MAHE & DST Launch India’s First Self-Financed MIDAS HUB for Medical

Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), an Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, launched the Medical Instruments, Devices and Allied Services (MIDAS) DST–MAHE HUB on Wednesday 5, 2025 at Manipal Campus, Karnataka. This is the first facility of its kind in a self-financed university.

Inaugurating the DST-MAHE HUB in the MAHE Manipal campus, Dr. Praveen Roy, Head of Scientific Divisions Technology, Translation, and Innovation (TTI) Division, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, highlighted the critical importance of Translational innovation, which plays a critical role in strengthening India’s scientific ecosystem. He said, “We remain committed to supporting all activities of the MIDAS HUB. The DST–MAHE HUB is uniquely positioned, as MAHE’s multidisciplinary foundation enables seamless integration across diverse domains. This initiative represents a paradigm shift in our approach to research and innovation, and the Government of India will extend its full support to ensure its success.”

He also commended MAHE for its strong research ecosystem, which continues to advance impactful scientific progress for the society.

MIDAS DST–MAHE HUB Unveiled in MAHE Manipal

Dr. Praveen Roy, Scientist G, Department of Science & Technology, along with the Pro Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor of MAHE, releasing the MIDAS Annual Report during the inaugural event.

Addressing the occasion, Dr. H. S. Ballal, Pro Chancellor, MAHE, highlighted MAHE’s pivotal role in advancing collaborative, coordinated research and innovation. He emphasized, “the institution’s commitment to strengthening partnerships across academia, industry, and government, positioning MIDAS DST-MAHE HUB as a driving force for impactful scientific progress and societal benefit.”

Speaking at the event Lt. Gen. (Dr.) M. D. Venkatesh, VSM (Retd), Vice Chancellor, MAHE, expressively spoke about “the HUB’s pivotal role in nurturing high-impact research collaborations and cultivating future scientific leaders. He also appreciated the efforts put in by the team in establishing an excellent centre in the form of MIDAS HUB.”

The ceremony brought together distinguished leaders from academia, industry, and government. Delivering the welcome address Dr. G. Arun Maiya, Principal Coordinator of MIDAS HUB, presented an overview of HUB’s progress in medical device product development. Dr. Lazar Mathew, Senior Advisor, MIDAS HUB, unveiled the HUB logo and explained its philosophy, built around the theme “a project for a product.” The event was supported by MAHE’s key innovation and research entities, including the Directorate of Research, Manipal Universal Technology Business Incubator, Manipal GOK Bioincubator, Innovation Centre, and CAIF.

During the event, MAHE launched the Advanced Certificate Program in Medical Device Technology, Innovation and Leadership and released the MIDAS annual report. The HUB also introduced its industry–academia policy, service flyers, and signed multiple MoUs to foster long-term partnerships. Market-ready prototypes, including Laser Shoe, Mbilimeter, Armable Mini, WeCare, FluroAura, RevoCord, Wearable Electrolarynx, and Adrenaline Autoinjector—were showcased, reinforcing the HUB’s focus on impactful, deployable innovations.

The inauguration highlighted MAHE’s commitment to accelerating innovation in medical technology, strengthening industry–academia collaborations, and supporting translational research. MIDAS HUB aims to serve the entire West Coast innovation corridor, from Goa to Trivandrum, through partnerships with IIT Dharwad, IIT Palakkad, NITK Surathkal, Kannur University, Mahatma Gandhi University, BITS Goa, and leading industry players, including BPL, Philips, InBody, and Sparsh Technologies.

Infosys Merges Romanian Subsidiaries to Streamline European Operations

Infosys has announced the merger of its two wholly-owned Romanian subsidiaries—In-tech Engineering Services S.R.L Romania and ProIT S.R.L.RO Romania—effective December 5, 2025, as part of an internal restructuring initiative. The move is designed to streamline operations, consolidate the group structure, and optimize resource allocation across its European business units.

This merger decision was approved by the shareholders of the respective entities on December 5, 2025, as part of an internal restructuring initiative.

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Key details of the merger

• Subsidiaries involved:
  • In-tech Engineering Services S.R.L Romania (Infosys Romania)
  • ProIT S.R.L.RO Romania
• Nature of transaction:
  • No cash consideration is involved.
  • Approved by shareholders of both entities.
• Strategic rationale:
  • Simplify Infosys’s organizational structure.
  • Reduce administrative overhead.
  • Achieve operational synergies and better resource allocation.
• Timeline:
  • Shareholder approval granted on December 5, 2025.
  • Implementation expected to be completed in the coming months.

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Why this matters

• European footprint: Romania is a growing hub for IT and engineering services, and Infosys’s consolidation here signals a stronger focus on efficiency in its European operations.
• Operational benefits: By merging overlapping subsidiaries, Infosys can cut duplication in reporting, compliance, and management layers.
• Strategic positioning: This restructuring aligns with Infosys’s broader global strategy of rationalizing subsidiaries to remain agile in competitive markets.

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Risks & considerations

• Integration challenges: Merging teams, processes, and client contracts can create short-term disruptions.
• Regulatory compliance: Romanian corporate law and EU regulations require careful navigation during restructuring.
• Employee impact: While Infosys has not announced layoffs, consolidation often raises concerns about workforce redundancies.

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Big picture

This merger reflects a trend among global IT service providers to simplify subsidiary structures in Europe, where fragmented operations can increase costs. Infosys is following a playbook similar to other multinational firms that aim to balance local presence with centralized efficiency.

For Infosys, the Romanian merger is less about expansion and more about internal optimization—a move that could strengthen its ability to deliver services across Europe while maintaining leaner governance.

Accenture Invests in WEVO to Accelerate AI-Powered Customer-Led Growth

Accenture has announced a strategic investment in WEVO, an AI-powered customer research platform, to integrate its capabilities into Accenture Song’s GrowthOS. This move is designed to help businesses accelerate customer-led growth by validating behaviors and product experiences faster and more confidently.

WEVO is a Boston-based AI startup founded in 2017 by Nitzan Shaer (CEO) and Janet Muto. WEVO specializes in customer experience research and user feedback analytics. It helps businesses validate digital experiences quickly by combining artificial intelligence with human insights.

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Key highlights of the investment

• Investor: Accenture Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Accenture.
• Target company: WEVO, founded in 2017, based in Boston, specializing in AI-driven customer research.
• Integration: WEVO’s platform will be embedded into Accenture Song’s GrowthOS, a proprietary system that helps clients transform customer needs into scalable revenue.
• Purpose: To close the gap between idea generation (AI speed) and validation (human speed), enabling companies to test value propositions, product experiences, and campaigns in minutes rather than weeks.
• Challenge addressed: Rapidly changing customer expectations—three in four customers say they wish companies would respond faster to their needs.

Why this matters

• Customer-led growth: Businesses often struggle with long development cycles and expensive guesswork. WEVO’s AI simulations allow them to validate customer behaviors before launching products, reducing risk and accelerating time-to-market.
• Generative AI advantage: WEVO uses synthetic personas and real people to provide behavioral insights, helping brands refine digital experiences and marketing strategies.
• Accenture Song’s expansion: By adding WEVO, Accenture Song strengthens its portfolio of creative and research-driven businesses, which already includes firms like Unlimited (UK), GemSeek (Bulgaria), and Fiftyfive5 (Australia).

Strategic implications

• For clients: Faster product validation means companies can adapt to shifting customer expectations with agility.
• For Accenture: Enhances its position in the AI-powered customer experience and growth consulting market, aligning with its broader push into generative AI.
• For WEVO: Joining Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight gives WEVO access to Accenture’s global client base and domain expertise, accelerating its own growth trajectory.

Risks and considerations

• Integration complexity: Embedding WEVO’s platform into GrowthOS requires seamless alignment of AI models with client workflows.
• Data privacy: AI-driven customer research must comply with global data protection regulations (GDPR, CCPA, India’s DPDP Act).
• Market competition: Other AI-driven research platforms (e.g., Qualtrics, Medallia) are also innovating rapidly, so differentiation will be key.

This investment reflects a broader trend of consulting giants embedding AI-native startups into their platforms to stay ahead in customer experience innovation. For Accenture, it’s not just about acquiring technology—it’s about reshaping how businesses listen to and act on customer needs at scale.

Recently in this month, Accenture entered a strategic partnership with OpenAI, equipping tens of thousands of its professionals with ChatGPT Enterprise and launching programs to embed agentic AI systems into enterprise consulting, operations, and delivery.

Last year in March, Accenture announced a collaboration with Anthropic and AWS to help organizations in regulated industries (healthcare, banking, public sector) scale generative AI responsibly. Over 1,400 Accenture engineers were trained to fine‑tune Anthropic’s Claude models on AWS.

While Anthropic and OpenAI partnerships give Accenture access to foundational AI models, WEVO provides applied customer validation capabilities—bridging the gap between AI-generated ideas and market-tested execution.

Unlike pure research AI firms, WEVO is being embedded directly into Accenture Song’s GrowthOS, making it part of Accenture’s delivery engine for marketing and customer experience.

Accenture is building a multi-layered AI stack—from foundational models (Anthropic, OpenAI) to applied customer research (WEVO). By combining model providers with customer validation platforms, Accenture can promise not just AI-driven ideas but market-ready, customer-approved solutions.

AVPL International Joins UP Govt to Launch Drone Planet Suvidha Kendra Across Villages - Under CM Yuva Udhami scheme

AVPL International has partnered with the Government of Uttar Pradesh to launch Drone Planet Suvidha Kendra at the village level across the state, marking a significant expansion of its national mission to create “a drone entrepreneur in every village of India.”

The initiative is being implemented under the CM Yuva Udhami Yojana, through which selected candidates will receive training, a drone, and a structured business plan that they will submit as part of the scheme. This is expected to enable rural youth and women to start viable drone-based enterprises across agricultural services, agri-retail and digital advisory.

This onboarding by the Uttar Pradesh Government adds strong momentum to AVPL International’s rural expansion. The company is already operational in 16 states with 70 Centre of Excellences . With Uttar Pradesh joining the list, AVPL is set to empower thousands of rural entrepreneurs with drone technology, precision agriculture solutions, digital advisory services and sustainable income opportunities. On-ground setup of the new centres will begin soon.

Strengthening India’s Drone Sector Through Global Learning

AVPL International’s leadership has been actively engaging with global drone innovation hubs to strengthen India’s domestic ecosystem.

Co-founder and Chairman, Mr. Deep Sihag Sesai, is currently on a professional visit to Israel to explore advanced drone systems, agri-automation technologies and precision farming practices.

Earlier, Dr. Preet also participated in the Dubai Airshow and visited Romania. During these visits, the team interacted with leading manufacturers, technology innovators and drone experts, focusing on strengthening India’s after-sales support ecosystem, availability of spare parts, maintenance networks and specialised service capacity.

These international insights highlighted key gaps and future opportunities for India’s drone sector. AVPL International views global knowledge exchange as a powerful tool to build local capability and accelerate the creation of a reliable and future-ready drone ecosystem.

Building a Scalable Rural Model Across States

With active operations in Uttar Pradesh, AVPL International is emerging as a leading enabler of rural transformation through drones. The Drone Planet Suvidha Kendra model is designed to be replicated across more states and will offer:

• Drone spraying and precision farming services
• Certification and training for youth and women
• Digital agronomy and farm advisory
• Last-mile agri-retail and input support. 
• New income-generation pathways for rural entrepreneurs

These centres will help farmers adopt modern agricultural practices, improve productivity, reduce input usage and operate in safer, more sustainable ways.

“Our mission is clear. We want every village in India to have at least one drone entrepreneur who can transform local agriculture through technology. The partnership with the Uttar Pradesh Government takes us a step closer to that goal by enabling rural youth and women to participate in the country’s fast-growing drone ecosystem.”said Dr. Preet Sandhu, Co-founder and Managing Director, AVPL International. 

Driving India Toward a Future of Rural Drone Entrepreneurship

Through its expanding state partnerships, global collaborations and focus on indigenous innovation, AVPL International is positioning India to become a global leader in drone-enabled agricultural transformation.

The company believes that the future of Indian agriculture will be driven by precision technology and local entrepreneurship. With every new state it enters, AVPL International moves closer to creating a strong and inclusive rural drone economy that benefits farmers, youth and village-level service providers. 

About AVPL International:

AVPL International is a Gurugram-based leader in skill development, future-skills training, and indigenous drone technology. Since its inception in 2016, the company has partnered with national and state agencies to train over 1,00,000 youth across India under flagship government programs. AVPL operates DGCA-certified drone training academies, provides industry-aligned vocational education, and builds pathways for employment and entrepreneurship in emerging sectors.

Expanding its capabilities beyond training, AVPL manufactures DGCA-certified agricultural drones under its in-house R&D vertical and supports widespread field adoption through drone-as-a-service models. The company also develops skill and incubation hubs in collaboration with AICTE, state ITIs, polytechnics, and universities, promoting hands-on learning in drones, robotics, AI, agritech, and advanced technologies.

Across its training, manufacturing, incubation, and service initiatives, AVPL International works closely with government bodies, educational institutions, and industry partners to strengthen India’s future workforce and advance the nation’s Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat goals.

Meta Hires Apple’s Design Visionary Alan Dye to Lead AI Hardware Push

Meta has officially hired Alan Dye, Apple’s longtime Vice President of Human Interface Design, to lead a new creative studio within its Reality Labs division.Dye will become Meta’s Chief Design Officer, focusing on AI-powered devices, spatial computing, and next-generation user experiences.

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Key facts

• Alan Dye’s background at Apple:
  • Spent nearly 20 years at Apple, most recently as VP of Human Interface Design.
  • Played a central role in shaping Apple’s Liquid Glass UI across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and VisionOS.
  • Reported directly to Tim Cook and oversaw design for major products including Vision Pro.
• Role at Meta:
  • Dye will head Meta’s new Creative Studio inside Reality Labs.
  • The studio will blend design, fashion, and technology, treating intelligence as a design material for human-centered innovation.
  • He will report to Andrew Bosworth (CTO) and work closely with Mark Zuckerberg.
  • Focus areas: AI smart glasses, VR/AR devices, and spatial computing experiences.
• Leadership transition at Apple:
  • Apple confirmed Dye’s departure; Stephen Lemay, a longtime Apple designer, will succeed him.
  • This marks one of Apple’s most notable design exits in years, amid broader leadership reshuffles.

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Strategic implications

• For Meta:
  • Hiring Dye signals Meta’s push to elevate design in its AI hardware ecosystem.
  • His expertise could help Meta refine interfaces for smart glasses and immersive devices, making them more appealing to mainstream users.
  • Zuckerberg framed this as part of Meta’s vision to make intelligence a design material, indicating an AI-first product design shift.
• For Apple:
  • Losing Dye is significant—he was one of the last senior designers tied to Apple’s post-Jony Ive design era.
  • Apple’s design leadership now rests on Lemay, who has contributed to every major Apple interface since 1999.
  • Raises questions about Apple’s ability to maintain its design dominance while Meta aggressively recruits talent.

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Risks and challenges

• Talent drain: Apple has seen several senior executives leave for rivals, especially Meta, which could impact continuity in design philosophy.
• Execution at Meta: Dye’s vision must align with Meta’s hardware ambitions, which have struggled in adoption compared to Apple’s ecosystem.
• Market perception: Meta’s success hinges on whether Dye can translate Apple’s design ethos into consumer-friendly AI devices, avoiding past missteps like lukewarm VR adoption.

In short, Alan Dye’s move is a major coup for Meta and a notable loss for Apple. It underscores Meta’s ambition to dominate the next wave of AI-driven hardware and spatial computing, while Apple faces the challenge of sustaining its design legacy without one of its most influential leaders.