Apple may bring iPad assembly to India; Microsoft hikes India prices by up to 11 pct; HealthKart raises $135 mln

Apple may bring some of its iPad production to India from China if talks with the Indian government are successful, CNBC reported yesterday, citing two sources close to the government. Microsoft has hiked prices in India by up to 11 percent to match prevailing dollar-based pricing in Asia, the company said in a post. And nutritional supplements seller HealthKart has raised more money in a funding round led by Singapore’s Temasek, TechCrunch reports. Notes: Apple may bring some of its iPad production to India from China if talks with the Indian government are successful, CNBC reported yesterday, citing two sources close to the government. The tech giant is said to be holding ongoing discussions with officials. No concrete plans have been made, but if the effort is successful, it will expand Apple’s footprint in the country. Apple announced earlier this year it had begun assembling its flagship iPhone 14 in India, where it was already producing its older models. Microsoft has announced a price hike for its software in India. Due to currency fluctuations, Microsoft India is announcing Indian rupee pricelist changes to harmonize its prices for commercial on-premises software and online services between India and the Asian region, effective February 1, 2023, the company said in a post on its website. Starting Feb. 1, 2023, Indian rupee prices for commercial on-premises software will increase by 4.5 percent, online services will increase by 9 percent, and Windows GGWA (get genuine windows agreement) will increase by 11 percent to match prevailing prices in US dollar terms in Asia, the company said. The new prices will show up starting Feb. 1, 2023, if you’re looking to buy a Microsoft 365 subscription, for example. This announcement does not cover Microsoft’s hardware products, according to the company. Salesforce is seeing some top-level exits. Yesterday, the company announced the departure of Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield, who joined Salesforce last year as part of its biggest acquisition. The company’s co-CEO Bret Taylor, who orchestrated the Slack deal, is also leaving, a year after getting promoted to share the top job with founder Marc Benioff, CNBC reports. In the three trading days since Taylor announced his departure, alongside Salesforce’s third-quarter earnings report, the company’s stock has had two of its three worst days of the year, losing 8.3 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively, CNBC notes. Salesforce has now lost 47 percent of its value for the year, compared with the Nasdaq’s 28 percent drop, and is trading at its lowest since March 2020, the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to CNBC. HealthKart, a nutrition supplements provider, has raised $135 million in series H funding, to expand overseas and for acquisitions, TechCrunch reports. The funding was concluded last month and took the 11-year-old Gurugram company’s total funding to $224 million, according to private markets intelligence provider Tracxn, and investors include Temasek, A91 Partners and Kae Capital. The investment valued the company at $350 million, according to TechCrunch. HealthKart is currently on track to generate about $122 million in annual revenue, according to TechCrunch. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds