Palnar Transmedia, one of Kerala's first startups with a significant market presence in the US and Europe, will soon open its new development centre in Bengaluru. At the company's silver jubilee celebrations, its promoters declared they would increase hiring while expanding operations in Thiruvananthapuram. Palnar currently employs more than 300 people globally across Germany, the US, and India, with a total annual revenue of more than $17 million.

German Consul General Achim Burkart, who addressed the gathering, lauded the values Palnar upholds to ensure quality services to its clients in Germany and the US while staying closely knitted together as a family. Sindhu Gangadharan, managing director of SAP India, who was the chief guest, highlighted the perseverance of a young startup 25 years ago to sail through the tough times of two global financial crises early this century.

Syed Ibrahim, managing director of Palnar, narrated their arduous journey over a quarter century, making it one of Kerala’s best home-grown IT companies. “Kerala has a robust ecosystem for IT companies to grow by leaps and bounds, and the growth of Palnar is a testimony to this. A fledgling company like us could survive and succeed only with the tremendous support from the Technopark management, clients, family and staff".

Sreejith Narayan, founder-director of Palnar, said the company was expanding in a big way, and its new development centre in Bangalore will be operational this year. Ibrahim and Sreejith started the company in September 1998 with an initial capital of $650, operating from a 150 sq ft space at Technopark. Palnar’s focus was primarily on the German-speaking European market. Shortly after its launch, it got its first client from Germany, and its office became more prominent, adding 150 sq. ft.

In 2019, Planar acquired German IT company iworxs GmbH after working with it for over 12 years, marking its entry into the European market with a new German identity. Coinciding with the silver jubilee and reflective of a strong business bonding, Palnar will henceforth operate in India and Europe under the new brand name iworks by Palnar. After acquiring iworks, Palnar partnered with Smartup AG in neighbouring Switzerland to develop path-breaking solutions like an application for bike parking towers in German and Swiss towns. For its Austrian client DaFi, Palnar provides solutions for managing hundreds of solar installations and energy management systems across the Pongau region. Though the company is actively expanding its footprint in the US and European markets, the teams in its development centre in Thiruvananthapuram are executing the actual programming works.