Brands
United Breweries launches Amstel Grande in Uttar Pradesh
MUMBAI: India’s brewing behemoth United Breweries Limited (UBL) has finally popped the cap on its premium beer Amstel Grande in Uttar Pradesh, giving the state’s tipplers a taste of Dutch brewing prowess. The Heineken-owned company is betting its bottom rupee that UP’s increasingly sophisticated beer swiggers are ready to part with extra cash for a more refined gulp.
Amstel Grande, which has already wet whistles in Maharashtra and West Bengal, is being flogged as a slow-brewed revelation. The company rather grandly claims its “secret ingredient” is time—allowing the beer to marinate longer before hitting parched throats
“After receiving an overwhelming response in Maharashtra and West Bengal, we are excited to bring Amstel Grande to Uttar Pradesh,” said UBL chief marketing officer Vikram Bahl. “Uttar Pradesh is a vibrant market with a growing demand for premium beverages and we are confident that Amstel Grande will quickly become the go-to choice for those seeking unmatched quality and craftsmanship. This launch further strengthens our commitment to delivering world-class quality.”
The Dutch beer, born of two mates’ boozy dreams in Amsterdam circa 1870, now finds itself competing in the crowded Indian hooch market. The Heineken-owned brand has cleverly pitched its local brewing operation as “globally inspired, locally brewed”—a neat trick that saves on shipping costs while maintaining the exotic foreign cachet.
For the privilege of quaffing this premium amber nectar, UP’s beer connoisseurs will have to shell out Rs 110 for a 330ml bottle, Rs 160 for 500ml, and Rs 210 for the full 650ml experience. The price reflects what the company insists is a sugar-free formulation using “the finest quality barley” and “carefully selected hops.”
The packaging, dripping with illustrations of Amsterdam’s canals and buildings, ensures drinkers can feel smugly continental while getting sozzled in Lucknow. The brew’s philosophy of being “brewed for bonding” suggests that friendship itself might be impossible without the lubricating effects of a premium lager—a bold claim, but one that countless pub-goers have tested thoroughly over the centuries.
As summer scorchers loom, UBL will be hoping that Amstel Grande flows freely through India’s most populous state. For a beer that boasts about taking its time, its success or failure should become apparent rather quickly.
Brands
Tessolve lands a semiconductor veteran to drive its next big push
Ravi Kumar Chirugudu, who started his career at ISRO and has spent 35 years building chips and companies, joins the Bengaluru-based firm as president and chief operating officer
BENGALURU: Tessolve has never been shy about its ambitions. The Bengaluru-based engineering services firm already counts 18 of the world’s top 20 semiconductor companies among its clients, employs more than 3,500 engineers across 12 countries, and last year pocketed a $150m investment from TPG. Now it has hired the executive it believes can turn those assets into something bigger. Ravi Kumar Chirugudu, a 35-year semiconductor veteran who once built satellite payloads for ISRO and has since scaled engineering organisations across three continents, joins as president and chief operating officer, effective immediately.
THE MAN AND THE MANDATE
The appointment is, by any measure, a serious hire. Ravi Kumar Chirugudu comes to Tessolve after senior leadership stints at HCL Technologies, Altran and Wipro, where he managed large profit-and-loss portfolios and oversaw cross-regional teams. Over the course of his career, he has been instrumental in bringing more than 1,000 new products to market across the high-tech, energy and manufacturing verticals. Before the private sector claimed him, he began his working life as a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation, contributing to research and development in charge-coupled device technology and satellite payloads, a foundation that shaped everything that followed.
In his new role, he will lead Tessolve’s global growth strategy: expanding its engineering capabilities, deepening customer relationships and accelerating innovation across semiconductor and high-performance computing domains. The brief is broad, but the context is specific. Tessolve operates in the $550 billion global semiconductor market, and its recent moves, the acquisition of Germany’s Dream Chip Technologies and the TPG funding round, have sharpened both its reach and its expectations.
Srini Chinamilli, co-founder and chief executive of Tessolve, is characteristically direct about why Ravi Kumar Chirugudu was the choice:
“As we scale our global semiconductor and system engineering capabilities, Ravi’s appointment marks an important step forward. As global semiconductor demand continues to accelerate across industries, it is creating significant opportunities across the semiconductor lifecycle, from design, packaging, validation and systems integration. Ravi’s deep knowledge and leadership in this ecosystem brings the right mix of industry expertise, customer connect and execution capability, which will play a key role in strengthening our position as a trusted global engineering partner and reinforcing our market leadership.”
THE NEW ARRIVAL SPEAKS
Ravi Kumar Chirugudu, for his part, frames the move in terms of timing and culture, two factors that veteran executives tend to weigh as heavily as title or compensation:
“I am happy to join Tessolve at a time when the industry is rapidly evolving towards more complex, AI-driven systems. What stands out to me is its strong people-first culture and its commitment to bringing value to its customers. The strength of its global team, combined with its deep expertise in semiconductor innovation and next-generation product engineering, creates a solid foundation to build differentiated, scalable solutions. I look forward to working closely with the team to drive strategic growth and strengthen its role in shaping the global semiconductor ecosystem.”
The reference to AI-driven systems is not incidental. The semiconductor industry is in the midst of a structural reshaping, driven by the insatiable compute demands of artificial intelligence. For engineering services firms like Tessolve, which offers end-to-end capabilities from silicon design to packaged parts and invests in high-performance computing, high-speed interfaces, photonics and 5G, the moment is both an opportunity and a test. The company says it is well positioned to capture the next wave of industry growth. Ravi Kumar Chirugudu is now the person who has to prove it.
He came in from outer space, literally, and spent three decades learning how the semiconductor industry works from the inside out. Now Tessolve is betting that accumulated knowledge can help it cross the next frontier. In the $550 billion global chip market, the gap between ambition and execution is measured in engineering hours and leadership quality. Tessolve has just gone shopping for both.
