MAM
Specsmakers names industry veteran S Shriram as VP, sales & marketing
Mumbai: Optical retailer Specsmakers has announced the appointment of S Shriram as vice president – sales & marketing with a deep focus on the upcoming business prospects. In his new role, Shriram will oversee store operations, business expansion and handle strategic marketing.
The company said it is expanding aggressively through a mix of company-owned as well as franchised stores and plans to have 300 operational stores by the end of FY 21-22 and subsequently reach 1,000 stores by 2025. “The new stores for the current year will come up in existing markets of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh while rest of South India will be targeted in the next financial year,” it added.
A veteran of more than 24 years in the retail industry, Shriram has worked with companies like RPG Group, The Future Group, Café Coffee Day, and Royal Enfield (Eicher Motors). In 2006, he joined India’s first private greenfield airport at Bangalore (BIAL) where he was solely responsible for designing, conceptualizing, and operationalising the entire retail & commercial areas. In his most recent role at Levista Coffee, Shriram managed to grow its retail presence from 26,000 to 79,000 stores pan-India.
Commenting on the new appointment, Specsmakers founder & CEO, Pratik Shah said, “We are delighted to have Shriram join us. With his experience across several retail formats over the past two decades, I believe he is a great value addition to our team and I am confident that he will aid the company to scale up to 1,000 stores pan-India by 2025.”
Shriram added, “I have seen this brand grow from a single store in Chennai a decade and a half back to a 240+ strong retail chain now. I have seen their stores even in small towns like Kumbakonam and Mysore while also brushing shoulders with formidable competition in Chennai & Bangalore. I am hugely excited with this opportunity and happy to be doing what I love the most – managing large teams, opening stores, and driving memorable customer experiences.”
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.
