Ziva Software has built the world’s first Mobile Social Answer Engine. The mobile answer engine delivers precise answers to users’ questions and helps users find the desired information with the least number of interactions. It’s inbuilt mobile-specific social networking system helps users to tap into the information and knowledge possessed by
their friends. Ability to find both on-web and off-web content in an intuitive and interactive manner provides a rich and satisfying experience to end-users.

Ziva’s platform powers some of the biggest local directory search names in India - JustDial, InfoMedia being are some of the customers. Ziva also partners with some of the leading mobile content companies, and other service providers.

Ziva is a VC-backed, professionally-managed, product development company with exclusive focus on mobile-based access, search, and navigation. Ziva Software operates out of the NSR-GIV Center within the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Bangalore.

Tags: Sameer Sisodia, Ziva Software, Zook, JustDial, InfoMedia, NSR-GIV, Indian Institute of Management

The one-year-old mobile search company is located in an incubator at the Indian Institute of Sciences, in South Bangalore. (South Bangalore has a familiar look and feel to it and it suddenly strikes you that it looks a whole lot like North First Street in San Jose.)

Ziva’s search ecosystem platform, called MANAS, has been built around a bunch of unique patent pending technologies. MANAS currently powers some of the biggest information services brands in India, as well as mobile content providers. The names of Ziva’s clients have not been disclosed due to NDA.

Last week Ziva launched its first service called Zook. Zook is available bot on GPRS and via SMS. As Sameer puts it, Zook is a leisure and entertainment-focused service with a social networking dimension to it.

“I do believe this is the first multiple-sources search for cell content, and the interactive paradigm will work well on phones,” he says.

Ziva recently announced that it received funding from Nadathur Holdings and Investments Pvt. Ltd.

Tags: India, Bangalore, search, Ziva, MANAS, Zook

ICICI Venture Funds invested a little over $18 million in Electrotherm Ltd. MDI recently signed a deal with the Tata Motors.

IBM has bagged a 10 year contract worth $800 million from Idea Cellular to help them develop Idea Cellular’s business processes and technology infrastructure. Michael Dell announced that his company was setting up a manufacturing plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

California-based Wells Fargo Bank has opened a technology development center in the Southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Shailesh Rao has been appointed as Managing Director for Sales and Operations for Google India. Sudhir Kuppam has been named as the head of Intel Capital in India. Two top executives from Yahoo! India recently left the company. And students in IIT Mumbai will have restricted accesss to Internet.

Tags: Moveo Systems, Ziva software, Nadathur, ICICI, IBM, Idea Cellular, Michael Dell, Tamil Nadu, Wells Fargo, Andhra Pradesh, Shailesh Rao, Sudhir Kuppam, Intel Capital, IIT Mumbai