements.

Hybrid Multiprocessing: The open resource architecture gives brands the freedom to fine-tune a device’s performance and power-efficiency through workload assignments customization across the chipset’s processing resources. This includes the central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), deep learning accelerators and visual processors.

AI Processing: Using the foundation of MediaTek’s NeuroPilot, brands have better access to MediaTek’s deep learning accelerator (DLA) within the MediaTek APU. This allows brands to apply customizations to the multi-threaded scheduler and customized algorithms. They can also choose to access the DLA’s capabilities to integrate INT8, INT16 and FP16 data types within a single AI hardware, which improves the device’s precision, performance and power-efficiency.

Camera Processing Engines: For both image and video capturing, brands are given raw access to the camera image signal processor (ISP) to directly control the data flow that immediately follows once content is captured. MediaTek’s Dimensity 5G Open Resource Architecture gives brands access to the Dimensity 1200 chipset’s low-level camera hardware engines to optimize the configurations to suit their chosen parameters, camera sensors and software setups. Brands can customize the chipset’s hardware-based visual processing engines, such as depth mapping, image stabilization, warp engine, colour correction and more.

Connectivity: To create a well-rounded customer experience, brands will be able to sync the latest Bluetooth features with profiles to match their wireless accessories, such as headsets or gaming peripherals.

The devices powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 5G Open Resource Architecture customized chipsets will hit the global market next month.

Telegram introduces much-awaited group video calls, screen sharing and more

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While its rival WhatsApp continues to be embroiled in a legal controversy with the government, messaging platform Telegram has rolled out a series of advanced features in its latest update, including Group Video Calls, Screen Sharing, Noise Suppression in Voice Chats, Animated backgrounds, a dedicated Bot Menu and many more. The Group Video Call feature is the third major voice chat update from Telegram in the last six months, which can enhance the collaboration experience during group activities like online classes, business meetings and family gatherings. It has also added new animated emojis and enabled the import of customized third-party stickers as well.

Group video calling and Screen Sharing

Users can now easily convert their voice chats into Group video calls by simply tapping ‘Share my video’ option in any active session. The Group Video Chat option is currently available for the first 30 people who join the voice chat (while number of audio-only participants is unlimited). Telegram will increase this limit soon as voice chats take on streaming games, live events and more.

To start a voice chat, check the: menu in the profile of any group where you are an admin (on iOS, you will find a ‘Voice Chat’ button right in the group profile)

Screen sharing feature gives a new level of boost to the users, especially who are using the platform for business related collaboration. Users just need to tap on the menu button, and press the screen sharing option followed by an app permission. In order to amplify the quality of the voice, Telegram has introduced Noise suppression option. This feature can be enabled during a live voice chat.

Tablet and desktop support

Tablets and computers have more screen space and offer more display options. Users simply need to tap to open the side panel and see a split-screen view of the video grid and list of participants, optimized for both portrait and landscape orientation. Voice chats on desktop open in a separate window, users can type and talk without minimizing anything. Desktop apps also have selective screen-sharing to broadcast an individual program instead of the entire screen of a particular user. While using the desktop app, and sharing screen by a specific user automatically gets pinned.

Animated Backgrounds along with creating and sharing options

Telegram is the first instant messenger app to introduce Animated Backgrounds. These multi-colour gradient wallpapers are designed algorithmically and move with beautiful looking aesthetics every time users send a message. Telegram is offering this feature along with many default themes pre-installed.

Users can find more animated backgrounds in Settings. Android: Chat Settings > Change Chat Background. iOS: Appearance > Chat Background.

Additionally, if any user wants to create their customized animated background with composition of different colors and patterns, the platform is offering the same, as well. Users need to choose three or four colours to unlock the animation, then add an optional pattern for extra style.

Enhanced user security measures and messaging interface with new animated emojis

Login Info Reminders becomes an essential feature to keep user’s phone number up to date on Telegram. This overall ensures a user can always log in to his account. In case the phone number has changed, users can quickly update it right from the new reminder in Settings on iOS.

Telegram has announced that the Android users will get these reminders in the next update. Users on all platforms will receive a notification from Telegram each time their Two-Step Verification settings are changed.

Users can now send stickers and emojis seamlessly from keyboards into the chat window – with lightweight animations that won’t affect the battery life.

On iOS, this also applies to media you send from the attachment panel, and even text messages. Your input text smoothly transforms into the message bubble as it flies into the chat.

In another interface change on iOS, Telegram has introduced transparent backgrounds which are now partially visible through the header and the footer in chats, giving the interface a classy new look.

Two new gradient app icons are available in Settings > Appearance in addition to the classic blue and black versions.

Bot API 5.3 with dedicated Bot Menu and Stickers importing ability for developers

Telegram has made it easier for users to communicate with bots, by adding a special menu button that let them browse and send commands. Bots can also change the placeholder in the input field to give you a better idea of what kind of message they are expecting. Moreover, the Bot developers can now create commands that change based on a user’s interface language and chat type, as well as special commands that only appear in specific chats or for admins.

The sticker bot on Telegram can help enthusiast users to create new sticker packs as well as get usage stats for their stickers on Telegram.

Telegram introduced access to third-party developers with tools to make apps that help people generate new custom unique stickers and import their creations to Telegram in one tap.

Developers who are interested in making apps that help users create stickers and publish them on Telegram. In case the developers want Telegram users to install the stickers made, they don’t need any additional apps. They can simply upload their set of stickers using Telegram’s bot, and then share the link with others.

Zupee ropes in Gaurav Mehta as Chief Marketing Officer

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Skill-based online gaming startup Zupee today announced the appointment of Gaurav Mehta as the Chief Marketing Officer. Gaurav will be responsible for leading the marketing activities to ensure maximum penetration in all parts of the country. He will also be responsible for establishing strong marketing fundamentals and mentoring a growing marketing team, while actively pursuing strong liaison with like-minded marketing partners across industries enabling faster and accelerated growth.

Gaurav brings over 19 years of experience, having led the marketing verticals of major companies including Yahoo India, OLX and GirnarSoft. An analytics and research driven marketer, Gaurav has been in the mobile marketing space since 2008. He has been felicitated with the ‘Marketer of the Year’ award by Exchange4Media Indian Marketing Awards in 2015 and Power Profile by LinkedIn in 2016. He was also recognised as ‘Forty under Forty’ by Exchange4Media Group in 2018 and 2019.

Dilsher Singh Malhi, Founder and CEO, Zupee, said, “We are pleased to have Gaurav head the marketing division at Zupee. As a user centric, rapidly growing player in a technology-led innovation field, we needed someone who understands marketing well to further enhance Zupee’s positioning and reach. Given Gaurav’s extensive experience in the IT sector, he brings a sound understanding of both B2B and B2C segments and an omni-channel approach to problem solving. We believe he is the right person for job and wish him a long association and the very best of stay at Zupee.”

Prior to joining Zupee, he was the Chief Marketing Officer at GirnarSoft, and led the marketing function at CarDekho, Gaadi.com and Zigwheels.