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Monday 19 November 2018

Blackberry to acquire AI and ML leader Cylance for $1.4B in its largest acquisition

oday announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to wholly acquire Cylance, an artificial intelligence and cybersecurity leader, for US $1.4 billion in cash, plus the assumption of unvested employee incentive awards. Pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, the deal is expected to close prior to the end of BlackBerry’s current fiscal year (February 2019).

“Cylance’s leadership in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity will immediately complement our entire portfolio, UEM and QNX in particular. We are very excited to onboard their team and leverage our newly combined expertise,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO of BlackBerry. “We believe adding Cylance’s capabilities to our trusted advantages in privacy, secure mobility, and embedded systems will make BlackBerry Sparkindispensable to realizing the Enterprise of Things.”

According to Gartner in its most recent Internet of Things Backbone Survey: security was cited as the top barrier to IoT success (35%), with privacy concerns (25%), and potential risks and liabilities (25%) also in the top five.

Cylance is a pioneer in applying artificial intelligence, algorithmic science, and machine learning to cybersecurity software that has proven highly effective at predicting and preventing known and unknown threats to fixed endpoints. The fast-growing company has become a market leader with an advanced and lightweight agent that resides on the endpoint, operates both online and off, and requires a minimum of memory and power to function. Founded in 2012, Cylance generates highly recurring revenue from over 3,500 active enterprise customers, including more than 20% of the Fortune 500.

“Our highly skilled cybersecurity workforce and market leadership in next-generation endpoint solutions will be a perfect fit within BlackBerry where our customers, teams and technologies will gain immediate benefits from BlackBerry’s global reach,” said Stuart McClure, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Cylance. “We are eager to leverage BlackBerry’s mobility and security strengths to adapt our advanced AI technology to deliver a single platform.”

BlackBerry Spark is a next-generation secure chip-to-edge communications platform for the EoT that will create and leverage trusted connections between any endpoint. Designed for ultra-security and industry-specific safety-certifications, such as ISO 26262 in automobiles, BlackBerry Spark will leverage the company’s deep portfolio of technology that includes FIPS-validated, app-level, AES 256-bit encryption to ensure data is always protected. BlackBerry Spark enables organizations to comply with stringent multi-national regulatory requirements. In fact, BlackBerry is the only EoT platform provider to achieve Common Criteria EAL4+ for both iOS and Android, offering the highest level of security in the market.


BlackBerry expects that after the anticipated close of the transaction, Cylance will operate as a separate business unit within BlackBerry Limited.

Thursday 1 November 2018

Tech Mahindra and BioNEST to Drive Research & Co-Innovation in Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology

Tech Mahindra, a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting and business re-engineering services and solutions, and BioNEST, a bio-incubator formed with the support of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Government of India enterprise under the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology – “UoH-BIONEST”, have today announced collaboration to drive research and co-innovation in pharmaceutical and biotechnology space.

The enterprises have signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to enable development of new technology platforms, and to foster the pharmaceutical and biotechnology innovation ecosystem in the country.  The MoU was signed in the presence of Prof. Podile Appa Rao, Vice Chancellor, University of Hyderabad, Prof. Gandham Prasad, Director, TIE-U, Prof. Pallu Reddanna, Project investigator, UoH-BioNEST, Mr.  Kandimalla Venugopal, Global Head Healthcare and Life Sciences, Tech Mahindra, Dr. Palakodeti, Ratnakar, Head Life sciences and Healthcare, Tech Mahindra, and other dignitaries.

Tech Mahindra’s collaboration with BioNEST will also enable industry and academia partnership, and ensure efficient exchange of knowledge in the area. Tech Mahindra will also provide technical and business mentorship for IP (Intellectual Property) and technology management, legal and contract, resource mobilization and networking platform.

Venugopal Kandimalla, Global Head, Healthcare & Life Sciences, said, “Tech Mahindra has delivered excellence in Healthcare and Life Sciences ecosystem. We have a comprehensive understanding of research and innovation in the biotechnology space, especially towards bringing the latest technologies to the fore and commercializing the concepts to solutions.”

Healthcare and Life Sciences vertical at Tech Mahindra works on new ideas and concepts by leveraging digital technologies. As the technology partner of BioNEST, Tech Mahindra will assist in providing all the technology support for the incubates within the center, along with joint go-to-market opportunities .

Dr. P. Ratnakar, Practice Head-  Life sciences, said, “This perfect blend of scientific research and technology stimulates the growth of the new process and products for the global Pharmaceutical and Biotech markets. Tech Mahindra’s partnership with BioNEST will further strengthen the innovations required for the Life Sciences ecosystem.”

With state of the art facilities, the bio-incubator with a size of 20000 sq. ft., is located at the School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad. 

Prof. P. Reddanna, Principal Investigator, BioNEST, said, “BioNEST at University of Hyderabad was set-up in 2018 with the Support of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Government of India Enterprise under Dept. of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology. BioNEST has the vision to support and nurture an environment conducive for start-ups in the areas of Biology and Biotechnology and promote bio-entrepreneurship. It provides incubation facilities for budding entrepreneurs, anywhere in the country, to transform their innovative ideas into products.”

Prof. Podile Appa Rao, considers this memorandum of understanding between UoH-BioNEST and Tech Mahindra will bring high-motivation among young entrepreneurs, and hoped for better translational outcomes through the culmination of information technology and artificial intelligence to the Life Sciences arena.

Tech Mahindra’s TechMNxt charter is all about “Collaborative Disruption”, and focuses on creating an ecosystem that supports collaboration in the real sense. As a step in this direction, Tech Mahindra has collaborated with some of the most exceptional start-ups, academia, drawing from the millennial workforce, and jointly creating cutting-edge technology solutions with partners.

Realme partners with Reliance digital for exclusive offline sales

OPPO's sub brand Realme has entered into exclusive partnership with Reliance digital for offline sales of their products. Earlier the brand was available only on online platforms hence the company said that this is a part of the brand’s commitment towards ‘Realme for every India’, bringing products packed with power and style closer to the consumers.

In the first phase of the partnership, Realme smartphones will be available at more than 130 cities across 600 Reliance Digital & My Jio stores starting from this Diwali for the customers.

Expressing delight on the partnership, Madhav Sheth, Chief Executive Officer, Realme India, said, “Realme as young brand is committed to delivering a differentiated experience to our customers with our products that deliver power and style. With this partnership with Reliance stores, we are proud to have more locations to deliver this experience and welcome customers to the Realme family. While the market responded well, we are expanding our sales channels to reach out to the growing demands which is a testimony to our approach ‘Realme for every Indian’”.

 “Through this partnership, we want to cater to the audience who does not have an access to the online platform and who want to compare and understand before making any decisions”, he added.

Speaking on this development, Brain Bade, CEO - Reliance Digital said, “We at Reliance Digital believe in personalizing technology supported by world class retail experience. With the addition of Realme to our portfolio, we will be enabling our consumers to experience conventional online brands at our stores complemented with high quality customer service.”

Realme in India adopted an online first approach as India is the most emerging online market in the world. With overwhelming response from consumers towards Realme offerings, it becomes imperative for the company to expand sales channels to reach out to more customers. Realme will focus on providing seamless service, maintaining the ‘Power and Style’ standard through associating with selected partners who can provide powerful service and stylized experience. Starting from January 2019, Realme will be expanding its footprints to top 10 cities to look for exclusive distribution partners.

Since its launch in May 2018, Realme products have been receiving immense popularity topping the charts. Recently the young brand created a milestone by selling 2 million units during the Big Billion Day and Festive Dhamaka sale on Flipkart. Furthermore, according to a worldwide report by Strategy Analytics, Realme has been ranked as the top leader in consumer satisfaction.

Twitter India asks users to vote for chosing favorite Emoji design for #HappyDiwali

Diwali is less than a week away and markets are flooded with all sort of products, sales, discounts etc. Indian markets have always catered to the festive season well, taking note of which multi national companies such as Amazon, Samsung, Honor, LG and every other small or big brand has come out with their best products and best discount offers. Sensing that Diwali is no less than Christmas of the west, MNCs are busy now a days in making most of the season.

Joining the wagon, Twitter India has announced Twitter India announced today a special Twitter Poll for people to select their favourite Diwali emoji design and the most voted design will activate as the #HappyDiwali emoji for this year

There are three options to choose from :


  1. Animated Rangoli Design
  2. Lantern
  3. Diya
So what are you waiting for, follow below twitter post and vote for the emoji you would like to see next to #HappyDiwali.



Honor president George Zhao shares Honor's ‘Fearless Technology, Infinite Innovations’ at TEDx CaohejingParkSalon

George Zhao, President of Honor, delivered his first TEDx talk at Caohejing Park, Shanghai today where he shared his vision for perfection and technological innovation. Zhao also revealed how Honor received global success by becoming the top smartphone e-brand in China for four consecutive years.

At TEDx CaohejingParkSalon Zhao explained to a young audience of budding entrepreneurs that “in 2015, I travelled back to my homeland to lead Honor. Although I only had B2B experience back then, I knew that I only had one option – to make Honor succeed. Over the past few years, in a ‘Fearless Technology, Infinite Innovations’ environment, Honor never ceases to enhance its technology or product quality and raise its core competitiveness. Innovation, quality and service have always been and always will be our top priorities. By continuously exploring these three areas, our upcoming ‘Honor Magic 2’, will be officially unveiled next week in Beijing and is bound to take smartphones to a whole new level. We believe that a company can only rise above the rest and stay relevant by delivering the best product with ultimate user experience.”

Mr. George at his first TEDx


“As a fastest-growing mobile phone brand, Honor never adopts an opportunistic approach in devising strategies. In 2015, Honor insisted on pooling their resources to deliver the best product and service quality, instead of relying on the ‘spur-of-the-moment’. In 2016, when the global smartphone market suffered a steep decline, Honor persevered and was resolute in its vision. In 2017, when the industry was skeptical about their prospects, Honor insisted that its enterprises keep their vision focused on the future and boost momentum. In 2018, despite the smartphone market in China hitting a severe slump, Honor sailed through the storm. Not only did they record positive sales growth, they also remained China’s top smartphone e-brand for the year,” he added.

As a leading smartphone e-brand, Honor encourages young people to achieve their life dreams every day and always stay true to themselves, with a commitment to innovation that changes people’s lives. The aim of today’s TEDx talk was to share this passion and confidence with young people directly, helping them to fulfill their aspirations and change the world.

By empowering human beings to foresee the future, AI has always been a core strategic technology for Honor. Long before the industry came to realize the importance of AI, Honor had already invested heavily in AI R&D and built an AI ecosystem.

Zhao started his career with Huawei in 1998, working with them for 20 years in China and around the world. This experience gave him a great insight into how we use technology in our everyday lives and how it can change our lives for the better. As the President of Honor, he is responsible for the overall business management and growth of the Honor brand.