The Tech Panda takes a look at recent tech launches.
Gaming & content creation: A suite of offerings for digital publishers
Gamezop, an HTML5 gaming and quizzing content platform launched three new products – Newszop, Astrozop, and Criczop – to expand its suite of offerings for digital publishers worldwide. These additions will empower apps and websites to seamlessly integrate diverse and captivating content, while boosting user engagement and driving advertising revenue.
“Gamezop’s mission is to build the world’s largest distribution network for digital content. The addition of these new verticals is a natural step in that direction,” said Yashash Agarwal, CEO and co-founder at Gamezop. “The successful launch of Quizzop in 2022 opened doors for us to explore new opportunities, eventually leading us to focus on Newszop, Astrozop, and Criczop. While each product has its unique features, for the easy of our partners, the integration process is the same. Our aim is to create a platform layer running across our products that centralises crucial functions – such as first-party data collection, privacy compliance, content recommendation engines, cloud infrastructure management, direct ad sales, and optimised ad serving – so that we can continue expanding into new verticals on a scalable basis and adding value for publishers around the world.”
The Why
In response to the global challenge of declining advertising revenues, Gamezop’s new offerings build upon its proven solution, empowering publishers worldwide with expanded capabilities. Publishers partnering with Gamezop can see a 15-40% boost in advertising revenue by integrating the company’s plug-and-play solutions for gaming, quizzing, news, astrology, and cricket.
Features
- Newszop is a plug-and-play solution that can be integrated within apps and websites as a news center. It offers verified, real-time news and trending stories from trusted sources.
- Astrozop is an embeddable astrology hub for publishers that engages their users with personalized tarot card readings. Exciting additions such as zodiac readings, compatibility reports, and career horoscopes are soon to follow.
- Criczop is an easy-to-integrate cricket portal designed for publishers catering to audiences in cricket-playing nations. It offers live scores, match schedules, commentary, highlights, and trending tweets.
- Consistent with the company’s flagship product (Gamezop) and quiz center (Quizzop), the newly launched solutions can be integrated within 30 minutes and are free for both publishers and their users. This ensures publishers enhance their platforms with engaging content without disrupting user experience or incurring costs.
FinTech: Electronic Bank Guarantee
RBL Bank launched Electronic Bank Guarantee (e-BG), signalling a significant step forward in trade finance digital transformation. Collaborating with NeSL, leveraging RBL Bank’s robust technology infrastructure, this solution provides an integrated platform that fortifies authentication, enhances security and reduces susceptibility to fraud. This achievement aligns with RBL Bank’s strategic focus on trade finance, marking a pivotal moment in the Bank’s digital journey.
Rajesh Lahori, Head – Transaction Banking, RBL Bank, said, “The e-BG offering is a significant stride in our journey within the digital world. Strengthening our capacity to structure solutions, the swift and completely paperless multi-channel issuance model improves the TAT and offers an enhanced value proposition for RBL Bank’s client base.”
Debajyoti Ray Chaudhuri, MD & CEO of NeSL, said, “NeSL’s e-BG substantially transforms the trade finance space and marks a milestone in the digitization of the banking services. e-BG envisages online and paperless procurement of stamp duty and thus the e-BG can be issued digitally in a couple of minutes and is made available to beneficiary instantly in a secure, digital and paperless form. In an era of digitization, it is only natural that the Banks move towards digitization of their trade finance.”
Features
- The e-BG product builds on the framework enabled by NeSL, incorporating their expertise in e-Stamping and e-Sign. This integration eliminates the traditional physical signing and stamping processes, seamlessly transitioning into a secure and efficient digital format.
- The advanced offering empowers RBL Bank customers to effortlessly request e-BGs through multiple channels across the Bank’s digital platforms and branch network.
Web3: zkSync hyperchains
Zeeve, a provider of Rollups-as-a-Service (RaaS) and web3 infrastructure, launched its support for zkSync hyperchains, equipping enterprises, developers, and web3 startups with essential zero-knowledge (ZK) Rollup infrastructure. This enhancement facilitates swift deployment and management of Layer 3 or Layer 2 hyperchains, backed by robust infrastructure, advanced automation tools, and continuous monitoring.
Dr. Ravi Chamria, Co-founder and CEO of Zeeve, shares, “Our partnership with zkSync, incorporating their hyperchains and ZK Stack into our launchpad, is a breakthrough. Zeeve’s Rollups-as-a-Service simplifies launches and offers assured enterprise-grade infrastructure, stringent security, and a varied web3 partner network. zkSync’s pioneering ZK Stack perfectly matches Zeeve’s ethos.”
“Building with ZK Stack and deploying highly customizable blockchains opens up a whole new design space for projects to launch use cases that weren’t possible before. With the addition of zkSync’s new prover upgrade in Boojum its design around state differences (“state diffs”), zkSync is now also consistently one of the cheapest rollups”, said Marco Cora, senior vice president of business and operations at Matter Labs. “Paired with Zeeve’s state-of-the-art RaaS offering, builders can seamlessly deploy in a time and cost-effective manner and be laser-focused on their innovative use cases.”
Features
Hyperchains, offered by zkSync, are hyper-scalable, interoperable, and fully sovereign zk-chains running on the top of Layer-1 Ethereum or Layer-2 zkSync Era networks. These fully sovereign zk-chains, leveraging ZK Stack, adopt a modular approach and give a choice to build different components of their blockchains for sequencing transactions, data availability, and privacy without losing interconnectivity with the rest of the Ethereum ecosystem through hyperbridges while also benefiting from the shared liquidity of the network This level of customizability and modularity opens the door to a multitude of applications, each benefitting from horizontal scaling, recursive proofs, and shared provers.
Zeeve’s integration with zkSync’s hyperchains enhances its RaaS platform, extending its enterprise-grade offerings to those looking to launch application-specific and highly customizable blockchains using ZK Stack. This includes the vast Zeeve community of over 27,000 developers and 40+ institutions.
Additionally, Zeeve’s integrated partner ecosystem further enhances zkRollups capabilities, encompassing interoperability protocols, decentralized oracles, account abstraction, and various tools. Zeeve also provides a 1-click Sandbox tool for easy zkRollup deployments and a Management Dashboard to manage the complex zkRollup infrastructure.
IoT, AI & ML: Integration of advanced tech to offer unprecedented control & optimization of fleet & operational performance
Taabi, a logistics management platform that leverages AI and IoT-powered technologies, launched its solution, the “Control Tower”. This innovative solution integrates a multitude of advanced technologies to offer unprecedented control and optimization of fleet and operational performance in the mining, construction, telco, and logistics industries.
Pali Tripathi, the Chief Executive Officer, Taabi, mentioned in one of her interviews, “I think the customer segments that we are dealing with, fleets, construction companies, or mining companies, these are businesses that run on razor thin margins. So what we focus on is our impact on ROI. Our job isn’t over until that is delivered for the customer.” She also mentioned, “that feet on street attitude to service the customer, educate the customer to improve the bottom line and the top line, is something that I think is differentiating for us so far.”
The Why
This inclusive suite of modern data-driven solutions will help mining and construction businesses promptly identify the root cause of complex issues. And, the dashboard will offer fluent controls to take urgent corrective actions.
The Control Tower is not just a tool; it’s a transformational solution that will redefine how the mining and construction sectors operate. With improved on-time performance on transit times, the Taabi Solution not only adds value to your business but also helps you add value to your customers’ business.
Features
- The Control Tower is an assembly of cutting-edge technological components, including IoT-integrated onboard sensors, sophisticated diagnostic tools, advanced data analytics, and AI/ML algorithms. This comprehensive suite works seamlessly to process data and generate actionable insights.
- It features an Advanced Video Telematics System for operations supervision, alongside GPS and geofencing integration for meticulous real-time tracking.
- Control Tower offers an incremental revenue of 5-10 Cr to fleets through increased uptime which can help customers grow their businesses.
- A dedicated 24*7 control room with experts on uptime, conflict resolution, and issue closure leads to minimising delays and improving uptime.
- Control Tower helps fleets realize the exact costs incurred in loading/unloading detention, higher turnaround times thus helping them understand the costs better and hence price better. This understanding can help fleets improve their business mix, identify more profitable routes/ customers and award them more business, thus positively impacting their bottom line too.
- The easy-to-use, single integrated, solution dashboard works perfectly across OEMs and vehicle models.
- What makes this solution particularly hassle-free is its dynamic dashboard control with an easy-to-use graphical interface. The intuitive app-like dashboard gives prompt access to functionalities like real-time visibility into fleet operations, operational analytics, activity automation and management, and detailed evaluation of fleet, fuel, and engine performance.
Digital Connectivity: Empowering businesses with nationwide coverage, offering connectivity infrastructure
The Space World Group launched Constl, a cutting-edge venture established in 2023 that empowers businesses with comprehensive nationwide coverage, offering business critical connectivity infrastructure.
Ankit Goel, Founder & Chairman of Space World Group stated, “Constl’s primary goal is to provide services that set the industry standard, aiming to stand out prominently among its peers. We want to give the flexibility of bandwidth specification, consumption model & scale at user convenience to our customers and business partners.”
Radhey R Sharma, Co-Founder & Director of Space World Group talks of continued growth and connectivity excellence stating, “As a part of the Space World Group, Constl aligns itself with the group’s commitment to create a scalable, seamless, and unparalleled digital infrastructure. With its launch, we aim to solve the reliability, latency and scalability issues for our customers and business partners. The need for a reliable fiber connectivity infrastructure will now be more than ever owing to the evolution of generative AI models, Data Center expansions and 5G network rollouts. Constl plans to be the largest neutral optical fiber network player in the country inspired to simplify the connectivity business.”
The Why
Currently in India, there is scarcity of good quality fiber as current fiber is built for access for dedicated customer set. There is a need for high-capacity and reliable network infrastructure which is flexible & scalable as per customer needs. In alignment with the national objective of achieving Digital India, Constl is committed to empowering businesses with seamless and robust digital connectivity. The venture envisions providing unparalleled network infrastructure, facilitating top-notch data connectivity to propel businesses forward in the digital era.
Features
The key services that they offer include on-demand services with ~100% uptime & low latency, configuration of paths and automated purchase of connectivity services. They also specialise in connecting key digital hubs and own their dedicated fiber network that provides for better control, quality, scalability & predictability of services.
Among other offerings they also provide dark fiber, private lines, low latency connectivity solutions, CLS black-haul and cloud interconnect services. However, the most ground-breaking of all is their DIaaS (Digital Infrastructure as a Service) platform. With its engaging interface for handling all kinds of networking requirements, a customer-centric UI/UX providing transparency, control, analytics, speedy delivery of services, it is a unique platform that will give control to businesses. It is the only neutral platform in the market with its own high-end fiber assets; enabling it to provide best-in- class service to Telcos, OTTs, ISPs, Data Centers, government projects & more.
EV: A comprehensive EV Shield add-on cover for four-wheeler, two-wheeler electric & hybrid vehicles
Digit Insurance, an Indian digital full-stack insurance company, launched a comprehensive EV Shield add-on cover under its Motor Own Damage policy for four-wheeler and two-wheeler electric and hybrid vehicles.
Mayur Kacholiya, Head – Motor Product, Digit General Insurance, said, “Our new EV-specific add-on coverage is designed to meet the evolving changes and needs of EV vehicle owners. The severity of damage among EVs can be higher and the repairs for the same can be costly due to expensive components and need for specialised automotive technicians. The specialised add-ons along with additional coverages will provide EV owners the much-needed protection and address the nuanced issues of electric vehicles.”
The Why
The Indian EV market has seen a significant growth with Jan-December 2023 period seeing sales of 15.29 lakh electric vehicles%. A specific add-on cover has been launched by Digit to meet this rising demand and address the unique insurance needs of EVs. India’s EV market is pegged to become a $266 billion market* with projected sales of 1 crore^ EVs per year by 2030.
Features
The add-on cover will come with three optional additional coverages to protect against any loss or damage to electrical panel for vehicle charging point, vehicle charger including charging cable, and also offer roadside assistance services specific to EVs.
The add-on will cover damages to battery or electric motor due to accident or external means, and also pay for any expenses incurred for repair or replacement of the battery due to water ingression and short circuit. The add-on will be offered under the Motor Own Damage policy of a vehicle and will provide all relevant vehicle coverages similar to any Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle.
The add-on cover will also offer three optional coverages to the customers to provide comprehensive coverage to the vehicles. The three coverages are:
- Electrical panel for vehicle charging point: Charging point electrical panel of a two-wheeler EV can be expensive and can be in the range of 8%-15% of vehicle cost and any loss or damage to the same can lead to significant loss. Under this coverage, one can cover any loss or damage to the electrical panel for vehicle charging point, including damage or loss to animal attack or scratch.
- Vehicle charger and charging cable: The charger used to charge an EV and the cable provided for the same can be costly. Any damage to the same can lead to losses worth tens of thousands of rupees. This add-on cover will protect both your charger as well as charging cable against any loss or damage. The coverage can be taken for both mounted as well as portable charger.
- EV Roadside Assistance: As EVs run on limited charge, the probability of them requiring roadside assistance is higher. Under this coverage, one can arrange for a portable mobile generator in case the vehicle runs out of charge. In case the vehicle battery is swappable, one can also get the same replaced with a charged battery. The vehicles will also be provided other roadside assistance services like towing or any other vehicle repairs, etc.
The add-on will be offered to both EVs as well as hybrid vehicles (electric and petrol/diesel). In case of claim, the policyholder simply needs to notify the insurer within three days. The entire claims process will be 100% digital and the insured would not need to submit any physical documents.
FinTech: Financial inclusion business to redefine access to financial services for the underbanked and unbanked
Hitachi Payment Services, an Indian payments and commerce solutions provider launched its financial inclusion business to redefine access to financial services for the underbanked and unbanked sections of society. List of services include – Aadhaar Enabled Payment Services, Micro ATM Services, Domestic Money Transfers, Mobile & DTH Recharges and Bill Payments.
Anuj Khosla, Chief Executive Officer – Digital Business, Hitachi Payment Services, said, “The remarkable growth of internet penetration and financial literacy in India, especially in our rural communities, presents an urgent call for a resilient payment infrastructure that can keep pace with this rapid expansion. Retailers and merchants are the last mile touchpoints, enabling easy access to finance for customers. Recognizing this, we are extending our services to include financial inclusion initiatives. In essence, we are not just building a payment infrastructure; we are building bridges to financial empowerment and contributing to the nation’s progress.”
Naveen Chaluvadi, Chief Digital Officer at YES BANK, said “YES BANK has partnered with Hitachi Payment Services to launch Hitachi Money Spot Plus as part of our commitment to promote financial inclusion. This initiative is aimed at enabling financial transactions at hinterlands, focus on taking digital benefits to last mile in an assisted digital mode”.
For the initial launch, Hitachi Payment Services has partnered with YES BANK. The financial inclusion business will be operated under the brand ‘Hitachi Money Spot Plus’ through a network of retailers called Hitachi Partners and will have a strong focus in Tier 3 to Tier 6 towns across the country.
Features
The array of services under financial inclusion business has been made available through its comprehensive app ‘Hitachi Money Spot Plus’ on Google Playstore. The app provides a convenient one-stop platform for financial services and this digital approach complements the Hitachi Partners network, ensuring accessibility and seamless service delivery across the country.
AI: A ticketing system that allows audiences to enter with facial recognition rather than QR code
Prisma AI tied up with the Jaipur Pink Panthers, the professional Pro-Kabaddi League team owned by Bollywood film star Abhishek Bachchan to introduce a next-generation ticketing system powered by Prisma AI’s verification platform Veri5 that allows audiences to enter using facial recognition technology instead of a QR code, making the tedious task of entering the stadiums quick and hassle-free. It also adds a layer of AI-powered security enhancements for the fans and the organizers.
Abhishek Bachchan, the proud owner of the Jaipur Pink Panthers, said, “Our collaboration with Prisma AI marks a groundbreaking phase in sports technology. This partnership reflects Jaipur Pink Panthers’ dedication to adopting technological advancements for the betterment of our devoted fan base.”
Dr. Shreeram Iyer, Chairman and Group CEO of Prisma AI, said, “As an Indian company, we take great pride in collaborating with the Jaipur Pink Panthers, representing a sport deeply embedded in our country’s culture. Our partnership aims to utilize computer vision for an improved in-stadium fan experience, streamlined venue access, and enhanced venue security.”
Features
By deploying Prisma AI’s unique visual AI algorithms, the system effectively helps minimize large crowds and wait times accompanying any sporting event, allowing for quick and efficient access and elevating the stadium experience for fans, teams, and organizers.
As part of the partnership, Prisma AI is closely working with the Jaipur Pink Panthers team and paytm insider to bring the power of computer vision to drive fan engagement and access to the venues for a seamless and secure experience.
Web3: Mainnet, to bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3 technologies
zbyte, a Web3 infrastructure platform, launched its mainnet, to bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3 technologies. The launch is backed by its $4 million capital raise with an additional $1m committed by investors- prominent participants in the investment round are the likes of Cartography Capital and Quarterback Financial.
Co-Founder Krish Kupathil says, “At zbyte, we’re not just building a platform; we’re shaping the future of Web3 development. Our mainnet is designed to empower developers, bringing Web2 ease and familiarity to the Web3 environment. We’re excited to see how this will accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology.”
Dan Quintero of Cartography Capital said “Investing in zbyte was a strategic decision for us. Their vision of making Web3 accessible to the masses and their commitment to simplifying the development process is truly groundbreaking. We believe zbyte is set to be a key player in scaling Web3 adoption.”
The Why
The zbyte mainnet introduces an innovative low-code, no-code module that enables Web2 developers to effortlessly create decentralized applications (dApps) without needing to reskill. This pioneering approach addresses the developer scarcity in the Web3 space, offering a user-friendly platform for rapid dApp development across multiple public blockchains. zbyte views India as one of largest developer markets in the world and plans to tap into the opportunity through its campus chain program with various universities, the team has already hosted several hackathons in India to build dapps.
Features
- zbyte’s DPLAT (decentralized platform) protocol is a feature-rich, public token infrastructure including an API-first approach, support for multiple Layer1 blockchains, connectors to Web2 systems, and the ability to use dApps with near-zero or configurable gas fees. Additionally, the platform ensures the portability of digital assets across blockchains and native ZKP-based privacy, all within a single package.
- zbyte’s DPLAT can be accessed at dplat.zbyte.io and has a steadily growing community to contributors and creators with several entities already building on the platform e.g., zblocks, a web3 consumer engagement platform for large brands, the f*word, a digital fashion creator suite and Genovatic, a professional services company driving blockchain adoption across multiple enterprise use cases. zbyte’s DPLAT also supports leading blockchains like Avalanche and Polygon today with an MOU with PWR chain announced and to be integrated soon.
Cloud: Enhanced multicloud networking portfolio to enable Indian enterprises to easily & efficiently connect apps across multiple clouds
Equinix, Inc., a digital infrastructure company, announced the general availability of Equinix Fabric Cloud Router, a new virtual routing service to help enterprises easily connect applications and data across multiple clouds and on premise deployments. The Router can help customers simplify their complex cloud-to-cloud and hybrid cloud networking challenges by providing an easy-to-configure, enterprise-grade, multicloud routing service that can be deployed in under a minute. Utilizing Equinix’s secure private connectivity, customers can connect applications across public clouds in more locations than any other service.
“Modern IT environments are highly digitized and distributed. TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group research shows that in 2023, 94% of organizations are now using multiple unique public clouds and the top drivers behind this adoption are to optimize performance and to scale applications. The network connectivity that supports these multicloud applications must provide the same ability to scale and improve performance. Equinix, with its extensive cloud on-ramp availability and low network latency combined with the recently added Equinix Fabric Cloud Router is well positioned to deliver these capabilities.” said Bob Laliberte, Principal Analyst, ESG.
Features
Customers can deploy Equinix Fabric Cloud Router in all 58 Equinix Fabric-enabled markets globally, including India, with low latency connectivity to all major cloud providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, as well as hundreds of other service providers like Akamai, ServiceNow and Zoom.
Delivered as a service on demand and in near real time, the Router can remove the costs and complexities of owning and operating a physical router or licensing a virtual router. By removing these limitations, customers can improve application performance, reduce cloud costs and accelerate services to market.
Enterprises can also accelerate their multicloud adoption by avoiding vendor lock-in with Equinix’s cloud agnostic service, eliminating networking constraints and enabling them to choose the right cloud environment and provider for specific workloads.
The router helps customers meet those demands in four specific ways:
- Multicloud Performance – Customers achieve the low latency between all major cloud providers with Equinix’s industry leading cloud-adjacent locations around the world, eliminating the need to backhaul traffic through a remote location. This superior cloud-to-cloud networking performance enables customers to quickly and easily support evolving infrastructure demands, like cloud migrations.
- Private Connectivity – By easily deploying private network connections, customers can avoid exposing sensitive data and network infrastructure to the risks of the public internet and support data sovereignty requirements.
- Enterprise-Grade – Customers can act with confidence knowing they are supported by a 99.999% uptime SLA and can scale bandwidth and connectivity across clouds without constraint using speeds up to 50Gbps, with hundreds of gigabits of aggregate throughput supported per router.
- Lowering Costs – Enterprises can reduce cloud egress costs by up to 75% using private cloud connections rather than egress over the internet. Built-in Equinix Fabric Cloud Router resilience can save IT teams even more by eliminating the need for expensive redundant routers. Delivered as a service, customers can pay only for what they need without being locked into long-term contracts and have the flexibility to scale up and down as needed.
