Tech3 TCS delivers in Q1 but there’s a catch; How Nvidia chips are powering Indian weddings; and more

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In today’s newsletter:

• TCS delivers in Q1 but…
• Nvidia out to disrupt big fat Indian weddings
• How WhatsApp, Telegram give Ola, Uber a nightmare

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What does a student say when they perform well on an exam but refuse to promise that the next semester results will be equally good?

“Too early to call if the growth momentum is sustainable”

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT firm, met street expectations with its Q1 FY25 results, indicating that FY25 may be better than the disappointing FY24.

• Consolidated net profit rose 9% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 12,040 crore

• Revenue rose 5.4% YoY to Rs 62,613 crore

However, the wage hike cycle during the quarter brought down margins by 130 basis points to 24.7%.

Another green shoot from the TCS stable was in the form of an increase in headcount.

What’s more? While TCS chief human resource officer Milind Lakkad did not disclose the company’s hiring targets for FY25, he said the firm will calibrate hiring but aim to reach the historical norm of 40,000 hires.

All said and done, the IT major still believes it’s too early to call whether the growth momentum will be sustainable or not. Because:

• Market conditions continue to remain the same as it was last quarter

• Discretionary spending remains elusive

TCS also saw a sharp drop in deal wins in Q1 with the order book at $8.3 billion.

There is nothing quite like the razzmatazz of the big fat Indian wedding — designer labels, extravagant jewellery, royal settings and multinational cuisines.

But, all that is in vain if the world remains oblivious to the grandeur. That’s why studios are making a pretty buck by shooting cinematic episodes of wedding ceremonies.

Six Indian custom computer makers are using a range of Nvidia chips — called RTX 40 — to build systems that can be used to speed up video editing using artificial intelligence.

And one of their main target groups is studios that edit videos and photos of big weddings.

Productivity jump: “Imagine a wedding videographer covering three weddings in a day. They have thousands of images, videos from different kinds of angles and you have to combine all those things… We are talking about 1.8x performance improvement,” said an Nvidia executive.

Photographs and videos capturing every moment is a major part of the planning and expense, and big weddings can set aside anything from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh just for this.

• An average Indian wedding spends Rs 30,000 to Rs 72,000 for filming the ceremonies and celebrations

• About 30-40% of the total cost is said to be going towards editing professionals and software.

• The entire segment of video editing of wedding shoots in India could be worth as much as Rs 66,000 crore.

If Nvidia’s RTX-based computers take off, the cost of creating these memories will plummet and we’ll get our photos and videos in no time. We all want our special moments delivered instantly, don’t we?

Go deeper

A rebellion is brewing among auto and cab drivers against ridesharing giants in the tech hub of Bengaluru.

Frustrated by slashed incentives and rising commissions, drivers are turning the tables with the help of messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and zero-commission apps like Namma Yatri

Cab drivers are increasingly relying on ‘duty groups’ on these messaging apps to challenge Ola-Uber duopoly

• There are currently more than 50 Telegram groups, each with a significant number of drivers – ranging from 1,000 to 35,000 – and it is only growing by the day.

It’s a win-win situation: the drivers pay no commission, and passengers only need to pay fares fixed by the government.

Auto unions are leaning on zero-commission apps like Namma Yatri and Nagara Metered Auto as an alternative to the ride-hailing incumbents

• Namma Yatri, backed by Autorickshaw Drivers Union (ARDU) has 38.9 lakh users and 1.9 lakh drivers in Bengaluru alone.

• Nagara Metered Auto app, launched with support from Karnataka Rajya Chalakara Parishath, allows people to book rides without downloading an app. It offers ride booking through website, QR codes, and WhatsApp.

Facing this exodus, Ola and Uber are scrambling to retain drivers. They’re rolling out financial aid and other perks to reduce attrition. In this tech-savvy tug-of-war, who will eventually emerge victorious? Only time will tell.

Go deeper

• AMD is buying Finnish AI startup Silo AI for about $665 million in cash in a bid to enhance its AI chip capabilities to compete against industry leader Nvidia.

• Everyone thinks they know what AI is but no one can agree and that’s a problem, writes MIT Technology Review.

Spanish wunderkind Lamine Yamal is the talk of the football world as the teenage sensation made history once again yesterday.

16-year-old Yamal became the youngest-ever goalscorer in the history of the European Championship when he scored in Spain’s semifinal victory against France, propelling the country into the Euro 2024 final. 

Last month, he became the youngest player to appear at a European championship and also set up a goal at the tournament. 

Yamal turns 17 the day before the Euro 2024 final on July 14. Will he be able to celebrate his birthday with a trophy? We will find out soon

Watch Yamal’s record-breaking goal