IT giant Microsoft on Monday announced a strategic partnership with India’s leading e-tailer Flipkart in which, as a first step, the online retailer will adopt Microsoft Azure as its exclusive public cloud platform.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Flipkart Group CEO Binny Bansal said the strategic partnership was aimed at providing consumers in the country the best online shopping service.
Microsoft said Flipkart plans to leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning and analytics capabilities in Azure, such as Cortana Intelligence Suite and Power BI, to optimise its data for innovative merchandising, advertising, marketing and customer service.
With ‘powerful insights’ about its business and new, intelligent services, Flipkart can deliver increasingly relevant and personalised experiences to its customers.
The partnership has come at a time when Flipkart firm Flipkart is looking to raise a fresh round of funding but has faced a valuation markdown by one of its mutual fund investors. In December, a muttual fund managed by Morgan Stanley drastically marked down the value of its holdings in Flipkart by about 38 per cent to $52.13 a share, down from $84.29 a share in the June quarter. The mutual fund currently holds 1,969 shares in Flipkart that are collectively valued at $102,644.
This effectively pegs Flipkart’s valuation at $5.54 billion, compared to $9 billion in the previous quarter and $15.2 billion when it last raised capital in July 2015. Prior to this, Flipkart has also witnessed a series of markdowns.
