Course5 Intelligence aims to expand its business by developing new artificial intelligence products and investing in talent recruitment and training in the fields of advanced AI and analytics.
Course5 Intelligence, an IPO-bound analytics firm, is setting aside about ₹ 50 crore of the listing proceeds for rolling out new products and IP initiatives, which will primarily cover expenditure toward tech hiring needs.
According to its draft papers, the company has an investment outlay towards hiring as part of product and IP initiatives. It is looking to recruit AI scientists, data scientists, product managers, analysts, programmers, user experience designers, and software engineers with experience in working with enterprise-scale analytics and insights products.
Data & Analytics roles, including those related to AI-led analytics, such as data engineer, data scientist, data/BI analyst, and business analyst, need certain niche skill sets like statistical and quantitative analysis skills, programming language skills, data structures, and analytical skills—key roles that the Company is seeking.
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The firm has also earmarked ₹75 crore for mergers and acquisitions from the ₹300 crore being raised.
“Course5 Intelligence Limited plans to continue to invest in talent recruitment and conduct training in the fields of advanced AI, analytics, and insights to strengthen our technological advantage. The company is focused on attracting and retaining talent with domain expertise across leading analytics platforms for data engineering, collection and cloud, digital analytics, advanced analytics, business intelligence, and visualisation,” said Anees Merchant, Executive Vice President-Sales, Course5 Intelligence.
The company invests significant resources in training its workforce and certain training initiatives include ‘Course5 University’, which focuses on the comprehensive learning and development needs of all employees, and the Skill Enhancement and Employee Development (“SEED”) program.
The market for skilled personnel is extremely competitive, and the process of hiring employees with the necessary skills requires the diversion of significant time and resources.
According to the January 2022 Zinnov Report, there is a demand for highly qualified, experienced, and technically adept talent in the field of data and analytics, and this demand is set to increase exponentially.
“According to the January 2022 Zinnov Report, there is a demand for highly qualified, experienced, and technically adept talent in the field of data and analytics, and this demand is set to increase exponentially.”
Further, there is a substantial demand-supply gap in data and analytics talent which is posing challenges in acquiring and retaining talent for companies, the report added. The company’s ability to meet continued success and future business challenges depends on the ability to attract, recruit, and retain experienced, talented, and skilled professionals said the company.
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Companies are therefore doubling down on their talent acquisition and retention efforts to ensure a steady supply of D&A talent. They are increasing their focus on initiatives such as university tie-ups and ‘hackathons’ for tapping the relevant talent groups. Companies are also redesigning their retention system by offering increased value to employees through initiatives such as stock options, training, scholarships, flexible rewards and recognitions, according to the report.
Course5 Intelligence’s employee base is 902 full-time employees spread across 17 cities globally, as of September 30, 2021.
In fiscal 2019, 2020, and 2021 and the six months period ending September 30, 2021, Course5 Intelligence invested Rs 10.3 crore, Rs 13.4 crore, Rs 15.3 crore, and Rs 6.67 crore towards AI products, accelerators, and Course5 AI Labs.
“Companies are also redesigning their retention system by offering increased value to employees through initiatives such as stock options, training, scholarships, flexible rewards and recognitions, according to the report.”
Such expenditure was incurred towards salary paid to personnel who worked on current products and IP initiatives, fees paid to consultants, and rent incurred at designated areas at Bengaluru and Worli (Mumbai) units, which have been apportioned towards product, delivery, and IP initiatives, said its draft papers.
