Tech5: Intel gets $8 billion US grant, UBS says Swiggy is a 'Buy', and more

Samsung implements big reshuffle in memory, foundry businesses

Samsung Electronics announced a major leadership reshuffle, appointing Jun Young-hyun as head of its memory chip business and co-CEO, while Han Jin-man takes charge of the foundry division with a promotion to president, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Nam Seok-woo, previously in charge of chip factory engineering, was named chief technology officer of the foundry business. The changes come amid concerns over Samsung’s lagging performance in supplying high-end AI chips to Nvidia, with its semiconductor business suffering a 40 percent profit drop in Q3.

This follows increasing competition from TSMC and SK Hynix. Samsung has faced challenges from delays in AI chip production and the impact of potential US tariffs. The Reuters report notes that Samsung Chairman Jay Y Lee recently acknowledged the company is confronting “unprecedented challenges”.

The Korean giant’s stock has dropped over 25 percent this year, making it one of the worst-performing chipmaker stocks.

Weak PC Demand Weighs on Dell and HP's Outlook

Both Dell and HP reported weaker-than-expected forecasts for the upcoming quarters, reflecting ongoing challenges in the personal computer (PC) market, Reuters reported on November 26. Dell’s fourth-quarter revenue is expected to fall short of Wall Street expectations, citing weaker demand for traditional PCs and stiff competition from rival server makers.

Although demand for its AI-optimised servers surged, with a 34 percent rise in revenue from its infrastructure solutions group, the company’s client solutions group underperformed. Dell’s shares were lower by more than 11 percent, including after-hours trading, following the forecast.

Similarly, HP projected lower first-quarter profits, attributing the slowdown to soft demand for PCs, even as AI-powered devices saw growing interest in corporate and educational sectors. Both companies are grappling with post-pandemic market adjustments, and while AI offers long-term growth potential, its benefits are yet to drive significant demand. Despite these challenges, HP's overall revenue rose slightly, and the company expects fiscal 2025 profits in line with analyst estimates.

UBS rates Swiggy a ‘Buy’ with price target of Rs515

The brokerage unit at UBS, an influential Swiss multinational financial services and investment company, has rated newly listed Swiggy a ‘Buy’, initiating coverage on the Bengaluru-headquartered food delivery and quick commerce rival to Zomato, with a price target of Rs515, CNBC TV18 reported on November 26.

The price target implies a potential upside of approximately 20 percent from Swiggy’s closing price on the National Stock Exchange on November 25, CNBC TV18 notes. Swiggy, which closed at Rs455.95 on November 13, the day it debuted, was as high has Rs484 in early Mumbai trading on Wednesday. Tuesday’s close was Rs461.70.  

Australia’s Macquarie, however, has started its coverage of Swiggy with an ‘underperform’ rating and a price target of Rs325. The investment bank expects “core revenue” at Swiggy to grow at a compounded annual rate of 23 percent with a breakeven across all of Swiggy only in the financial year 2028, according to the report on the broadcast channel’s website.

ShopDeck, ecommerce SaaS startup, raises $8 million from Bessemer, Elevation

Blitzscale Technology Solutions, which operates a software-as-a-service platform ShopDeck, focussed on direct-to-consumers ecommerce companies, has raised close to $8 million in Series B funding. Data from private markets intelligence provider Tracxn shows the investment, in September, was made by venture capital firms Bessemer Venture Partners, Elevation Capital, Chiratae Ventures and others.

The Economic Times reported the funding news earlier on Wednesday.

ShopDeck was founded in 2022 in Bengaluru by Rishabh Verma and Harmin Shah. The platform helps ecommerce businesses do everything from building their own website to marketing and converting sales prospects to shipping and logistics, according to the startup’s website.

The startup’s revenues have gone from Rs16.4 crore in FY22 to Rs106.3 crore in FY24, according to Tracxn data, with losses at the Ebitda level more than halving in the same period from Rs26 crore to Rs10 crore.