E-commerce giant Flipkart is set to double down on its technology base in Israel after acquiring Upstream Commerce, an Israeli analytics startup which provides automated competitive pricing and product analytics solutions for online retailers, said people close to the development.
The firm is setting up a management team and R&D centre focusing on cyber security, cloud computing and data protection while actively scouting for acquisitions in the country.
“While the size of the team itself is small, Israel is a market Flipkart wants to actively pursue for AI, computer vision and security tech,” said the person aware of the matter. The initiative is led by Flipkart’s senior vice-president of engineering, Jeyandran Venugopal.
The e-commerce company’s interest to expand in Israel mirrors global tech companies like Google, Apple, Facebook and Salesforce which have set up their offices in the country to tap the its thriving talent.
Last month, Walmart acquired a start-up named Aspectivia. The Tel Aviv-based company uses artificial intelligence to study and process data from consumer product interests to customised suggestions for purchasers.
Reports indicate that Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and senior company representatives met Israeli government officials last week and visited local hi-tech startup companies.
Source: https://in.apparelresources.com/