Samsung acquires US-based health tech company Xealth
The South Korean company did not disclose the value of the transaction.
Samsung said the two companies hoped to create "synergy between Samsung's advanced wearable technology and Xealth's digital health platform" which runs digital health programs and manages data linking care providers, including more than 500 U.S. hospitals, with their patients.
The acquisition comes as Samsung steps up efforts to diversify beyond its core semiconductor and smartphone businesses. Samsung has been betting on the medical sector as one of its new growth engines, along with consumer audio, cooling and heating systems, and robotics.
In May, Samsung Electronics agreed to buy Germany's FlaktGroup for 1.5 billion euros ($1.68 billion) as it looks to meet growing demand for cooling of data centres used for artificial intelligence projects.
Samsung, led by Chairman Jay Y. Lee, said at a shareholder meeting in March that it was looking for "meaningful" deals this year to drive growth after having lagged rivals in tapping the AI chip boom led by Nvidia.
Samsung earlier on Tuesday projected a far worse-than- expected 56% plunge in second-quarter operating profit due to weak AI chip sales, deepening investor concerns over the tech giant's ability to revive its struggling semiconductor business.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
28 minutes ago
- India.com
India To Host AI Impact summit 2026, Leading Global Dialogue On Democratising AI
New Delhi: India is set to host the AI Impact Summit in February 2026, reinforcing its commitment to democratising Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the public good, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday. This landmark event aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of making technology accessible to all and leveraging AI to tackle real-world challenges across healthcare, education, agriculture, climate, and governance, Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnav told the Lok Sabha. The IndiaAI mission, which prioritises accountability, safety, equity, and the defence of privacy and human rights, is at the core of India's AI strategy. According to the statement, one of the main highlights is the creation of native Large and Small Language Models using Indian datasets. Currently, startups such as Sarvam AI, Soket AI, Gnani AI, and Gan AI are developing foundational models that are suited to the linguistic and cultural diversity of India. According to the statement, these models will be open-source, allowing other startups to create locally tailored applications. According to Minister Vaishnaw, to support scalable innovation, the government is also enhancing AI compute capacity by ensuring GPU infrastructure access and expanding the AIKosh Datasets Platform, which currently hosts over 1,000 datasets and 208 AI models, including Text-to-Speech tools in Indian languages. Additionally, the mission is funding 30 AI-based applications addressing public interest areas like health, climate, and governance. Through its IndiaAI Startups Global Programme, 10 startups are being mentored at Station F and HEC Paris, including PrivaSapien Technologies (privacy-enhancing AI) and Secure Blink (AI cybersecurity). Ensuring safe and trusted AI, India has established the IndiaAI Safety Institute to coordinate efforts on responsible AI. Projects under this initiative include AI bias mitigation, machine unlearning, and watermarking, as per the statement A strong legal framework that addresses AI-related risks like disinformation, deepfakes, and data misuse, such as the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (2023), IT Act (2000), and IT Rules (2021), supports the tech initiatives. A techno-legal approach underpins India's regulation, combining legislation with government-funded R&D on deepfake detection, privacy, and cybersecurity tools, according to the written reply. India's hosting of the 2026 summit further solidifies its position as a global leader in the development of AI that is inclusive, moral, and driven by innovation.
Mint
28 minutes ago
- Mint
Freshworks repurposing staff as AI automates low-value tasks, says CEO
Freshworks Inc., an India-born software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm, will join a growing league of companies changing their hiring strategies this fiscal to focus more on engineers with niche skills as artificial intelligence automates mundane tasks. This, however, may not lead to large-scale layoffs as the company is seeing a steadily increasing number of its clients adopting AI tools and services, according to chief executive Dennis Woodside. The uptake of cutting-edge tools and services will likely see the company continuing to hire, with its focus on higher-value employees instead of freshers and entry-level engineers. Woodside, who took over from founder Girish Mathrubootham in May last year, told Mint that Freshworks' hiring strategy is 'definitely shifting." "We're using AI in our own business to reduce the need for humans to do some of the more mundane stuff. We're repurposing those team members to higher-value, more proactive services," said Woodside. 'We have over 73,000 customers, who ask a lot of questions. Most of those can be answered by AI, so we've reduced employees who were once engaged in reactive support and employed them in proactive customer outreach," the CEO said. 'This directly impacts our revenue, and is more rewarding. We're definitely hiring differently from how we did before the AI wave." AI adoption among clients has changed the pattern of demand for information technology services providers, promoting a shift in hiring strategies. On 27 July, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest tech services company by market cap, announced that it will lay off nearly 12,000 employees—about 2% of its global workforce. K Krithivasan, chief executive of TCS, attributed the layoffs to "strategic initiatives on multiple fronts, including investing in new-tech areas, entering new markets, deploying AI at scale... and realigning (its) workforce model." While not all companies have commenced such layoffs, industry stakeholders expect a muted hiring market for India's tech-facing talent. 'Changes in hiring strategy will happen across organizations, even if that doesn't immediately mean blanket layoffs or hiring freeze periods. The true impact of AI, which remains to be a work in progress around the world, is yet to be seen," said Sunil Chemmankotil, India country manager at talent solutions firm Adecco. 'While mundane jobs are being automated, most other fields are still experimenting with how to handle the technology," said Chemmankotil. 'This has made companies cautious in hiring and expansions, and most are looking to balance their existing workforce by upskilling them—to see how they suit incoming customer demand." On Tuesday, during Freshworks' Q2FY25 earnings call, Woodside told analysts that the company is currently seeing about 7% of its client base—about 5,000 out of 73,000-odd enterprises—paying specifically for the company's AI software. This helped it generate $20 million in revenue during the June quarter, accounting for just under 3% of its annual revenue of $804 million. With this, San Mateo-based Freshworks, which makes software for companies' internal operations, including customer service and internal communication, becomes one of the first homegrown IT companies to disclose revenue from generative AI. So far, Accenture Plc is among the only large IT firms to report revenue from generative AI deals. Accenture secured $1.5 billion in new generative AI bookings, and revenue of $700 million from generative AI projects. Since September 2023, the company has generated orders linked to generative AI worth $7.1 billion. 'The extent of spending on AI among companies is widely varied. Most IT teams of enterprises have limited budgets, and many of them are allocating more money into AI because they anticipate increasing value from adopting AI. We are seeing increasing budgets being allocated toward AI software, which is benefiting us," Woodside said. Industry experts expect AI spending to rise, but remain cautious in the near term. "We're currently in the first wave of AI adoption, which is seeing generative tools being experimented with for productivity and assistance. This includes automation of customer support, email summarization and the likes," said Jayanth Kolla, partner at tech consultancy firm Convergence Catalyst. 'The second wave of AI adoption will be fuelled by companies looking to optimize cost of operations, which is likely to happen before the end of this fiscal," said Kolla. 'It is only after this that full-scale revenue enhancement will start being realized by AI service providers—for this, mainstream AI adoption is likely to take until FY28." Kolla added that for a start, seeing generative AI revenue contributing 2-3% of a company's top line "is very good, and shows an extremely progressive technology push". Freshworks, founded by executive chairman Mathrubootham in Chennai in 2010, reported Q2FY25 revenue of $204.7 million, up 4.3% sequentially. The company follows a January to December cycle of financial reporting, and counts American Express, Bridgestone, Databricks and Sony among its large clients. In comparison with Indian tech service providers, Freshworks is roughly at the same size as Firstsource Solutions Ltd. The company has guided for a 14-15% jump in revenue to $823-829 million by end-FY25. Freshworks listing on Nasdaq in the US in September 2021, making it India's first SaaS company to go public in America. Since then, the company's stock has taken a beating on slower-than-expected growth—falling from just over $50 per share shortly after listing to around $11 by June 2022. It has since traded around its all-time low, and closed at $13.91 apiece on Tuesday. The software company laid off 13% of its global headcount last year, many of whom were based out of India. This cost the company between $11 million and $13 million in separation-related payments last year. Woodside joined the company amid its restructuring last year. Freshworks also considers Zoho Corp, the country's largest privately-held tech firm, among its competitors. While Zoho reported more than $1 billion in FY23 revenue, it has not yet disclosed its FY24 and FY25 revenue figures. While Woodside said Freshworks is "on track" to achieve its $1 billion revenue milestone, he did not commit to a timeline to achieve this. Freshworks gets 47% of its business from the US, its largest market, followed by 39% from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
Explainer: What do Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on India mean? What happens if they stay…
India has become the latest addition to the list of countries subjected to higher tariffs under Trump's "Liberation Day" trade strategy. (AI image) US President Donald Trump has hit India with a 25% tariff rate ahead of his August 1 reciprocal tariff deadline. India and the US are working on a trade deal but no interim agreement has been finalised. With this India has become the latest addition to the list of countries subjected to higher tariffs under Trump's "Liberation Day" trade strategy, which seeks to restructure American trade partnerships through enhanced reciprocal arrangements. The revised US tariffs will affect India's export of goods to America, projected at approximately $87 billion in 2024. This includes labour-intensive sectors including apparel, medicines, gems and jeweler, and petrochemical products. The trade imbalance between the United States and India is at $45.7 billion, favouring India. US Tariffs on India : What did Trump announce? Taking to social media platform Truth Social, Trump said, 'Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Last Chance: 80% Off This Artisan's Retirement Jewelry Sale The Maker's Journal Read More Undo Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA! The additional penalty for trade with Russia remains unclear for now. Also Read | Donald Trump imposes 25% tariffs on India! How does India compare to other economies like China, Japan, Vietnam on the rate list? Check details What India Has Said About the 25% tariff In a statement, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said, "The Government has taken note of a statement by the US President on bilateral trade. The Government is studying its implications." "India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective. The Government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs. The Government will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest, as has been the case with other trade agreements including the latest Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the UK," India has said. How will the 25% tariffs hit India? Agneshwar Sen, Trade Policy Leader, EY India says, 'The decision to raise the US tariff to 25% on Indian exports is an unfortunate development, particularly given the strong strategic partnership that has been steadily built between India and the USA in recent years. If this tariff is sustained, this move may directly affect key sectors such as marine products, pharmaceuticals, textiles, leather, and automobiles, where bilateral trade has been especially robust. However, it's important to note that both countries remain positively engaged in active negotiations with the US team expected in India later in August to finalize a comprehensive trade agreement,' he said. 'I am confident that, considering our shared interests and history of cooperation, the two sides will be able to address these contentious issues constructively and arrive at a mutually beneficial agreement in the very near term,' he added. Garima Kapoor, Economist and Executive Vice President at Elara Capital sees the 25% tariff as a negative development, and one that may shave off 20 basis points from India's GDP growth if the tariff rate stays at that level. 'The exact details of the tariffs on the exempted items such as pharma and the ones that were charged at a differential rate such as iron, steel and auto is unknown as of now, but inclusion of pharma into tariffs should be incremental negative for India's exports as US accounts for more than 30% of India's pharma exports. If no deal is signed by Sept-October, we see a downside to the full year GDP growth estimate for India by 20 basis points,' she said. Also Read | India-US trade deal: Donald Trump announces 25% tariff on India, plus penalty for buying energy and arms from Russia Agricultural economist Ashok Gulati is of the view that the tariff will significantly affect India's seafood exports, particularly shrimps. The decision by US President Donald Trump to levy higher tariffs on Indian products is "very bad" and "shocking", noted Gulati, who had anticipated a more modest increase of 10-15 per cent. "This clearly shows Trump is unpredictable and punitive," he told PTI. The economist indicated that this development will substantially affect India's shrimp trade, whilst Ecuador stands to benefit due to its reduced tariffs and closer proximity to the United States. The impact of increased US tariffs will extend beyond shrimps to affect India's textile sector as well. Gulati further added that the benefits acquired through the India-UK free trade agreement would be offset by these elevated US tariffs. Earlier this month, an SBI Research report said that even if India is unable to secure a trade deal as per its desire, the impact is likely to be limited. 'With India's service exports reaching a new high each year, a record $387.5 bn in 2024-25 driven by sectors like IT, financial and business services, our total exports are not likely to get significantly impacted,' the report said. India's Exports Uncompetitive? The most worrying bit about the 25% tariff is not the figure itself, but the fact that India's Asian peers have managed to secure deals with the Trump administration that have lower duties. Japan will pay 15%, Vietnam will pay 20% and Indonesia has a tariff of 19%. This will hit India's competitive advantage for US exports. India is actually looking to secure a trade deal that will give it preferential access to US markets compared to peers. Talking about the India-US trade deal negotiations Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal recently said, '...what is important is to get preferential market access over our competitors, our peers.' Garima Kapoor of Elara Capital says, 'The 25% tariff rate is certainly a negative development as it compares to lower rates for peers such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines which compete with India in a similar category of labour-intensive products and electronic goods.' But is the 25% tariff rate all bad? Ajay Srivastava from Global Trade Research Initiative explains, 'Some sectors like our top exports to the US are pharmaceuticals, medicines, so Europe will be paying 15%, but European medicines are expensive, high-end proprietary medicines. We are into generics. So if we are paying 25%, I don't think much of the generic market exports to India, exports to the US from India will be impacted.' Regarding smartphone exports, particularly iPhones, he noted that with only China and India being major exporters to the US market, the 5% duty differential (China at 30% and India at 25%) would not significantly affect trade patterns. Garima Kapoor believes a hasty deal would have not helped. 'On the positive side, it is pertinent to note that any hotchpotch deal which would have compelled India to give concessions to its agriculture and dairy sector may have had much deeper ramifications politically, socially, and eventually on livelihoods,' she says. 'A well negotiated deal that addresses all aspects of trade, investment and tariff and non- tariff barriers by September October 2025 is likely to yield long term benefits than a hurried deal. The India-UK deal template which gave concessions to auto and opened public procurement sector has shown that India is willing to shed its protectionist tag in sectors where it doesn't impact the marginal producer, which is a huge departure from its earlier stance,' she adds. 25% Trump Tariffs temporary in nature? As trade deal talks appeared to have hit a stalemate with the next round expected in August-end, it appears that India was already bracing for 20-25% tariffs from the Trump administration. "Talks are progressing well," a government official had been quoted as saying by Reuters, adding Trump could issue a tariff order in a "worst-case scenario". "But, we assume it would be a temporary measure, considering the five rounds of trade talks that have taken place. A deal will soon be worked out,' the official had said. As US officials visit India for the sixth round of talks in August-end, there are hopes that a trade deal will be finalised in the coming months. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . Discover stories of India's leading eco-innovators at Ecopreneur Honours 2025
