Hero Vired’s Future Tech Domain Recorded An Impressive 20% of Its Total Revenue In the Past 12 Months

Aims to heighten focus in the domain with courses in Esports broadcasting, Extended Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Game Development

Hero Vired - India’s premium learntech company for professionals - recorded an impressive 20% of its total revenue in the last 12 months from its Future Tech domain.

Since the launch of the category in September 2022, this domain has witnessed growth, largely attributed to its pioneering position as a first mover and its key industry partnerships. In-lieu of the demand from the market, the company has today announced adding 10-12 courses in the next 2 years to enhance the focus on India’s Future Tech learning. Their expansion strategy will cover a diverse range of emerging tech programs such as Advanced Data Science, Extended Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Gaming, Esports and User Experience (UI/UX). To cater to the rapidly-changing and growing market size of Emerging Tech, Hero Vired has strategically aligned one-third of its workforce for the Future Tech domain to stay on top of the increasing demand. This forward-looking approach aligns with Hero Vired's core mission: to catapult Bharat into a prominent role on the global tech stage.

Talking about the expansion, Ms. Sushma Bharath, Head of Programs and Partnerships at Hero Vired said, "At Hero Vired, our main goal is to empower learners with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in fast-evolving technology fields. Industries like Gaming, Virtual Reality, Esports broadcasting, game development, and game streaming are rapidly growing, making it crucial to offer programs in these areas. We're strategically investing in and expanding our offerings in future tech domains to provide world-class educational opportunities to learners in India. This aligns perfectly with our vision to address the increasing demand for tomorrow's skill sets."

Hero Vired witnessed a remarkable growth in FY23, with revenue reaching a substantial 55 crores. Looking ahead, Hero Vired has set an ambitious target, aiming for a 2X revenue growth by the next financial year. To support these goals, the company maintains an active workforce of over 300 professionals, and it plans to add an additional 45-50 resources across various functions this year with almost one-third of its resources dedicated to building the Future Tech domain. These milestones underscore Hero Vired's unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation within the Future Tech domain.

The evolving tech market is positively impacting various industries in India. The Indian Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market is poised to reach a remarkable USD 9.28 billion by the year 2028, exhibiting a robust Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 28% during the forecast period 2022-2028. Furthermore, India's gaming market is assured to witness an astounding growth trajectory from $2.6 billion in FY22 to an estimated $8.6 billion by FY27. These statistics underscore the dynamic and promising future tech landscape in India. Esports alone is projected to create more than 11,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2025. Alongside this, the country boasts a thriving ecosystem of 192 VR and 246 AR startups, which are establishing a strong base for the Indian extended reality industry.

In India, future tech is set to disrupt the defence, healthcare, media, entertainment, real estate and education industries thereby creating millions of jobs and opportunities in the next few years. In FY’23 alone, 290K new jobs were added in the Indian tech industry as per a NASSCOM report.

Hero Vired is constantly expanding its program portfolio based on the dynamic market conditions with more additions to the future tech domain alone.

Acknowledging market trends, Hero Vired aims to add new programs like User Design, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning to their portfolio. Hero Vired laid the foundation of the Future Tech domain with its gaming and esports program in collaboration with Nodwin Gaming in September 2022, making it one of the first programs in the country to offer both theoretical and practical knowledge in Gaming and Esports through its immersive internships. Additionally, Hero Vired will continue to build the domain with strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as Snapchat, Unreal Engine etc.

About Hero Vired:

Hero Vired is India's premium LearnTech Company for professionals and higher education aspirants. The company is a startup venture of the Hero Group that offers career-relevant programs, in partnership with world-class universities to make learners more competent and industry-ready for emerging jobs and skills of the future. With best-in-class short and long-term learning programs, Hero Vired offers overall professional development via skill-based programs and courses that are imperative to a learner's growth in India's rapidly evolving digital economy.

Hero MotoCorp Partners DeepTech Startup ADLOID to Launch AR Showroom Offering Immersive Shopping Experience

Deep tech Start up enables an immersive online shopping experience for the customers of the largest two wheeler OEM globally

12th May 2021: Adloid, a deep tech company with focus in Augmented Reality has partnered with Hero MotoCorp for the launch of the first-of-its-kind immersive Augmented Reality showroom. Using its proprietary technology ADLOID has added enhanced features like hotspots, configurators, remote sales assistance, and more. This technology is revolutionizing digital buying experiences and was recently used by Tata Motors for the launch of their flagship products.

TATA Safari AR Link: https://cars.tatamotors.com/suv/safari/ar

Hero MotoCorp will now be providing a 360-degree shopping experience to its customers with the help of Augmented Reality.

Vikas Malhotra, Head - Business Solutions & Support at Hero MotoCorp said -- 

At Hero Motocorp, we were looking for an agile partner to co-create "digital buying journey" of our products, a Highly skilled and passionate team from Adloid did the job exceptionally well by providing a truly World-class solution for "Virtual Showroom, Product Configurator and AR experience for our product portfolio". Speed, agility, and dedication of the team working on the project helped us in releasing the same in a very short span of time without a single physical meeting reflecting professionalism. We look forward to more such associations with the team and wish them luck.

Speaking about the partnership, Kanav Singla, Founder & CEO of Adloid said, 

Augmented Reality is helping us move beyond inherent human limitations and present contextually relevant information to people . Our partnership with Hero Moto Corp is one such example where we are changing the way people shop and experience products online. The inherent limitation of a physical showroom is a thing of the past.

The augmented reality showroom takes digitization a step ahead by allowing customers to explore, configure and experience the Hero MotoCorp products in their homes. The experience comes with interactive hotspots and virtual sales assistance to address queries and concerns as they browse through various models.

Hero Motocorp To Launch Its 1st Electric Two-Wheeler in First Half of Next Year

After Bajaj and TVS, India’s largest two wheeler maker Hero Motocorp was planning to launch an electric two-wheeler by first half of 2022, a senior executive of the company today said.

Hero's entry into the electric vehicle market will give a push to India’s electrification plan. “Though there is no firm timeline, we will be looking to enter the EV market by calendar year 2022,” Niranajan Gupta, Chief Financial Officer at Hero said.

It must be noted that Hero Group already has an electric mobility division -- Hero Electric -- which is likely to remain a separate entity. In August 2019, Hero Electric launched two e-scooters -- Optima ER and Nyx ER

Simultaneously, the company’s strength in the entry level segment is going to be an added advantage as this segment is expected to be the first to switch over to electric in the coming years, according to experts.

The company last month had tied up with Taiwanese electric two-wheeler maker Gogoro to accelerate the shift to sustainable electric mobility in India which will see the Indian bike maker develop Gogoro's battery swapping stations. Additionally, the collaboration also includes Hero-branded EVs that will be powered by Gogoro Network vehicles.

Battery swapping is seen as an effective way to get around the problem of lack of charging stations in India and is believed to be highly effective for B2B fleet and delivery services.

“Gogoro has a rich learning in the battery swapping segment. We are going to utilise that. You can see a lot of action on the electric vehicle front in the first half of 2022

The company has also invested in EV start-up Ather where it is the largest shareholder with a 35 per cent stake.

Hero's direct rivals Bajaj and TVS have already forayed into the EV space with the Chetak and iQube, respectively.

Hero has a three prong approach to approach the EV market- its investment in Ather, our own research development at Jaipur and Germany, and the internal start-up.

“The future is electrification. We are seeing that happening across the world. All of them are progressing at a fast pace. Ather has been expanding very fast, opening up more and more dealerships. It recently introduced products that have been well accepted by the market. The founders are following their vision in a focused approach,” Pawan Munjal, chairman and chief executive of the company had said recently.

Original Source (with minor editing) - Business Standard

Hero Group Launches EdTech Venture Hero Vired

Hero Group has announced the launch of Hero Vired, a new edtech company. The edtech venture will offer an end-to-end learning ecosystem. It will make the learners industry-ready for the emerging jobs and professions.

The promoter of Hero Vired, Munjal family, is committing over USD 10 million (around Rs 75 crore) to offer learners overall professional development to make them industry-ready for employment.

With this launch, the Hero Group has entered the nascent upskilling industry. The upskilling edtech space already includes startups, like upGrad, Udemy, Great Learning, Simplilearn, among others.

Hero Vired platform has partnered with top global universities, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Singularity University, to offer full-time and part-time programs in finance and financial technologies; game design; integrated programs in data science, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI); entrepreneurial thinking and innovation; and full-stack development.

Akshay Munjal, Hero Vired Founder & CEO, said in a media statement, "it has been aimed at addressing the problem of employability in India and the skill gaps that exist in the industry at present."

"We have got a very large young population, which is definitely looking for jobs, currently either unemployed or not meaningfully employed. On the other hand, we have an industry which is starved for talent. What we are attempting to do is how do we solve this problem from where it originates from," said Munjal in a media statement to news agency PTI.

Hero Enterprise Forays into Digital Platform under the Name Mindmine NXT

COVID-19 - it's the topic that is dominating headlines universally. The Novel Coronavirus has completely upended normality, claiming lives, affecting the economy, creating financial stress and destroying businesses, in more ways than one.

The stock market, big corporates, large and small businesses and the job market have all been hammered by the virus. Given that the unexpected burden of the lockdown is significantly impacting industry operations and that the uncertainty of a recovery threatens substantial loss of livelihoods going forward, there is a need for us to decipher how to work through this crisis.

The inaugural edition of 'Mindmine​ NXT' webinar under the theme 'Corona Crisis: Beyond the Lockdown' is scheduled for Monday, April 13, 2020 at 5 PM. It features Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder & Executive Vice Chairman, Info Edge and T V Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Aarin Capital and Manipal Global Education in conversation with Akhil Bansal, Deputy CEO, KPMG India.

Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman Hero Enterprise while announcing this digital initiative said, "In these times of social distancing, we thought it would be useful to have a platform to digitally share ideas and discover ways to handle, learn and recover from the crisis. Through this platform, we wish to convey hope, examine our preparedness and explore opportunities that could emerge as we eventually progress towards normalcy. Mindmine NXT marks Mindmine's foray into digital streaming within the fabric of free flowing dialogue."

Mindmine NXT, an initiative of the Mindmine Institute, is intended to be the next generation digital version of intellectual conversations built around subjects of importance to industry, economy and to Indians. Mindmine Institute, an independent think tank set up by the Hero Enterprise for over a decade has been conducting a number of initiatives that has attracted over 60 government ministers, more than 100 CEOs, policymakers, diplomats, industrialists and eminent citizens who have raised diverse issues impacting India, Indians and Indianness.

Hero Electric Looking to Raise ₹700 Cr to fund Accelerated Expansion

Hero Electric is planning to raise funds to finance its accelerated expansion to cash in on the wave of electric vehicles (EV) in India, according to a top company official.

The company is looking at an investment of around Rs 700 crore in the next three years to ramp up production capacity of its electric scooters to 5 lakh units annually from about 1 lakh units this year.

"In every aspect we are expanding. There is no looking back for us...We are expanding in terms of dealer network, manpower, product portfolio and manufacturing...We will invest and also raise funds for the same," Hero Electric Managing Director Naveen Munjal told PTI.

Asked how much funds the company is looking to raise, he said it has not been finalised and the company is working it out at present. "We already have external investor. So either that external investor puts in or we get another investor, I am not sure right now. We have to still work on the details," Munjal said, adding in the next couple of years there would have to be substantial investments, specially in manufacturing.

Currently, Alpha Capital is the investor in Hero Electric outside of the Munjal family.

[caption id="attachment_132380" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Image - justdial.com[/caption]

Commenting on the company's future plans, he said, "We will have to do a minimum of around Rs 500-700 crore for different applications, and a large part of it will go into manufacturing, product development, R&D and marketing."

These investments will help in supply chain, dealer network, training and upgradation of dealer network, among others, besides ramping up production capacity, he said.

On capacity expansion, Munjal said,"This year we are going to be almost one lakh (annually). In the next three to four years we want to be at least half a million," he said.

Depending on how the government policy shapes up, specially how the FAME-II is further fine-tuned to address a wider segment of lower priced electric two-wheelers, the company would align its expansion, he added.

"This half a million (capacity) can go up much faster. If we find that the policy is indeed moving in that direction of what the government and Niti Aayog is talking and there is no change in that, we may have to accelerate this year itself and that scale may go up even higher," Munjal said.

Terming the current mood regarding EVs in India as "exciting times", Munjal said the company will have to accelerate "much quicker and plants will have to come up much quicker and our products will have to be better than what we have currently."

As part of its expansion plans, Hero Electric is aiming to increase the number of its dealers across India to 1,000 by next year from around 600 at present.

In terms of products, he said at present the company offers four main models and their variants."We could be introducing more products in the next year but what we would do along the way is that some products will get upgraded and some products will get phased out...At any point of time we will have 5-7 products and variations below them," Munjal said. PTI RKL

Hero Cycles to Launch Electric Bicycle 'Lectro' in the UK

Hero Cycles Monday said it will launch its electric bicycle brand Lectro in the UK in the coming months.

The company will use already existing distribution network through UK-based Avocet Sports, which it acquired in 2015, to make the product available in Britain and the EU, Hero Cycles said in a statement.

"Over 45,000 units of Lectro are likely to be exported over the next few months with the product widely expected to find resonance among the British consumers," it said.

As an innovative electric-bicycle, Lectro is expected to strike a chord with a wide variety of consumers in the UK/EU -- from office goers to youth to the elderly, Hero Cycles Ltd Chairman Pankaj M Munjal said.



"The fact that it requires no charging stations has been a major factor in propelling its popularity since there is no range anxiety associated with it," he added.

The company said Lectro has been designed at its global design centre in Manchester in accordance to European taste and preference.

Lectro is currently available in India with price starting at Rs 18,999 and going up to Rs 26,999. It is manufactured at the company's Ludhiana facility.

Hero Cycles further said it is also in talks for possible collaboration with a few Japanese manufacturers for partnership in electric drive units to upgrade overall usage experience of its customers. PTI RKL

Smart Motor Startup Atomberg Raises Fresh Funds from Suman Kant Munjal Family office (Hero Group)

Mumbai headquartered Atomberg Technologies, a smart and efficient motor based company in the business of manufacturing energy efficient and smart ceiling fans named Gorilla, today announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount from Suman Kant Munjal family office (Hero Group). The funding will be used for expanding operations to other cities and new product development. The announcement comes hot on heels with Atomberg having launched Renesa Smart Plus wi-fi enabled fans this month on Amazon which can be controlled through an app, Google Home and Alexa.

Currently operating in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Pune, the company is eyeing 10% market share in the premium fans segment within the next two years with its varied range of fans. They already have 10% market share in e-commerce sales of fans, and are also targeting a 3x growth in FY 19-20. Pioneers of BLDC technology in India, Gorilla fans are designed to save upto 65% electricity by consuming 28W power in full speed. A household in India can easily save upto 1500-2000 INR per year/fan using these fans.

Founded by IIT-Bombay graduates - Manoj Meena and Sibabrata Das, Atomberg manufactures India’s most energy efficient fans known as ‘Gorilla’ fans. The company takes pride in its R&D capabilities, innovation & technology and it’s commitment to create revolutionary products for the evolved new age consumer. It has a fully integrated manufacturing facility at Navi Mumbai with a capacity of 100000 fans/month and over 300 service centres across India.

The prior experience of founders in BLDC technology led them to enter into the ceiling fans industry in 2015. They later raised $1.5 mn Pre-Series A funding in 2016 from IDFC Parampara.

The company has been recognized by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Niti Aayog as ‘Champions of Change’ in the startup ecosystem. It has also won 'Global CleanTech Innovation Program' in Energy Efficiency category organised by 'United Nations Industrial Development Organisation' (UNIDO).

Analysing the online behavior of consumers, by 2019-20, Atomberg is looking at a 50-50 breakup in terms of sales each from offline and online channels, which will mean significant growth in both offline and online from the current numbers.

Commenting on this announcement, Manoj Meena, CEO & Co-Founder of Atomberg Technologies said, “To be able to build a hi-tech and category leading brand in the consumer durables space in the country, requires a lot of conviction and innovation at the fundamental level. In a tropical country like India, where fans are operational for almost 10-11 months in a year in most parts of the country, the opportunity for growth is huge. We are excited to partner with Hero Group for this future growth. With this fresh raise, we are looking at building on our R&D capabilities and introducing new innovative products like Renesa Smart IoT fans for the Indian consumer. We are also exploring entering categories like air coolers and mixer-grinders with our smart motor"

“We are extremely appreciative of the niche that Atomberg Technologies has created for itself in the traditional space of consumer durables. We have a strong belief in the founding team’s vision of disrupting the category with smart, tech-enabled products. Looking to partner with them in their next phase of growth,” said Mr Munjal.

With 300 service centres pan India, Atomberg fans offer a 3 years warranty as compared to 1 year warranty offered by the industry pan India. With more than three lakh fans installed across the country, they have already touched more than a million lives till now in the country.