MAM
Havas snags French data firm to turbocharge its AI ambitions
PARIS: Havas is buying Unnest, a French data consulting and engineering outfit, in a bid to beef up its ability to deploy AI-driven marketing solutions at industrial scale. The acquisition bolsters Havas Media Network’s global data and analytics arm, CSA, as part of what the group calls its Converged.AI strategy—corporate speak for using technology and data to help brands navigate digital transformation without falling flat on their faces.
Founded in 2021 by Nicolas Chollet and Mehdi Moreau, Unnest has carved out a niche building data platforms for blue-chip clients in retail, travel, beauty, automotive and luxury. Its team of specialists work across Google Cloud Platform, Azure, Snowflake and Amazon Cloud, designing infrastructure, ensuring data quality and governance, and developing use cases ranging from media performance measurement to first-party data activation and applied AI.
The deal will fold Unnest into Havas’s Business Science practice alongside existing units CSA Data Consulting, DBi and TED Consulting, creating a combined French team of 120 data experts. Havas plans to roll out these capabilities globally through CSA’s network, though it’s keeping Unnest’s name and letting the firm retain what it describes as its “agility and technological DNA.”
Havas chairman and chief executive Yannick Bolloré says the acquisition will “accelerate our Converged.AI strategy” and help drive AI adoption across the group’s client base. Havas France chief data officer and president of Havas Data Business Intelligence Yoann Denée, reckons Unnest will enhance the group’s ability to deliver “increasingly advanced tech solutions” for clients wrestling with data, AI and automation challenges.
Chollet, for his part, sees the move as a chance to “leverage our technological expertise in support of a global vision” and contribute to “innovative solutions for brands”—which is consultant-speak for getting access to bigger budgets and fatter contracts.
Havas, which traces its roots back to 1835 Paris, operates in over 100 markets with nearly 23,000 people. The group has been pushing its Converged.AI model hard, promising to fuse data, technology and AI with what it calls “inspired human ideas” to churn out real-time, personalised marketing at scale. Whether that vision survives contact with actual clients remains to be seen. But with Unnest’s cloud engineering chops now in the fold, Havas at least has the pipes to try.
Brands
Maharashtra panel orders Lodha to refund Rs 5 crore to homebuyers
Consumer court flags unfair practices in long-running property dispute case
MUMBAI: In a sharp rebuke to one of India’s biggest real estate players, the Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Macrotech Developers to refund nearly Rs 5 crore to a senior citizen couple, Uttam and Anindita Chatterjee. The ruling, delivered on March 13, 2026, calls out the developer for “deficiency in service” and “unfair trade practices”, bringing closure to a dispute that has stretched over a decade.
The case traces back to 2015, when the couple booked a 3-BHK flat at World Towers in Lower Parel for Rs 12.22 crore, with possession promised within a year. What followed was a series of changes that complicated matters. After deciding to exit the project, they were persuaded to shift to a 4-BHK in another development priced at Rs 8 crore, with delivery scheduled for 2018. However, within months, the price was allegedly increased to Rs 10 crore. After demonetisation reshaped the market, similar flats were reportedly being offered at lower prices, but the couple were not given the benefit.
Despite paying over Rs 2.83 crore, the couple neither received possession nor clarity. Instead, in 2018, the developer unilaterally cancelled the booking, retained part of the amount as earnest money, and argued that the buyers were investors rather than consumers. The commission rejected this claim, observing that casual references to “investment” do not take away consumer rights when the purchase intent is residential.
The bench also held that the developer could not penalise buyers for payment delays while failing to meet its own delivery commitments. It noted the lack of formal documentation for revised terms and termed the prolonged retention of funds without delivering a home as exploitative.
As part of its order, the commission directed the developer to refund Rs 2.83 crore paid by the couple, along with interest at 10 per cent per annum, amounting to around Rs 2.12 crore. In addition, Rs 1 lakh has been awarded for mental agony and Rs 50,000 towards litigation costs, taking the total payout to over Rs 5 crore. The developer has been asked to comply within two months.
For now, the ruling serves as a reminder that in real estate, shifting terms and delayed promises can carry a significant cost.
