AMD to invest $400 million in India, Milkbasket to see layoffs, redundancies
AMD, the US-based chipmaker, has announced that it will invest $400 million in India over the next five years to expand its research and development (R&D) capabilities and market presence. The company said that it will hire more engineers, set up new labs, and collaborate with local partners to develop cutting-edge technologies for cloud computing, gaming, and artificial intelligence (AI).
The investment is part of AMD’s global strategy to increase its R&D spending and compete with rivals like Intel and Nvidia in the fast-growing semiconductor industry. AMD’s CEO Lisa Su said that India is a key market for the company and that it has a strong talent pool and a vibrant ecosystem of customers and partners.
AMD has been operating in India since 2004 and has two R&D centers in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The company employs over 2,500 engineers in India and has filed over 500 patents from its Indian operations. AMD said that it will also support the government’s initiatives to promote digital literacy, skilling, and innovation in the country.
Meanwhile, Milkbasket, the online grocery delivery startup, is reportedly planning to lay off a significant number of its employees and shut down some of its operations as it struggles to raise funds and survive in a competitive market. The company has informed its staff that it will see layoffs and redundancies across functions and geographies in the coming weeks.
Milkbasket, which was founded in 2015, delivers daily essentials like milk, bread, eggs, fruits, and vegetables to customers’ doorsteps every morning. The company operates in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai and claims to have over 1.5 lakh customers. However, the company has been facing financial challenges and operational issues amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the entry of bigger players like Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket, and Grofers in the online grocery space.
Milkbasket had raised $5.5 million in a pre-Series B round led by Inflection Point Ventures in June last year. The company was also in talks with several investors, including Amazon and Reliance, for a potential acquisition or merger deal. However, none of these discussions materialized and the company has been unable to secure fresh funding since then.
The news of AMD’s investment and Milkbasket’s layoffs highlights the contrasting fortunes of different sectors and segments in the Indian tech ecosystem. While some companies are thriving and expanding their presence amid the digital transformation driven by the pandemic, others are struggling to survive and sustain their operations in a challenging environment.