M&A: The art of the deal

The Tech Panda takes a look at recent mergers and acquisitions within various tech ecosystems and what that means for industry.

IT: STG acquires Eka Software Solutions

STG, a US-based private equity firm focused on software and software-enabled tech services companies, acquired Eka Software Solutions (“Eka”), a global provider of commodity management solutions with a specialty in the soft ags and energies markets. STG will merge Eka with the Quor Group (“Quor”), an existing STG portfolio company that specializes in CTRM offerings within the metals ecosystem.

“We have been extremely impressed by the breadth and depth of the products that make up the Eka platform. Their CTRM / ETRM and supply chain products have consistently delivered for their impressive customer base” said William Chisholm, Managing Partner of STG. “We are committed to supporting Quor and Eka through further investments in innovation with the ultimate goal of continuing to provide exceptional value to their clients,” added Ishan Manaktala, Operating Partner at STG.

Manav Garg, founder and CEO of Eka, said, “The merger could not happen at a more opportune time – we have seen increased volatility across asset classes, greater desire of customers to hedge their risk, and substantial supply chain disruption; all of which leaves the market yearning for solutions from Eka and Quor.”

Why It Matters

The combination of Eka and Quor will provide the CTRM industry a broad software suite that addresses a spectrum of customer needs across asset classes globally. Eka joins Quor to provide the combined entity’s customers with a broad ability to navigate the complexities of the commodity markets, including increasing end market volatility and customers’ desire to hedge their corresponding risk profile.

FoodTech: Ghost Kitchens India acquires Shy Tiger

Food-tech platform Ghost Kitchens India announces the acquisition of Shy Tiger brands, a cloud kitchen company based out of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The acquisition solidifies Ghost Kitchens’ foothold in Gujarat market, while providing a platform for further expansion and growth.

Founded in 2018, Shy Tiger has 5 multi brand cloud kitchens spread across Ahmedabad. Milapsinh Jadeja, Director, Shy Tiger, strategically invested in the organization, and they swiftly established themselves with an annualized run rate (ARR) of INR 5 crores. The company’s portfolio includes iconic brands like KBOB’s and The Black Chimney.

Karan Tanna, Founder & CEO, Ghost Kitchens, said, “KBOB’s and The Black Chimney are 15 years old brands in Ahmedabad. We saw this as an opportunity to scale these brands and expand our presence into Ahmedabad and Gujarat market. Moreover, brand affinity and customer repeat ratio give us a strong position to build up a business. Apart from plugging our brands in their existing kitchens, we could improve the unit economics and get a substantial yield from each kitchen and the entire state.”

Milapsinh Jadeja, Director, Shy Tiger welcomed Ghost Kitchens and said, “I have been closely observing Ghost Kitchens’ model and was specifically impressed by how they are leveraging technology to manage and optimize business. With their current team capabilities, process driven approach and in-house tech stack, they will be able to take Shy Tiger’s portfolio brands to pan India level. Hence, I decided to partner with the brand and invested in their current round, endorsing and validating their business model.”

Why It Matters

The acquisition comes on the heels of Ghost Kitchens’ successful equity and debt fundraising round of $5 million USD earlier in February 2024, demonstrating the company’s strong financial position and strategic vision. It marks Ghost Kitchens’ strategic move to bolster its presence in Gujarat by integrating its existing brands in Shy Tiger’s infrastructure.

Surface Augmentation Tech: Naxnova acquires Advanced Thermal Technologies

Naxnova, a company in surface augmentation and technology solutions, formerly known as Classic Stripes, announced the successful acquisition of Advanced Thermal Technologies (ATT), a company in thermal management solutions based in Austria, today.

Salil Musale, Managing Director, Naxnova, shared, “This acquisition strengthens Naxnova’s commitment to innovation and customer delight. By combining our strengths with those of Advanced Thermal Technologies, we aim to accelerate product development, expand market reach, and create new opportunities for collaboration and partnership. These ingenious solutions in the field of Thermal Management will become a huge requirement for OEMs globally to ensure safety monitoring, and enhance human comfort. ATT stands out as one of the very few companies that have advanced technology in thermal science.”

In response to the acquisition, the founders of Advanced Thermal Technologies (ATT) expressed their enthusiasm and optimism. They stated, “Joining forces with Naxnova presents an exciting opportunity for us to further expand our reach and capabilities. We are proud of the reputation we have built in delivering innovative thermal management solutions to esteemed clients worldwide, and we are confident that together with Naxnova, we can achieve even greater success.”

Why It Matters

This strategic acquisition, quick on the heels of the acquisition of the Belgium based Quad Industries, marks another significant step forward in Naxnova’s expansion strategy.

AI: Microchip Technology Acquires Neuronix AI Labs

Microchip Technology has acquired Neuronix AI Labs to expand its capabilities for power-efficient, AI-enabled edge solutions deployed on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Neuronix AI Labs provides neural network sparsity optimization technology that enables a reduction in power, size and calculations for tasks such as image classification, object detection and semantic segmentation, while maintaining high accuracy.

“The acquisition of Neuronix AI Labs’ technology will enhance our power efficiency for FPGAs and SoCs deployed in intelligent edge systems that utilize AI/ML algorithms,” said Bruce Weyer, corporate vice president of Microchip’s FPGA business unit. “Neuronix technology combined with our VectorBlox™ design flow produces an increase in neural network performance efficiency and delivers outstanding GOPS/watt performance in our low-power PolarFire FPGAs and SoCs. Systems designers will now be able to architect and deploy small-footprint hardware that was previously difficult to build due to size, thermal or power constraints.”

“Neuronix AI Labs has been laser-focused on producing best-in-class neural network acceleration architectures and algorithms that can transform user expectations of size, power, performance and cost,” said Yaron Raz, CEO of Neuronix AI Labs. “Joining the Microchip team offers us a unique opportunity to scale and align with an FPGA portfolio that has set industry standards for power efficiency.”

Why It Matters

Microchip’s mid-range PolarFire® FPGAs and SoCs already lead the industry in terms of low power consumption, reliability and security capabilities. The acquisition of this technology will enable Microchip to develop cost-effective, large-scale edge deployments of components designed for use in computer-vision applications on systems that have cost, size and power constraints and enable a multifold increase in AI/ML processing horsepower on low and mid-range FPGAs.

The acquisition of this technology will allow non-FPGA designers to harness powerful parallel processing capabilities using industry-standard AI frameworks without requiring in-depth knowledge of FPGA design flow. The combination of Neuronix AI intellectual property and Microchip’s existing compilers and software design kits allows for AI/ML algorithms to be implemented on customizable FPGA logic without a need for register-transition level (RTL) expertise or intimate knowledge of the underlying FPGA fabric. It is also designed to allow for updating and upgrading CNNs on the fly without needing to reprogram hardware.

Fintech: Niyogin Fintech Ltd. acquired Superscan

Niyogin Fintech Ltd., a player in the MSME-focused fintech space, acquired Superscan, an AI-powered document imaging, automation, and fraud detection platform, from Orbo.ai. This strategic move signifies Niyogin’s commitment to becoming an AI-first neo-banking infrastructure leader.

“We are thrilled to further our relationship with SuperScan, a fintech platform of Orbo.ai,” said Tashwinder Singh, Niyogin’s MD&CEO, echoing the company’s excitement. “While SuperScan will help streamline our internal processes, the real opportunity lies in creating AI-based assisted and unassisted tools for our partners. This opens up a number of possibilities, empowering a network of players enabling faster onboarding, seamless document verification, and robust fraud protection – all accessible through an AI-powered umbrella”.

“The opportunity to house the ‘Superscan” platform with an established player like Niyogin gives us the confidence to deliver the impact that we believe our technology solutions can deliver,” remarked Manoj Shinde, CEO and Founder of Orbo.ai.

To acquire the AI platform ‘Superscan” Niyogin formed a wholly owned subsidiary named “Niyogin AI Private” which was further approved by the Central Registration Centre and Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Why It Matters

The proposed acquisition is in sync with Niyogin’s vision to reach the unbanked, digitize fragmented value chains, and inject customer-centric automation into the global BFSI market. By acquiring “Superscan” from Orbo.ai, Niyogin pushes the brand towards a journey of innovation-driven growth.

SuperScan’s core IPs allow for intelligent document processing, automation agents, and fraud detection tools. It automates traditionally manual processes to boost efficiency and accuracy. Its AI-driven Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology operates entirely on the device, eliminating the need for heavy-duty Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). This not only streamlines processing but also boasts an impressive accuracy rate exceeding 90% for data extraction.

Additionally, with its features like On-Device Spoof Proofing for facial recognition and AI Object Removal, it automates repetitive tasks and saves businesses time with a near-80% reduction in document processing costs. Where superscan stands apart from existing AI companies to deliver AI on devices, Edge computing will become the driving force behind everything SuperScan does.