Tech5: Flipkart has a firm IPO timetable, Microsoft showcases water-saving data centre cooling, and more

Forbes India's daily tech news bulletin with five headlines that caught our attention

By Harichandan Arakali Forbes India Staff

Published: Dec 10, 2024 10:14:18 AM IST

Updated: Dec 10, 2024 10:53:33 AM IST

Flipkart is preparing to go public in 12-15 months, with India’s capital markets picking up and rewarding large internet companies with strong business operation Image: Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images

Flipkart has a 12-15 month IPO timetable

Flipkart is preparing to go public in 12-15 months, with India’s capital markets picking up and rewarding large internet companies with strong business operations, Economic Times reports, citing people familiar with the plan. Flipkart expects to list its shares in Mumbai in the calendar year 2025 or in the first quarter of 2026, according to ET.

Owned by the US retail giant Walmart, Flipkart has secured internal approvals to move its ‘domicile’ status back to India from Singapore as part of its preparations, according to ET. The company is the biggest business in India’s ecommerce market, which is rapidly evolving on multiple fronts, from payments to quick commerce.

TikTok loses challenge of stake sale law, US ban looms

A US federal appeals court upheld a law requiring TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its stake in the app or face a ban in America, according to multiple reports. ByteDance had challenged this law in May. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously in favour of the Justice Department, declaring the law constitutional.

This decision follows the US Congress passing a foreign assistance package in April, which gives TikTok nine months to sever ties with ByteDance, with a deadline of January 19, 2025. If a sale is in progress, President Joe Biden could grant a 90-day delay.

President-elect Donald Trump, who initially sought to ban TikTok, has since pledged to “save” the app, CBS News notes. Trump is set to become the US President once again on January 20.

OpenAI in talks to remove clause blocking Microsoft’s access to AGI

OpenAI is in talks to remove a provision that would cut Microsoft off from its advanced models once it achieves ‘artificial general intelligence’ (AGI), Financial Times reports.

Currently, if AGI is achieved, Microsoft's access to OpenAI’s technology would be void, as the startup’s non-profit board would own the technology.

However, OpenAI is exploring removing this stipulation to maintain Microsoft’s continued investment and access, which could help secure billions for future AI development. The clause was initially meant to prevent AGI from being misused commercially. OpenAI is also restructuring to become a public benefit corporation, a shift from its non-profit roots, with discussions ongoing about the future role of Microsoft and other investors, according to FT.

Microsoft showcases next-gen data centre design that conserves water

Microsoft has introduced a new closed-loop cooling system for its data centres that reduces water usage. The system circulates water past heat-generating chips, transferring heat to chillers and recycling the cooled water, Geek Wire explains. Microsoft released some details of this new design in a post on its website on December 9. The company first announced the new approach in August.

“By adopting chip-level cooling solutions, we can deliver precise temperature control without water evaporation,” Steve Solomon, vice president, data centre infrastructure engineering, wrote in the post. While water is still needed for restrooms and kitchens, this design will avoid the need for more than 125 million litres of water per year per data centre, he added.

This method eliminates water loss due to evaporation. In the past fiscal year, Microsoft used about 33 million gallons of water per data centre, a reduction of 39 percent since 2021. The company operates 300 data centres worldwide, with plans to implement the new cooling technology at two sites in the US. Other water-saving initiatives include temperature adjustments and the use of recycled water in locations such as Washington, California, Texas, and Singapore.

Pixxel Space adds $24 million in Series B extension

Pixxel, an Indo-US space tech startup, has secured an additional $24 million in funding, bringing its Series B total to $60 million and overall funding to $95 million, according to a company press release. New investors M&G Catalyst and Glade Brook Capital Partners join existing backers such as Google and Lightspeed. The funds will accelerate the development of Pixxel’s hyperspectral satellite constellation, including 18 planned commercial satellites, and expand its Earth observation software platform, Aurora.

Pixxel aims to provide critical data for applications such as climate monitoring, agriculture, and resource management. The company’s advanced satellites are capable of capturing data across some 250 spectral bands, with 5-meter resolution, 40 km swath, and daily coverage, starting in 2025, according to the release.

AI to boost India's workforce: How 33.9 million will benefit by upskilling

India's Economic Transformation: The Role of Changemakers - The Changemakers: Episode 1