MAM
HDFC Bank signs up Fractal Analytics for marketing programmes
BANGALORE: HDFC Bank has engaged Mumbai based Fractal Analytics (Fractal), a business analytics company, for a period of one year to aid their marketing initiatives in retail banking.
HDFC has chartered an extensive Customer Lifecycle based marketing campaign calendar for this and the forthcoming fiscal. Fractal, which specialises in predicting the behavior of the customers in the areas of risk and marketing, would be partnering HDFC Bank’s marketing team in various initiatives of growing the retail business quickly and cost effectively.
HDFC has been using analytics for taking informed marketing decisions. Fractal will help the bank use information to reach new customers and to build, nurture and maximise lasting customer relationships. Fractal will also help the bank solve the problem of ever-increasing customer acquisition costs and reducing customer loyalty.
The marketing programmes would involve acquisition of customers profitably by reducing campaign costs, cross selling various asset and liability products to the existing customers, thereby, leveraging the existing relationships and proactively retaining existing customers.
Fractal’s analytics-based marketing solutions span which the entire lifecycle of customer relationship right from customer acquisition to customer retention to customer value management, is expected to give HDFC an upper hand in understanding the needs and circumstances of their customers.
Fractal claims to use numerous advanced statistical modeling methodologies backed by strong banking expertise for building predictive models and scorecards that help its clients take business decisions more effectively and efficiently.
The company has worked with HDFC in the past on similar assignments where the bank had benefited with the help of business analytics services.
Digital
Anthropic eyes $900bn valuation in new funding round ahead of IPO: Reports
Claude maker may surpass OpenAI as investor interest heats up sharply
SAN FRANCISCO: Anthropic is exploring a fresh funding round that could value the company at more than $900 billion, potentially making it the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence startup, according to Bloomberg reports.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported that the Claude maker is in early-stage discussions with investors and is entertaining offers at more than double its current valuation. No deal has been finalised yet.
The interest marks a sharp jump from February this year, when Anthropic raised $30 billion at a valuation of $380 billion. Since then, investor appetite appears to have intensified, with multiple pre-emptive offers on the table.
According to TechCrunch, the company has received proposals to raise around $50 billion at valuations ranging between $850 billion and $900 billion. A decision is expected to be taken at a board meeting in May.
If the deal goes through at the upper end of that range, Anthropic would overtake OpenAI, which was valued at $852 billion in March, to become the most valuable AI startup globally.
The potential fundraise also comes against the backdrop of a possible initial public offering, which could be launched as early as October, the Bloomberg report noted.
The company counts tech heavyweights such as Amazon and Google, part of Alphabet, among its key backers. Both firms have continued to deepen their ties with Anthropic through multi-billion-dollar, performance-linked investments.
Interestingly, earlier reports had suggested that Anthropic was cautious about raising funds at valuations of $800 billion or more. The latest developments, however, indicate that market enthusiasm for advanced AI models and infrastructure may be shifting those thresholds quickly.
As the race for AI dominance accelerates, Anthropic’s next move could set a new benchmark for startup valuations, and signal just how high investors are willing to bet on the future of artificial intelligence.
