MAM
WinZO onboards as sponsor for India-Australia series on SonyLiv
MUMBAI: Homegrown e-sports platform WinZO has come onboard as the official co-powered sponsor of the India tour of Australia on SonyLIV. This is the first time WinZO will be sponsoring a major sports event on a digital platform.
India’s tour of Australia, starting on 27 November 2020, is the Men in Blue’s first international tour after nine months post the global Covid2019 pandemic lockdown; Team India last played New Zealand in February 2020. The tour is two months long, comprising a three-match ODI series, followed by a three-match T20 series, and a four-match Test series.
WinZo Games co-founder Saumya Singh Rathore said, “India is a market with over a billion cricket fans who have been hungry for cricketing action for the last nine months. Post IPL, it is great to see the resuming of international tournaments as well and it’s a proud moment for us to associate with the first India-Australia international series of the year. WinZO is always committed to bringing the best entertainment to Bharat.”
SonyLIV head ad sales revenue – digital business Ranjana Mangla said, “We are really delighted to have WinZO as a co-powered sponsor for the India tour of Australia on SonyLIV. This is a big overseas tournament that’s sure to drive viewership on the platform and be of value to both brands.”
WinZO was recently in the news for its $18 million series B funding led by global interactive entertainment fund, Makers Fund, New York-based Courtside Venture, and Steve Pagliuca, the co-chairman of Bain Capital and investor in Epic Games – developers of the massively popular Fortnite. All these players have made their maiden investments in the Indian market through WinZO.
WinZO aims to create a highly personalised and localised social gaming platform powered by micro transactions, where users can enjoy multiple engaging gaming formats and fantasy sports in 10+ regional languages with their friends or strangers online.
Founded by Paavan Nanda and Rathore, WinZO has been successful in delivering strong positive unit economics in the Indian gaming ecosystem and has continued to support the gaming ecosystem by setting-up a game developers fund 2.0 of a $5 million corpus to fund projects in interactive entertainment space built by game developers.
Brands
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
