Tech Story

Kofax – Intelligent Automation Software Provider Founded By Fellow Workers.

Kofax corporation is an intelligent automation software provider founded 37 years ago in 1985. It is headquartered in Irvin, California. It provides services like allowing businesses to automate and improve the workflow by elucidating the data handling with its software. It has about 2,000 employees working to improve its services and has been an independent portfolio corporation acquired by a private investment firm Thomas Bravo. It has achieved a revenue of up to 500 million US dollars (2020).

History

Kofax was founded as Kofax Image Products by Engineers David Silver and Dean Hough, fellow workers at a document processing firm, FileNet. David Silver took the leadership of the firm and became its President and Chief Executive officer. The firm’s first-ever products were introduced in 1989, primarily focused on manufacturing personal computer circuit boards to modify them into image processing machines. In the 1990s, the firm focused on the development of its primary image processing technology and went on Nasdaq in October 1997. IN 1999, the company announced a $75 million deal and was acquired by the UK- originated holding corporation DICOM group. The firm’s main objective was to pair the Kofax Image Products, their digital Capture Technology, and DICOM’s distribution services in Europe. David Silver Stepped down from his position in 2000, succeeded by Arnold Buren, who was the former deputy chief Executive Officer of DICOM. In 2000, there was again a position swap in which Rick Murphy was named Chief Executive Officer of Kofax. Arnold Von Buren was promoted to the CEO of the DICOM group. In December 2005, Buren’s position was assigned to Rob Klatell. After two years, he was replaced by Reynolds Bish, former CEO of Captiva Software 2007 who was one of the key people. The merged corporations, Kofax Image Products, Inc. and DICOM groups were renamed Kofax Inc. in 2008.

Acquisitions And Mergers

Kofax Corporation acquired Mohomine firm, which was an automated text classification and extraction developer, in April 2003.
Atalasoft Corporation, an image software company with a document imaging toolkit known as dotImage as its major product, in 2011.
In September 2014, the firm acquired an e-signature and signature verification software firm known as Softpro as a separate unit in Stuttgart, Germany.
A customer communications management firm Aia Holding was situated in the Netherlands in March 2015.
On March 24, Kofax Inc. and Lexmark International agreed to a merger resulting in Lexmark acquiring a large number of shares i.e. US$1.
In November 2018, it acquired a Document Imaging department of Nuance Communications.
In June 2021, Kofax acquired a document capture, content management and workflow automation software provider firm, PSIGEN Software, Inc. In August, It announced the acquisition of Printix.net, a cloud-based print management system provider.

Revenue

In the year 2015, the firm generated a revenue of 297 million USD, which reached 298 million USD in 2021.

Renowned Customers

The firm provided its services to several renowned companies like Xerox, Samsung, Visa Inc, HP inc., Canon Inc., and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.

Founders – David Silver and Dean Hough

David silver is a great entrepreneur, engineer, and former CEO. He holds a degree in electrical engineering from the University of California Irvin, California. During the initial days, he became a great inspiration for his employees. Dean Hough was born in July 1958 in Irvin, California, and attended San Diego State University from 1977-1980. He has been Vice president of Kofax Inc.

CEO – Reynolds C. Bish

Reynolds Bish is an entrepreneur, engineer, and a leading supplier of intelligent automation services and led a global business and employed over 2,000 people all over the world. During his leadership company’s revenue exceeded $600 million. He encouraged different mergers to achieve strength and enhancement.

Suhani Jain

I am a student pursuing my bachelor’s in information technology. I have a interest in writing so, I am working a freelance content writer because I enjoy writing. I also write poetries. I believe in the quote by anne frank “paper has more patience than person

Blue Prism, The Founder Of Robotic Process Automation.

Blue Prism is a company that developed and produces workplace robotic process automation (RPA) software, which offers a virtual workforce for automating complex, end-to-end operational tasks. This RPA tool has the ability to create a software-powered virtual workforce. The company enables businesses to automate business processes flexibly and economically.

About The Company

Founded in 2001, Blue Prism is headquartered in Warrington, UK. It also has regional offices in Australia and USA. The company is famous for developing the robotic process automation market. It is a listed company on the London Stock Exchange.

Blue Prism operates on the technology of Microsoft .NET Framework. It supports all platforms like Windows, WPF, mainframe, web, Java, etc., and automates any application when presented in several ways.

History

A team of process automation specialists established Blue Prism in 2001 with the goal of creating technology that would increase organisations’ productivity and effectiveness. At first, they concentrated on the back office, where they discovered a huge unmet need for automation. Alastair Bathgate and David Moss co-founded the business to offer a novel strategy now referred to as RPA. Robotic process automation (RPA) is the use of technology to give businesses a digital workforce that adheres to rule-based business processes and communicates with their systems in a manner similar to that of their current users. Blue Prism coined the expression “Robotic Process Automation”. Automate, the company’s first commercially available product was introduced in 2003. The second iteration of Automate, which included functionality for massive processing, was launched in 2005. Blue Prism software was first used by Co-operative Financial Services in 2005 to automate manual customer care operations.

In 2016, the company launched its initial public offering (IPO) when it debuted on the London Stock Exchange with a market valuation of £48.5 million. Under CEO Alastair Bathgate, the company’s shares increased 44% on the initial day of the listing. The company’s clients include Fidelity Investment Management, O2, and Co-operative Bank. By 2016, it also established offices in Miami and Chicago in addition to the UK.

Acquisition

In 2021, the purchase of Blue Prism by Vista Equity Partners for $1.5 billion was announced. Vista wanted to combine TIBCO Software and Blue Prism. According to reports, Vista was thinking of cutting 8 to 10% of the combined companies’ around 4,750 employees from their payroll. The initial acquisition agreement was initially disclosed in December 2021, when SS&C and Vista engaged in a bidding war that increased the price. Shareholders of Blue Prism finally chose to support SS&C. In 2022, SS&C Technologies stated that it had successfully acquired Blue Prism for about $1.6 billion.

Founders – David Moss, Alastair Bathgate

Alastair Bathgate and David Moss co-founded the Blue Prism Group in 2001. Alastair served as the company’s CEO from that time until 2020. The then-unmet requirement for organisational process automation led to the creation of Blue Prism. The company expanded from serving a single client, the UK bank Barclays, to becoming a global powerhouse with 2,000 clients spread over 120 countries and 70 different industrial sectors, including healthcare, financial services, and the public sector.

CEO – Jason Kingdon

Jason Kingdon is the CEO and Chairman of Blue Prism. He joined the company in 2008 as the Executive Chairman. He has co-founded numerous AI startups. He was a co-founder of the Intelligent Systems Lab at UCL, where he pioneered the usage of a neural network in real-time financial forecasting. He has also served as CEO and co-founder of Searchspace, a business that used artificial intelligence to detect insider trading at banking institutions and stock exchanges and money laundering. Kingdon earned a pure mathematics undergraduate degree from the Queen Mary University of London and a master’s degree from the University of Bristol.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Fisker Inc. – Develops And Sells Electrification Technology.

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By Sandhya Gupta

Fisker Inc. is a company that produces automobiles. The business develops and sells electrification technology, zero-emission automobiles, and electric vehicles. This automaker was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in California, USA.

About The Company

Fisker Inc is an American company that manufactures electric vehicles (EV). The Fisker Karma was manufactured by Fisker Automotive, which was replaced by Fisker Inc. The Fisker Ocean, an electrical sport utility vehicle (SUV) being developed by Fisker Inc., is anticipated to go into production in late 2022. It has an estimated range of 300-350 miles (480-560 km). Fisker was also developing solid-state battery technology that could provide up to 500 miles of range with a one-minute charge until 2021. In July 2020, Fisker Inc. announced a merger with Spartan Energy Acquisition, a SPAC supported by private equity company Apollo Global Management, and an IPO on the NY Stock Exchange. The company concluded the reversed merger on October 30, 2020.

History

Henrik Fisker and Bernhard in 2007 established Fisker Automotive. One of the first premium plug-in EVs in production, the Fisker Karma, was created by the business and debuted in 2008 before the first deliveries were made in 2011. After about 2,000 of the cars had been sold globally, production was halted in 2012 as a result of the insolvency of its battery provider, A123 Systems. Wanxiang Group acquired the assets of Fisker Automotive in 2014, and the new business was given the name Karma Automotive. The Fisker brand and trademarks were kept by Henrik Fisker.

The creation of Fisker Inc., an American manufacturer designing and manufacturing cutting-edge electric vehicles with a more extended range, autonomous driving capability, and superior battery tech, with Geeta Fisker as president and CFO, was announced by chairman and CEO Henrik Fisker on October 3, 2016. Fisker first announced in July 2016 that he intended to create an entirely connected electric vehicle with autonomous driving capabilities and a beautiful exterior. Fisker Inc. unveiled the design and technical details of the upcoming electric car, the Fisker EMotion, on October 31, 2016. The Orbit, a truly automated, connected, electric shuttle destined for smart cities, public airports, and campuses, was introduced by the corporation in November 2017. In that same month, Fisker Inc. declared that it had submitted patent applications for designs of flexible solid-state batteries, with mass production of the batteries beginning in 2020. The business revealed its plans to create a bulk market for all-electric luxury SUVs in September 2018.

In 2019, the company released the official Fisker Flexee mobile application for iOS and Android. Customers can plan test drives for the Fisker Ocean e-SUV and make reservations through the application.

Vehicles

Fisker Inc has launched various electronic vehicles in the automotive industry. The Fisker Orbit, an autonomous electric shuttle connected, and intended for smart cities, was unveiled in 2017. For this product, Fisker Inc. collaborated with Protean Electric, a manufacturer of motor technology, as well as Jack Wong of the Chinese business Hakim Unique Group. A few of its popular products include Fisker Alaska, Fisker EMotion, Fisker PEAR, and Fisker Ocean.

Founder – Henrik Fisker

Henrik Fisker founded Fisker Inc in 2007. Henrik Fisker is a renowned designer and entrepreneur. Henrik is known for taking risks, embracing innovation, and defying conventional wisdom. He is a top automobile designer, entrepreneur, inventor, innovator, mentor, and brand ambassador. The BMW Z8, Rocket, Destino V8, and Force 1 are among his most famous works. He has previously served on the boards of Aston Martin, BMW Designworks USA, Fisker Automotive, and Fisker Coachbuild. He has served in a number of honorary capacities, including as a judge at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and as an advisor and judges for automotive design at the Royal College of Art, UK, in 2010.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Kakao – Renowned For Its Free Messaging App Kakao Talk.

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By Suhani Jain

Kakao corporation is a South Korean internet company providing services like messaging, advertising, music, and e-commerce. The firm was established 12 years ago in 2010 by Brian Kim headquartered in Jeju City, South Korea. Presently, It is managed by Co-CEOs Manson Yeo and Sean Joh. The Firm achieved a 4.16 trillion South Korean Won (2020). Currently, it is competing for the Number 1 Position with Naver in the Japanese web novel and comic market.

Founding Of Company

Kakao corporation is the company after Kakao Talk serving as its primary platform and flagship application founded by Kim Bum-Soo in 2006. It is based in Seoul, South Korea. Three of App Annie’s Global top 10 android apps were bound up with Kakao Talk in august 2013, which were Everybody’s Marble, Ani pang, and Cookie Run. Some games played on its platforms, such as Dragon Flight and Ani Pang, were named National Games. Some key people were Brian Kim, Stephen Kim, and Namkoong When. It’s a versatile corporation providing services in different industries such as entertainment, fashion, finance, transportation, community services, and investment.

Mergers

The Corporation decided to merge with Daum Corporation, one of Korea’s top Internet portals, using a stock swap in May 2014 to compete with South Korea’s biggest portal, Navier, and was renamed Daum Kakao, which was changed back in 2015. The firm’s board of directors replaced CEO Kim-Beom-Soo with Rim Ji-Hoon.

New Business Model

Kakao corporation introduced its KakaoTaxi service on March 10, 2015, which allows users to call a taxi using the Kakao Taxi app. Different taxi companies supported the Kakao taxi service, and approximately six lakh taxi- users booked their rides with this application just eight months after the launch.

Revenue

Having 93 % of the South Korean population on Kakao Talk, it made a revenue of approximately 200 USD with gaming, mobile commerce, digital content, and marketing channels, becoming the world’s third top publisher at google play in 2013.

Achievements

Kakao Corporation was acknowledged as an elite developer on Google’s Android Market, and its flagship application KakaoTalk was selected as the number one Free messaging App by Cnet. It became the World’s Top publisher on Google Play in December 2013. Presently, it is the No. 1 publisher for Google Play and iOS in South Korea, and KakaoTalk is the Number 1 application for Google Play and iOS platforms in South Korea. In 2014, It was chosen for the Most Innovative Mobile App Award at Global Mobile Awards.

Subsidiaries

Its renowned subsidiaries are:

Kakao games
Kakao entertainment
Kakao mobility
Kakao friends
Lycos Inc.

Founder – Kim Beom-Soo

Kim-Boem-Soo, also called Brian Kim, born on 8 March 1996, is a Korean Billionaire Entrepreneur, chairman, and founder of Kakao corporation. He grew up in Seoul, and his grandmother did his upbringing, and he holds a BSc and MSc degree in engineering from Seoul National University. He joined Samsung as a developer. Kim started Hangame as an internet cafe business in 1998 which became Korea’s first online gaming platform. He also worked in NHN corporation as a representative until 2007. He was worth 11.2 billion USD by Forbes in 2021.

Chief Executive Officer – Namkoong Whon

He worked on finding new growth engines for the corporation and worked as Chief executive officer at Kakao corporation’s new organization. He holds a degree from Sogang University. He was also an early founding member who led the firm through a difficult time and contributed much to making it a success.

Suhani Jain

Lucid Motors – A Breakthrough In Luxury Electric Vehicle Industry.

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By Suhani Jain

Lucid Motors limited is an American Electric Automobile manufacturer firm formerly known as Atieva established in 2007. It was founded by Bernard Tse and Sam Weng. Its headquarters are in Newark, California. They manufacture high-performance vehicles while focussing on innovation, sustainability, and luxury. It is known as the new generation of electric vehicles. Over 3000 employees have exceptional skills and experience in Automobile Industry. The company achieved a revenue of 27 million US dollars (2021). The firm mainly manufactures software for the supervision of individual battery cells, mechanical packaging, and battery pack controls for plug-in vehicles, aircraft, and automobiles.

History

The firm was founded as Atieva in 2007 for the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries and powertrains for other automobile manufacturers. In 2013, the firm decided to develop a car and by 2014 it secured a nine-digit round of funding to complete its mission of developing the car. They developed a custom powertrain test car with 900 HP. Its exterior was rather common to stay unrecognized. This vehicle could travel 60 mph in just three seconds (Approx.) having exceptional driving range.

In 2016, the firm decided to establish a manufacturing plant of 700 million US dollars in Casa Grande, Arizona. The state and company officials planned the plant’s construction, which was predicted to hire over 2,000 employees by the middle of the 2020s. The initial aim was to build 20,000 cars and extend up to 1,30,000 cars annually. The manufacturing plant was designed to uphold a maximum capacity of 3,80,000 cars. The decision was made to start the plant in 2017 and vehicle production by 2019. It launched its vehicles in September 2021.

The firm’s commercial production started in North America with its retail strategy. The plant’s construction was initiated in 2019 and ended in December 2020. The second phase is currently in the process of maximizing the capacity from 34,000 to 90,000 cars per year. The finalized construction with four phases will have a capacity of about 4,00,000 cars annually.

Investors

Some key investors who funded their first-ever car were Tsing Capital, Venrock, Mitsui and JAFCO. Since then, they are investing in lucid motors to fuel their innovative ideas.

Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arab

On September 17, 2018, the firm announced that it will be receiving a public investment fund with a value of over one billion US dollars. It is a Saudi Arab Sovereign fund. The funding was finalized in April 2019. It was received to fund the final phase (engineering and testing) construction of the Casa Grande manufacturing plant.

Merger

The firm decided to merge with Churchill Capital Corporation in a deal of 11.75 billion US dollars

Renowned Products

Lucid Air

A sample of the Lucid Air, an entirely electric car, was launched in 2016. Its exceptional features include a projected range of 653 km and 480 horsepower with a starting price of 77,400 USD.

Project Gravity

Lucid Motors produced a concept of an electric SUV in September 2020, which is known as project gravity. Some features of project gravity were sleek headlamps, a short hood, a large windscreen with stylish and large windows, and quarter glass panels.

CEO – Peter Rawlinson

The chief executive officer of lucid motors was a VP of engineering at Tesla before joining Lucid motors. They joined the firm as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in 2013. He is a great British engineer and an entrepreneur. He was born in South Wales and attended Imperial College London.

Founders – Bernard Tse, Sam Weng

Bernard Tse is a great entrepreneur, the former VP at Tesla Motors, and a Board member. He was also the former CEO of Lucid Motors. He has over 20 years of experience in the electric vehicles industry. Sam Weng co-founded Lucid Motors with Bernard. He was also the retired executive of tesla motors and led the firm to its success.

Suhani Jain

Elron Electronic, A Well-Known Name In The Israeli Venture Capital Industry.

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By Sandhya Gupta

Since 1962, Elron Electronic has been a well-known name in the Israeli venture capital industry. The company’s primary focus is initial investing, using knowledge across numerous sectors and significant strategic alliances to provide funding and support to potential Israeli digital startups, assisting them in realising their ambition to become great global leaders.

About The Company

Elron Electronic is a Tel Aviv-based Israeli technology holding firm that has been engaged in creating, financing, and developing more than 30 companies since its founding in 1962. It is regarded as one of the cornerstones of Israel’s high-tech sector. The company is active in various industries like medical technology, clean technology, information technology, semiconductors, and telecommunications. The businesses under Elron now have annual revenue of almost $5 billion. The company is headquartered in Haifa, Israel.

History

With the assistance of Dan Tolkowsky of the Discount Investment Corporation, Uzia Galil launched Elron in 1962. Shimon Peres, a defense minister at the time, visited Elron in 1966, and Uzia persuaded him to find a new business that would create minicomputers for defense uses. Initially known as Elbit Computers, the new business was a partnership between Elron Electronic and the Israeli Ministry of Defense (each holding 50 percent of the company). In 1967, the business unveiled the Elbit-100 minicomputer as its first product. Over the years, the business has evolved to become Elbit Systems, a global defense electronics company. Avraham Suhami, a brilliant engineer who had just received his Ph.D. from the Technion, was persuaded by Uzia to work with him in 1969 to launch a new business called Elscint that would concentrate on the innovation of scientific and medical solutions. The company produced MRI and CT scanners, among other pieces of medical imaging technology. Elscint was the first Israeli business to launch an IPO on NASDAQ in 1972. Elscint’s earnings increased to $311 million by 1996.

Current Holdings

Elron commemorated its 50th anniversary in 2012 and made the announcement that the company would only be investing in medical devices going forward. As of 2013, it held stakes in seven businesses operating in this sector, including Brainsgate, Given Imaging, and Pocared.

Founder – Uzia Galil

After a brief stint of working with Motorola in the US, Uzia Galil was introduced to the technology sector and decided to launch Israel’s debut high-tech startup firm. He founded the business in a buddy’s (Benjamin Sandller’s) apartment in Haifa while he was still in the Navy. The company’s initial offerings were measurement devices for use in electrical and medical applications. Uzia left the Navy in 1958, but the business failed to make enough money, so he took a job at the Technion’s physics lab. It was then that Dan Tolkowsky was introduced to Uzia. Dan, who found Uzia’s theories fascinating, persuaded the management of Discount Investment Corporation to provide funding for the business. Elron officially began operations in 1962 with a valuation of $160,000 and achieved $1 million in annual revenue within three years.

CEO – Ari Bronshtein

After acting as co-CEO of Elron from May 2009, Mr. Bronshtein has been the company’s CEO since June 2010. In the past, he was also the director of Elron. He provides a wealth of experience in company growth, financial management, and managing technological enterprises. He has held a number of executive positions at Bezeq, Comverse, and Tadiran. He currently holds directorships in Cellcom Israel, as well as other businesses belonging to the Elron and IDB groups. Mr. Bronshtein graduated from Tel Aviv University with a BA in Finance and Management and a Master in Finance & Accounting.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

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