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Cisco completes acquisition of NDS
Mumbai: Cisco has announced that it has completed the acquisition of NDS Group, a provider of video software and content security solutions that enable service providers and media companies to securely deliver and monetise new video experiences.
On 15 March Cisco announced a definitive agreement to acquire NDS. According to the official statement, NDS‘ software platform, customer segments and services model complement Cisco‘s networked video offerings and accelerate the delivery of Videoscape, Cisco‘s comprehensive platform that enables service providers and media companies to deliver next-generation video entertainment experiences. Through the NDS acquisition, Cisco has also expanded its global video footprint in new and emerging markets, further broadening its service provider presence and deepening customer relationships.
NDS‘ employees join Cisco‘s Service Provider Video Technology Group (SPVTG), led by senior vice president and general manager Jesper Andersen. With the close of this transaction, Dr. Abe Peled, formerly NDS chairman and CEO, becomes senior vice president and chief strategist for Cisco‘s Video and Collaboration Group, of which SPVTG is a part.
Dr. Peled will now report to Cisco Video and Collaboration Group SVP Marthin De Beer.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco paid approximately $5 billion, including the repayment of debt and retention-based incentives, to acquire all of the business and operations of NDS. The net impact to Cisco is expected to be accretive to EPS in the first full year on a non-GAAP basis, the company said.
Cisco senior vice president and general manager, service provider video technology group Jesper Anderson said, “The addition of NDS‘ leading software solutions and systems integration expertise play a key role in accelerating the Cisco Videoscape platform aimed at delivering better-than-being-there entertainment experiences. Through our combined expertise, we look forward to providing the next-generation TV experience that is more immersive, engaging and social, while helping to create new revenue opportunities for our service provider customers.”
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
