Infosys falls on quarterly miss, attrition worries; Apple expands green efforts; Twitter makes a ‘poison pill’ for itself

Apple said last week that its suppliers more than doubled their use of clean power over the last year, with more than 10 gigawatts operational now, out of nearly 16 gigawatts in total commitments in the coming years. Twitter is fighting to thwart a hostile takeover after Elon Musk offered $43 billion for it. Plus, Infosys shares fell as much as 9 percent in early Mumbai trading after a fiscal Q4 revenue miss Notes: Apple said last week that its suppliers more than doubled their use of clean power over the last year, with more than 10 gigawatts operational now out of nearly 16 gigawatts in total commitments in the coming years. In 2021, these renewable projects avoided 13.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions, Apple said in a press release last week. Apple wants to become carbon neutral across its entire supply chain by 2030. The company has been carbon neutral for its own global operations since 2020, according to the release. Twitter, which has become embroiled in a takeover war, has adopted a ‘poison pill’ resolution after Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, made a $43 billion unsolicited offer to buy the influential microblogging platform provider. Twitter announced on Friday that if any person or group acquires beneficial ownership of at least 15 percent of the company’s outstanding common stock without the board’s approval, other shareholders will be allowed to purchase additional shares at a discount. The plan is set to expire on April 14, 2023, CNBC reports. Musk has already purchased more than 9 percent of Twitter. Infosys shares fell as much as 9 percent in early Mumbai trading today when markets opened after a long weekend. Investors are glum about the company’s sequential quarterly revenue miss for Q4 FY22 and its rising staff churn. Infosys’s sales for the three months ended March 31, 2022, were at $4.28 billion, a 20.6 percent increase over the year-earlier period and a 1.2 percent increase on Q3 FY22 — missing analysts’ expectations of about 2-2.8 percent growth. CEO Salil Parekh’s assurance that this was owing to a one-off cut back from a large client, and his confidence about robust demand ahead, doesn’t seem to have assuaged investors’ concerns, as the company’s staff churn hit 27.7 percent at the end of Q4 FY22, on an LTM basis, compared with about 17 percent for larger rival TCS. Antler, an early-stage venture capital firm, has launched a cohort-based programme for aspiring entrepreneurs in India, called the Antler India Residency, Economic Times reports. Antler expects 8-10 companies to be born out of each cohort, which will have the chance to receive $270,000 each for a nine percent stake. The funds will help new startups make at least five-six iterations of an early product-market fit, Srivatsa told ET. Rapido, a bike taxi platform provider, has raised $180 million in Series D funding, led by new investor Swiggy. The round also saw investment from TVS Motor Company, along with existing investors, Westbridge, Shell Ventures, and Nexus Ventures, the company said in a press release. Observe.AI, which provides an intelligent workforce platform for contact centres, has raised $125 million in Series C funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 with participation from Zoom, the company said in a press release. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds