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Also in this letter:
■ IT firms may be hit as multinationals log out of Russia
■ Memelord Elon Musk’s Twitter rodeo could set a trend
■ Tata Neu users report several glitches on day 1
BharatPe CEO denied Ashneer Grover access to firm’s financials, sparking row
Another email fight involving Ashneer Grover has emerged in the sordid BharatPe saga.
Grover, who resigned from the company amid various controversies on March 1, asked the board for access to BharatPe’s management information system (MIS), which details the company’s business performance. But CEO Suhail Sameer rejected his request, saying he was not defined as an investor in the company.
Shots fired: This led to a heated exchange over email.
“Investor is a defined term as per SHA (shareholders agreement). I am asking our general counsel (marked on the email) to send you the definition as per your reference…,” Sameer told Grover in an email on March 31. He added that even when Grover was CEO, the company’s financials weren’t discussed with everyone.
Grover retorted that Sameer was wrong and that he openly shared company financials with “the whole market – including those who are sitting on the cap table now”.
“So don’t tell me what used to happen under me. I don’t need to hide behind anyone,” he added.
Grover writes to board on LinkedIn spat: Meanwhile, A day after Grover and Sameer got into a spat on LinkedIn, Grover sent a letter to BharatPe’s board, asking it to serve Sameer a ‘show cause’ notice.
The bizarre war of words began after some BharatPe employees posted on the professional social networking site that they hadn’t received their salaries for March.
Grover responded to the post, tagging Sameer and Hersimran Kaur, head of financial control at BharatPe. He wrote: “Folks please look into this. Not done — their salaries have to be paid first before anything.” His sister Aashima Grover also joined in, describing BharatPe’s top management as a “shameless bunch”.
To this, Sameer responded, “Tere bhai ne saara paisa chura liya (your brother stole all the money). Very little left to pay salaries.” The comment drew an immediate backlash and Sameer later apologised.
IT firms may be hit as multinationals log out of Russia
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may indirectly affect the business of Indian IT services companies.
How? They could see reduced technology spending by clients, especially in Europe, as several global firms exit or pause operations in Russia, technology analysts told us. High inflation is compounding the problem, they added.
As a result, software exporters may suffer a “softening of momentum” even though Russia contributes less than 2% of revenue for India’s $227-billion IT industry, according to analysts who track the sector.
Recently, consultancy HFS Research revised its growth forecast for global IT services spending in calendar year 2022 to 7%, down from the 10% it had predicted at the end of last year.
Sanctions bite: Since the start of the war, western governments have imposed multiple sanctions on Russia, effectively making it difficult for corporations to do business in the country. Cutting off oil supply from Russia — the world’s third-largest exporter — has also fuelled crude and commodity inflation.
These measures have paused companies’ digital transformation plans and reduced their technology spends, according to a study by Dolat Capital.
The study tracked over 300 multinationals such as Volvo, BP, Daimler Truck and Mastercard, which have either fully exited the country or signalled that they will not take up new businesses in Russia. The decision could reduce these companies’ revenue by 1-5%, Dolat estimated.
End of pandemic boost? This comes at a time when Indian IT has posted accelerated growth on the back of a sharp increase in digital and cloud-based deals stoked by demand for digitisation amid the pandemic. IT research firm ISG said top Indian IT companies won 31% of $33 billion managed services deals awarded in 2021 and this share was likely to increase.
Memelord Elon Musk’s Twitter rodeo could set a trend
Elon Musk snagging a board seat at Twitter could set a “precedent for a new kind of activism” that’s aimed at steering the “product and to some extent, the management” of the company and not its financial direction, according to multiple investors and policy experts.
Catch up quick: On Monday, Musk disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter. The next day Twitter said it would offer Musk a seat on its board of directors, a position he plans to use to bring about significant improvements on the platform.
Analysts believe Musk is attempting to “democratise communication in the same manner he democratised the space industry with SpaceX,” calling the move “unprecedented.”
Quote: “His (Musk’s) business interests have been to democratise technologies and platforms; it is no different with Twitter. He is looking to reach out to the masses to effectively create a people-led media platform where a lot of biases can be eliminated,” said technology analyst and consultant Faisal Kawoosa.
To be sure, the extent of influence that the Tesla and SpaceX founder will wield on the Twitter board is still unclear.
Ripple effects in India: Musk’s stance on free speech could also have ripple effects on the company’s Indian operations, according to privacy activists.
Cyber policy expert Prasanto K Roy said, “Twitter has tried hard to comply with the Indian government and the ruling party more than other platforms.” Its future prospects in the country, he added, would depend on increased compliance, which could clash with Musk’s views.
Outcry over appointment: News of Musk taking a board seat at Twitter has some employees panicking over the future of the social media firm’s ability to moderate content. Twitter plans to host Musk for a question-and-answer session with employees after a week of internal outcries, according to a The Washington Post report.
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Tata Neu users report several glitches on day 1
Tata Group, which has launched its much-awaited super app called ‘Neu,’ faced several issues on the first day of the launch.
Downloaded more than five lakh times on day 1 on Google’s Play Store, users faced sign-up issues and slow response times.
Many flooded social media with several complaints that Tata Neu’s search engine was much slower than those of Amazon or Flipkart.
Season of super apps: Tata Neu aims to take on Reliance and Amazon in the race to become the most popular super consumer app, addressing 12 segments including grocery, electronics, flights, hotels, health, beauty, luxury, cricket, entertainment and others.
Today’s ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Arun Padmanabhan in New Delhi and Zaheer Merchant in Mumbai. Graphics and illustrations by Rahul Awasthi.
