Oracle ties up with 4 VCs to promote startups

The company has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with each of these four VCs and they are expecting to incubate around 30 dotcom start-ups in different areas in the first year.

Referring to using the Oracle platform by the start-ups, eVentures India chief executive officer Neeraj Bhargava said “it will not be conditional but will be preferred.” There would be no direct investment from Oracle India in the start-ups, but investments would be in the form of technological advice and subsidising the start-up cost, Sanyal said adding, in monetary terms it would come to around $ 10,000 to 15,000 per company.

"We will treat Oracle as the preferred technology provider for the companies we fund this year. Already most of our ventures are using the Oracle platform," explains Bhargava. He expects at least 10 companies funded by eVentures this year to use the Oracle suite of products.

InQbiz India chief executive officer Amitava Guha-Roy said the company was looking at setting up incubators across Asia and this partnership with Oracle would provide an ideal platform.

EQUITY SALE: CustomerAsset.com, the global e-customer relationship management company, is set to pick up a 10 per cent equity stake in Planetcustomer.com, a consumer community portal for an undisclosed price. According to the agreement, the revenues will be shared between the firms on the basis of the services provided. The tie-up will provide a complete suite of CRM services to their customers.

CustomerAsset.com currently offers services like customer interaction and database management to dotcoms and online businesses. Funded by eVentures India, it has wholly-owned subsidiaries in the UK and US.

eCRM services offered by CustomerAsset.com run the eCRM segment including inbound and outbound customer interaction management, database management and campaign planning and fulfillment. The company’s services are based on CustomerLeverage, a flexible eCRM software platform for which CustomerAsset.com holds the IPR.

CustomerAsset.com chief executive officer K Ganesh said: "the decision to partner with Planetcustomer.com was mainly based on the synergy between our business plans. The tie-up with CustomerAsset.com arose out of the need for handling feedback that companies were getting from customers through the site," he added.

News Corp buys 15% in ITspace.com
MUMBAI: Australian media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp network has bought a 15 per cent stake in Indian internet portal ITspace.com, officials said Wednesday. "The investment will provide us with resources for further promoting and building the site," said ITspace chairman Pradeep Kar, without giving financial details.

"We will invest in infrastructure, brand building and promotional activities. Our efforts will be to continue to grow our mind share in the developer and IT student community," Kar said in a statement. The portal is managed by the Bangalore-based Microland Group, which also owns Indya.com a consumer media portal in which News Corp has already taken a 33 per cent share.