Brands
TCS and CEA join forces to give robotics a ‘physical AI’ makeover
MUMBAI: When brains meet brawn, the robots of tomorrow are born. Tata consultancy services (TCS) and french research giant CEA have struck a partnership to fast-track the rise of physical AI, a field that blends artificial intelligence with robotics to create machines that can see, sense, and interact with the real world.
Announced on 9 September in Paris and Mumbai, the alliance promises to take AI out of the cloud and into the factory floor, warehouses, and even social spaces. From versatile robots that adapt to new tasks, to human-friendly cobots for safer shop floors, and assistive bots that provide personal support, the collaboration is setting out to make robots less science fiction and more industrial reality.
“By connecting cutting-edge research with business needs, we can invent the intelligent systems of tomorrow,” said CEA-list, director, Alexandre Bounouh pointing to how physical AI could transform production chains and boost European competitiveness.
The deal will see TCS bring its global scale and deep sector expertise together with CEA’s research muscle, including breakthroughs ranging from brain-controlled exoskeletons to AI for self-driving cars. Together, they plan to offer proof-of-concepts, training, and real-world deployments, with support anchored in the TCS pace port Paris innovation hub.
TCS France, managing director, Rammohan Gourneni called the partnership a “key step” in helping industries embrace physical AI. “It combines the power of AI with the intelligence of physical systems, supporting our clients’ industrial transformation,” he said.
For TCS, which has been in France since 1992 and works with 18 cac40 companies, the partnership underscores its long-term commitment to the French tech ecosystem. For CEA, it marks another leap in its leadership role on Europe’s robotics roadmap.
Brands
Dunkin’ Donuts to exit India as Jubilant FoodWorks ends 15-year franchise deal
The quick service restaurant giant is ending a 15-year franchise partnership with the American doughnut chain, even as it renews its Domino’s agreement for another 15 years
NOIDA: Dunkin’ is done in India. Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the country’s leading quick service restaurant operator, has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with the American coffee and doughnut chain, and will wind down its Indian stores in a phased manner before December 31, 2026, bringing a 15-year partnership to a quiet, loss-laden close.
The decision, approved by JFL’s board on March 30, 2026, ends a relationship that began with a Multiple Unit Development Franchise Agreement signed on February 24, 2011. JFL will now evaluate and undertake what it described in a regulatory filing as the “rationalisation and/or cessation of certain operations and/or sale, transfer or disposal of assets and/or assignment or transfer of franchise rights,” all in consultation with Dunkin’s brand owners and strictly within the terms of the original agreement.
The numbers tell the story bluntly. In the financial year 2024-25, Dunkin’ India posted a revenue of Rs 37 crore against a loss of Rs 19 crore — a haemorrhage that was always going to test the patience of a parent company recording revenues of Rs 6,104 crore and a profit of Rs 194 crore in the same period. Doughnuts, it turns out, were never going to move the needle.
The contrast with JFL’s handling of its other marquee franchise could hardly be sharper. Even as it walks away from Dunkin’, the company has just doubled down on Domino’s, signing a fresh Master Franchise Agreement on March 31, 2026, granting it exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza stores in India for 15 years, with an option to renew for a further 10.
JFL, incorporated in 1995 and promoted by the Bharatia family, operates a network of more than 3,500 stores across six markets — India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Its portfolio includes Domino’s and Popeyes on the global side, and two home-grown brands: Hong’s Kitchen and COFFY, a café brand in Turkey.
For Dunkin’, India was always a stretch. The brand never quite cracked the cultural code in a market where filter coffee and chai command fierce loyalty and where the doughnut remains, at best, an occasional indulgence rather than a daily habit. Fifteen years, mounting losses and a parent with better things to spend its capital on was always going to be a difficult equation to solve.
The doughnut has had its last day. The pizza, however, is staying.
