Data XGen launches free linguistic email under ‘Datamail’ brand

Data XGen Technologies, a group company of Data Infosys which has launched free linguistic email under Datamail brand, today said it intended to raise Rs150 crore in next 12 months to fund its expansion, PTI reported.

"We have successfully launched world's first free linguistic email address under the name 'Datamail'... And now we plan to raise Rs150 crore in next 12 months period to expand our services in India and abroad.

"We are talking to strategic investors for the proposed investment," XGen Technologies CEO Ajay Data said in a statement in Mumbai.

With Datamail, users can create email IDs in eight Indian languages, English and three foreign languages - Arabic, Russian and Chinese and the service would be offered in 22 languages over a period of time.

Under its expansion plans the  Jaipur-based IT company hoped to set up data centres in China, Russia and a number of other countries to offer linguistic email addresses in those countries, he added.

Indian languages accounted for less than 0.1 per cent content on world wide web. Also, more than 89 per cent population is non-English speaking and cannot read and communicate via English the language utilised to communicate over email.

''The linguistic email service will allow people from across the country to communicate in eight regional languages and in English language to provide ease of connect and bridge the digital divide among Indians,'' Data told the media at the launch.

He added, the initiative was capable of ''reaching the sizeable population which lies outside the ambit of the digital connect''.

According to the Global Internet Report, India ranked 139th in internet penetration, but stood as one of the countries having largest language diversity  in the world.

In internet penetration, Iceland ranked first, the UAE is 12th, the US 18th, and Germany 19th. These countries had low language diversity as compared with India.