Category: Startup

OpenAI’s GPT-4o model has made sci-fi a reality — how netizens are reacting

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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OpenAI on Monday (May 13) announced its new and upgraded AI model, the GPT-4o, which is capable of realistic voice conversation and is able to interact across text, voice and vision.

GPT-4o, short for ‘omni,’ will power OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT chatbot, and will be available to users, including those who use the free version, in the coming weeks, the company announced during a short live-streamed update.

During a demonstration with Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati and other executives, the AI bot chatted in real time, adding emotion — specifically “more drama” — to its voice as requested. It also helped walk through the steps needed to solve a simple math equation without first spitting out the answer, and assisted with a more complex software coding problem on a computer screen.

It also took a stab at extrapolating a person’s emotional state by looking at a selfie video of their face (deciding he was happy since he was smiling) and translated English and Italian to show how it could help people who speak different languages have a conversation.

If you have watched Spike Jonze’s 2013 sci-fi film Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix and voice-starring Scarlett Johansson, you will immediately notice the resemblance between ChatGPT and Samantha. For those unaware, the plot of the movie revolves around an introverted writer falling in love with the artificially intelligent operating system on his computer (Samantha), taking the viewers through the journey of their relationship.

It can’t be a coincidence that Her also happens to be OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s favourite film, as he revealed during the Dreamforce 2023 event in San Francisco.

Netizens were also quick to point out the similarities between the new ChatGPT and Johansson’s Samantha.

“‘Her’ is becoming reality right now,” a user pointed out on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), sharing a video of GPT-4o’s demo.

GPT-4o is INSANE 🤯

“Her” is becoming reality right now pic.twitter.com/MmnFQW9pfX

— Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin) May 13, 2024

Altman also posted a single word — “her” — on X after the demo.

her

— Sam Altman (@sama) May 13, 2024

If we are smart enough, we know what not to do. If not, watch Her on Amazon Prime Video.

Another user was left baffled by how quickly the new model is able to translate languages in real time. This makes the GalaxyAI on Samsung look almost ancient, and the technology was just launched in January.

Wow, RIP 🪦 translators! GPT-4o changing the game, again! #ai #chatgpt pic.twitter.com/yn0nApspiO

— Derrest (@DerrestWilliams) May 13, 2024

The GPT-4o is also capable of solving complex math problems in real time making it easier for students to do their homework.

This demo is insane. 😱

A student shares their iPad screen with the new ChatGPT + GPT-4o, and the AI speaks with them and helps them learn in *realtime*.

Imagine giving this to every student in the world.#OpenAI #ChatGPT pic.twitter.com/Bl5yJvcQJy

— X-Money (@TheRealXMoney) May 13, 2024

However, it seems that even with its advanced intelligence, the GPT-4o can still let you down sometimes. @kanakonouma tried to ask ChatGPT to be its English tutor but due to loaded servers, it just let her down.

It sounds like GTP4o won’t be able to help me improve my English for a while.🤣😂 But I was thrilled to have her on the phone with me. Hope OpenAI grows even faster down the road. #ChatGPT #ChatGPT4o pic.twitter.com/lYR1Nxqhnv

— alice (@kanakonouma) May 14, 2024

Photographer Joseph Radikh also took to the platform to share his thoughts on the future, more precisely what Christmas 2025 would look like.

“I still cannot bring myself to type or talk to an artificial being, but I can see so many humans using this for hours on end. Pair it with smart glasses, and full dystopia is here,” he wrote.

Christmas 2025, we are all going to be re-enacting scenes from Her, and Black Mirror. 18 months, full fluency.

I still cannot bring myself to type or talk to an artificial being, but I can see so many humans using this for hours on end.

Pair it with smart glasses, and full… https://t.co/hLgqfsiLKi

— Joe (@josephradhik) May 13, 2024

Down the road, OpenAI says GPT-4o will get even better at talking in real time and understanding live videos. What’s more, it speaks over 50 languages.

Free users can now enjoy GPT-4-level intelligence, web-based responses, and more. Plus, there’s a new desktop app for macOS users, making AI integration seamless.

The announcement of the new model also comes at a time when rumours of Apple closing a deal with OpenAI to bring AI features to its devices seem to get more real. Could the iOS 18 Siri be based on the GPT-4o model? Could 2013’s Samantha be 2024’s Siri? We will find out next month at WWDC.

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OpenAI rival Anthropic brings Claude chatbot to Europe in revenue push

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic has launched its Claude chatbot and subscription plans in Europe, a more tightly regulated market that has challenged some of its rivals, as the company works to boost users and revenue.

Anthropic said the company’s basic software offering already has some traction in sectors like finance and hospitality across Europe. Now, it’s looking to build on that. Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei said the startup’s cloud-computing partners — Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google — will help it meet the tighter restrictions on data usage for businesses operating in the European Union.

“Our cloud providers are known for very strong security,” Amodei told Bloomberg News. “We’re well-positioned from a data security and privacy perspective.”

Formed in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, Anthropic has positioned itself as a developer of responsible and ethical AI. Like other AI companies, Anthropic has also increasingly focused on selling its services to corporate customers. Earlier this month, it introduced a Team plan for companies. Amodei declined to comment on demand for its paid tiers so far.

Anthropic is bringing similarly priced plans to Europe. As it does, however, Anthropic will be up against OpenAI, which is already available in the EU, as well as local competitors like Mistral, a French AI model developer formed last year.

The company also faces stiffer regulation. Earlier this year, the EU adopted the AI Act, the most comprehensive legislation addressing the tech. The bill was watered down slightly from more aggressive earlier versions, but it still imposes rules on AI model developers like Anthropic, requiring them to use adequate cybersecurity controls and disclose certain details on the design and potential risks of their models. Very large AI systems are subject to further restrictions.

Anthropic’s largest model meets those restrictions and the startup is still waiting on how EU regulators will enforce these new rules, the company said. “We are going to find out how they implement it,” said Jack Clark, Anthropic’s co-founder and policy chief.

Google released its Gemini app earlier this year in several countries, but the service is not yet available in the EU. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, meanwhile, has been hit with privacy complaints in Europe.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Meet the startup that turns airport rides into cheap Ola-Uber carpools

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Akash Jadhav, a techie, was on a flight to Bengaluru last year when he overheard a fellow passenger say that she was travelling to Electronics City, a destination more than 50 kilometres away from the airport, which happened to be in the direction he was headed.

“As we both collected our luggage off the baggage carousel, I approached her and asked her politely if we could share an Uber ride since the fare was around ₹1,500. She agreed, and we split the cost, with my destination coming up first and hers just 500 metres further,” Jadhav told Moneycontrol.

“During the journey, I asked her if she was comfortable sharing a cab with a stranger. She said it is a common practice outside airports. This sparked an idea. After a brief survey, I found that in India and elsewhere, there are many cities where the airport is far from the city centre. This is causing hefty cab expenses … people want to save money on their airport trips.” he said.

The conversation led Jadhav to eventually launch ‘GoPool’, where passengers can find co-travellers before their cab trips, allowing them to share a taxi to and from airports. To be sure, the sharing happens just between the two travellers and the cab aggregator is not involved in any way.

The platform was launched in February 2023 while Jadhav was working on another startup. A year later, this February, he left his job to focus on marketing and creating awareness about his new carpooling idea.

His efforts seem to have paid off. From a mere idea, GoPool is now operational in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Goa, and Pune. “We now have around 25,000 users, and over the past week, the app has been seeing between 50 to 125 daily users. It was initially just a Proof of Concept, but it began gaining traction around 4-5 months ago,” he said. He added that the service is popular in Bengaluru because of increased user awareness.

Jadhav, 36, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from MIT, Pune, with 13 years of experience in the software industry. “Before GoPool, I tried six other ideas, all of which failed. Fortunately, GoPool is now gaining traction so I left the job and am now fully committed to scaling this idea,” he said.

The company is bootstrapped, which means Jadhav has put in his own money and has spent ₹1.5 lakh to cover server bills, OTP services, business registrations and marketing expenses, which are mostly paid out to influencers.

“The cost of building an app and website is free since I developed it myself. I’ll invest under ₹10 lakh by December. I’ve been saving up to invest in this venture and can sustain it till the end of this year. My goal is to make GoPool a success by then and expand it to other cities and globally,” Jadhav said.

He added that while the company is engaging with potential investors, it is not at the desired scale yet and once that happens, he’ll explore investment options.

‘Not making money now’

Jadhav said GoPool is now in the pre-revenue stage and he has plans to launch a business model once the company establishes its presence in the market. “I’m not making any money from GoPool yet since I’ve decided to keep it free until it reaches a certain level of success for both users and myself. When people share a ride, the financial transactions are between them. Once they connect, figure out which cab to take, and multiple stops, GoPool’s job is done.

On the financial viability of this model, he said: “It will depend on the data and the kind of travellers on the app — age group, profession, and frequency. Depending on these factors, there will be a credit or subscription model. I could even collaborate with established cab vendors and take a margin from them.”

While GoPool makes no money yet, some were worried that if the business picks up, it will lead to reduced earnings for cab drivers.

“Those travelling to and from the airport are often on business trips and prioritise safety and privacy over cost. Carpooling would impact drivers as it would reduce the number of trips taken by passengers and reduce earnings,” Hamid Akbar Ali, President, Airport Taxi Owners’ Association told Moneycontrol.

How does it work?

GoPool offers a co-traveller discovery service tailored for airport trips. Users can find fellow travellers and then book any cab with multiple stops, splitting the total journey cost among themselves. This model works well for single passengers who are travelling light to and from the airport.

While Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)’s Vayu Vajra bus fare is around ₹300, it does not provide doorstep service, and passengers need to rely on auto-rickshaws or taxis for first and last-mile connectivity. Cab fare, on the other hand, ranges between ₹1,000-1,500.

In this model, a user can add additional stops on the same Ola-Uber trip, and the fare will be divided among the number of users connected through the GoPool app. It even allows users to schedule journeys for a later date.

“If a user, for instance, is planning a trip from Indiranagar to the airport in the next 10 days, they can create a session in the app in advance. The app will display a list of users travelling on that day or notify them if anyone joins the queue.” Jadhav said.

Currently, GoPool does not offer its own cab service, but may consider it in the future.

The Zepto connection

If you feel you’ve heard of GoPool before Jadhav spoke about it, that might just be the case. Aadit Palicha, co-founder and CEO of Zepto, a quick commerce app, had a similar idea with the same name, Go Pool, during his school days.

Palicha developed his idea of Go Pool at the age of 15 while studying in Dubai. It was designed for parents to create a pooling system where they could take turns to drop their kids off at school.

Jadhav, however, said the two ideas are unrelated. “I stumbled upon Aadit Palicha’s app while uploading my GoPool on app stores. Despite attempting to reach out to him, I received no response. But I can confidently say that the concept behind GoPool is drawn from my own experiences,” he was quick to clarify.

Safety is ensured, claims firm

Jadhav said the company ensures the safety of passengers through an Aadhaar verification. It also checks the user’s LinkedIn profile to assess their professional experience.

“This is primarily done so that users can find co-travellers from their own company or college if they are students. This instils more confidence in them. Reviewing their professional history brings additional confidence,” he said, adding that a LinkedIn verification is not mandatory, but only an additional step.

There is also an added layer for female passengers.

“Female users travelling alone at odd hours can filter by gender and opt to find a female co-traveller, which will be more comfortable than travelling with a male stranger or taking a cab alone,” he said.

‘Not illegal’

Jadhav said carpooling with yellow-board vehicles is not illegal. “But navigating the regulatory landscape poses a major challenge, particularly in Karnataka, where regulations are constantly evolving. Carpooling using non-commercial (white-board) vehicles is (illegal) and prohibited, but GoPool users share cabs (yellow board) to or from the airport, instead of using their vehicles, which is legal,” he said.

GoPool is the only company to have tapped into a model that leverages the network of yellow-board vehicles instead of white-boards. Mobility firms like Quick Ride and BlaBlaCar offer carpooling services, but they use private vehicles, which according to the Motor Vehicle Rules, is illegal.

In the pre-Covid period, Ola and Uber used to operate similar shared services, but they stopped offering them after the pandemic.

A senior transport department official conceded that the GoPool arrangement is not illegal and noted that it has not faced any challenges yet. “Taxis have contract carriage permits, allowing them to transport passengers for hire under specific agreements from point to point. They cannot pick up multiple passengers along the way from different points, as only Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation holds the exclusive stage carriage permit in Bengaluru. However, if passengers arrange to share a yellow-board taxi before the trip, there is no illegality. We have not received any complaints so far,” the official told Moneycontrol.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Myelin Foundry CEO outlines global expansion strategy amid $4 million funding round

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Myelin Foundry, an artificial intelligence-based deeptech startup, has raised $4 million. The equity funding was led by SIDBI Venture Capital. Existing investors Endiya Partners, Pratithi Investment Trust and Subh Labh also participated in the funding round.

Gopichand Katragadda, CEO and founder of Myelin Foundry emphasised that a substantial portion of the funding will facilitate both local and global market expansion.

He noted the relocation of co-founder Ganesh Suryanarayanan to the US to bolster the company’s presence there, considering a significant portion of their clientele hails from the US.

“Many of our customers today are US customers. So we have already entered into the US market. And with that presence, we will scale up our revenues globally. When I say locally, it’s also going into AsiaPac. So significant strengthening of the sales team is also where we will be deploying the findings.”

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Unified API platform, Knit, which offers a plug-and-play integrations platform for software as a service (SaaS) companies to help them build and maintain integrations with other SaaS tools has raised $1 million in a seed funding round led by Endiya Partners, along with participation from Axilor Ventures and Angel Investors.

It will use the funds to enhance its product capabilities and incorporate gen AI technologies as well as to aid its expansion efforts globally. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Gaurav Bhawnani, co-founder of Knit spoke about the company’s fund allocation plan.

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Plane, an open-source project management platform, has secured $4 million in seed round funding from OSS Capital. This investment will fuel the company’s community growth and compete in the enterprise segment. The startup which is headquartered in Delaware and India, was founded in 2022. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Vamsi Kurama, co-founder and CEO of Plane discussed their fund allocation plans.

Watch this video for more.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Elon Musk’s xAI nears funding at $18 billion value soon as this week

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup X.AI Corp. is set to close its funding round at a valuation of about $18 billion as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

The size of the round hasn’t been finalised, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The maker of AI chatbot assistant Grok was set to raise $6 billion in the round, whose participants include Sequoia Capital, Bloomberg News has reported.

Deliberations are ongoing and details such as the valuation and timing could still change, the people said. Representatives for Musk’s social network X, formerly known as Twitter, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The funding round for the OpenAI rival was being marketed via a pitch deck highlighting potential selling points for investors, touting Musk’s track record at Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, and noting that xAI will be able to train on the high-quality data from X, a person familiar with the matter has said.

Having access to data is crucial for building large language models, the technology that powers AI chatbots, an area where xAI aims to compete with other well-funded businesses such as OpenAI.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s latest venture is testing an Uber and Ola-like feature on ONDC

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s Pai Platform, earlier known as Paytm E-commerce, is said to be testing a ride-hailing feature via the Open Network for Digital Commerce route. Users can book autos on the PAI mini app within Paytm, just like on Uber or Ola.  

Sources told CNBC-TV18 that the ride-hailing feature is visible only to select customers on ONDC. 

ONDC stands for Open Network for Digital Commerce, a private portal for consumers to access products and services from multiple e-commerce platforms in one place. The government supports this initiative aimed at curbing online monopolies. 

Multiple tech unicorns, including Ola, PhonePe and Meesho, are present on ONDC. 

According to Moneycontrol, in February, it rebranded itself as Pai Platforms and acquired Bengaluru-based Bitsila, a seller-side platform on ONDC.

Pai Platforms introduced a shopping app named PaiPai on ONDC in April. The app, developed by Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications, was launched followed by a removal, as per Moneycontrol’s report, owing to a premature release.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Byju’s unveils new sales model, shift in sales strategy, cuts prices of products

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Edtech firm Byju’s has undertaken steep price cuts across its products, announced a shift in its sales strategy, as well as the payment structure for its sales staff amid the liquidity crunch and legal challenges that the company finds itself in, CNBC-TV18 has learnt.

In what is seen as a measure to boost sales amid financial challenges, Byju’s has significantly reduced the prices of its products, by as much as 30-40%, said a person directly in the know who did not wish to be quoted.

The annual subscription for the Byju’s Learning App is now available at ₹12,000 (inclusive of taxes). Byju’s Classes and Byju’s Tuition Centres (BTC) are priced at ₹24,000 and ₹36,000, respectively, for a complete year of classes, the person said on the new pricing.

The edtech firm has also proposed changes in the salary structure of its sales executives, CNBC-TV18 has learned. Earlier this month, Byju’s announced these changes to the sales staff salaries, linking them to the weekly revenues generated, effective from April 24 to May 21, CNBC-TV18 had earlier reported.

Now, founder Byju Raveendran has told his sales associates that they will receive 100% of the sales closed directly into their accounts the next working day, with managers receiving 20% of the same from the company. “The average sales salary is ₹40,000 per month. So, close a couple of sales, and you can get not just your salary but also clear your arrears. You can earn many multiples of your CTC through this model,” Byju said, as per the source quoted above. 

After clearing arrears, associates are likely to receive 50% of sales closed, while managers will receive 10%.

Byju’s has emphasised that this is a “four-week experiment” but has the potential to become a “forever model”, citing the response during the first week, with some sales team members already clocking salaries commensurate with a ₹50 lakh per annum CTC, said this person.

In a recent meeting with over 1,500 sales associates and managers, Raveendran also announced a shift in the company’s sales strategy, it is understood. 

“Byju’s has completed its transition from a push-based to a pull-based sales model, which is driven by love for learning rather than the fear of missing out. Managers will now act as coaches, focused on supporting and enabling the sales team rather than enforcing strict call quotas. Associates will have the flexibility to work on their own terms, with no tracking of the number of hours spent on calls,” said the person quoted earlier.

“If you can get results by spending just half an hour a day, please do that. Want to only work on the weekends? Why not?” Byju  Raveendran is believed to have told the staff.

“I want you to understand what it means about the quality of our content and the power of our brand. So, your job is not to sell, but to counsel. You just have to guide the students and parents who are already inclined towards the transformative learning that Byju’s offers,” Raveendran said.

In this meeting, Raveendran is understood to have said that he expects a 50,000-strong sales force within the next year, thanks to these changes.

To foster innovation and collaboration, Raveendran has also invited associates to share their innovative ideas directly with him.

Last month, Byju’s India CEO Arjun Mohan resigned amid a major reorganisation. Founder and Group CEO Byju Raveendran took over and is spearheading day-to-day functioning as the firm looks to streamline operations.

Raveendran had then said the reorganisation marks the start of Byju’s 3.0. He said Byju’s would be a “leaner and more agile organisation ready to quickly adapt to evolving market dynamics, especially in the realm of hyper-personalised education”.

Byju’s is also consolidating its businesses into three focused divisions – (1) The Learning App (2) Online Classes and Tuition Centres, and (3) Test-prep.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Peak XV-backed data & AI startup Atlan bags $105 million led by GIC, Meritech Capital

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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San Francisco-based Atlan has raised $105 million at a valuation of $750 million in a Series C funding round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Meritech Capital, with participation from existing investors Salesforce Ventures and Peak XV Partners.

One of the startups in Peak XV’s third cohort of the Surge accelerator program in 2020, the current round has brought the startup’s fundraising to more than $206 million, with Insight Partners and Waterbridge Ventures among its institutional investors.

For Atlan, the fundraiser comes at a time when demand for AI data readiness and governance has skyrocketed. “Over the past year, boards have consistently asked their CIOs and CDOs about their AI roadmaps, who have realized that the main hurdle isn’t AI models but the lack of AI-ready data—data enriched with business context, trust, and security,” said Prukalpa Sankar, co-founder, Atlan.

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“Atlan is addressing this by building the control plane for the data and AI stack, integrating trust and context into the digital fabric,” added Sankar. The startup claims to have seen its revenues surge more than 7x in the last 2 years, with a 75% win rate in competitive trials and a 400% enterprise sales growth in Q1 2024.

Some of the startup’s top clients include Cisco, Autodesk, Unilever, Ralph Lauren, FOX, News Corp, Nasdaq, NextGen, Plaid, and HubSpot. “…no two organizations handle data the same way: for data teams, diverse approaches are a feature, not a bug,” said Varun Banka, co-founder of Atlan.

“So, we built a solution that unifies data across warehouses, lakehouses, vector DBs, BI tools, and AI agents. In doing so, Atlan empowers data teams to leverage the entirety of their data at high velocity and scale by ensuring its quality, accuracy, and governance,” Banka explained.

Atlan claims that its platform cuts time spent in finding and understanding data by 95%, enabling faster data governance and AI readiness for enterprises.

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“Atlan is setting a new standard for modern data governance, especially for enterprises with a cloud-first data strategy,” said Rob Ward, co-founder of Meritech Capital and investor in data companies like Snowflake, Looker, and Tableau.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Startup Digest: Zomato sets up Weather Union, Pine Labs’ Setu launches ChatGPT like service, Simpl lays off over 100 employees and more

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Zomato sets up Weather Union—crowd-sourced network of 650 weather stations across India

In a bid to risk-proof its business from unpredictable weather conditions, foodtech giant Zomato has developed a crowd-supported weather infrastructure that provides real-time and localised climate data.

The platform called Weatherunion.com is an on-ground network of 650 weather stations, offering  critical information on “Temperature, humidity, wind speed, rainfall, etc”.

In a tweet, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said that Weatherunion.com will be accessible for free — using API. Weatherunion.com will be part of Zomato’s CSR efforts – Zomato Giveback. The company will bear the cost of the weather station requiring volunteers to only share space.

Pine Labs-owned Setu and Sarvam AI launches domain-specific LLM for BFSI sector

Pine Labs-owned Setu has launched a large language model (LLM)—Sesame— designed specially for the banking and financial services industry (BFSI) sector. Developed in collaboration with homegrown GenAI startup SarvamAI, the LLM has been trained on custom local data relevant to the sector.

The company has touted the move as the ChatGPT moment in the financial sector. The fintech startup said that the model leverages financial data available both internally and externally to help enterprise customers improve their credit underwriting process, detect fraud, monitor loan performance and offer personal finance advisory.

Sesame will be both domain and region-specific and will be trained on custom data relevant to the BFSI sector, the firm added.

Simpl lays off over 100 employees as part of cost-cutting measures: Report 

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) fintech Simpl has laid off at least 100 employees across its departments and roles, especially those in higher-paying functions like engineering and product.

This comes even as the fintech’s monthly cash burn has remained elevated and new user acquisitions have slowed down, according to a report by Moneycontrol.

Simpl had around 650 staff till yesterday, including those in core operations, interns, and calling agents. The layoff has impacted people across these domains. Some of those who have been laid off have already started posting for jobs on LinkedIn. Additionally, the layoff has impacted Simpl’s D2C checkout vertical, the report added.

AI governance startup Atlan raises $105 million in Series C round 

Data and artificial intelligence governance platform Atlan has raised $105 million in a Series C funding round from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and co-investor Meritech Capital, which valued the startup at $750 million.

Existing investors Salesforce Ventures and Peak XV Partners also participated in the round. Atlan, which has raised more than $206 million, operates an eponymous data stack that brings together diverse data from internal and external sources to one interface.

This new funding comes as Atlan’s revenues ballooned more than 7x in the last 2 years, with a 75% win rate in competitive trials and a whopping 400% enterprise sales growth in Q1 2024, as demand for AI data readiness and governance has skyrocketed, a statement said.

Myelin Foundry raises $4 million from SIDBI Venture Capital and others 

Myelin Foundry, a deep tech AI startup, has bagged $4 million in equity fundraising from SIDBI Venture Capital, along with participation of current investors Endiya Partners, Pratithi Investment Trust, and Subh Labh.

The startup will use new funds to further strengthen its AI platforms and support its expansion into international markets, it said in a statement.

“This investment reaffirms the confidence in Myelin’s growth trajectory and the potential of our Edge AI and Gen AI platforms. We look forward to working closely with our valued partners to accelerate our journey of transforming industries with Edge AI solutions. The global artificial intelligence market size was estimated at USD 200 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 36.6% from 2024 to 2030. Myelin is positioned to be a key player in this exciting space,” said Gopichand Katragadda, Founder & CEO of Myelin Foundry.

Merak Ventures leads Rs 10 crore seed round in Atomgrid 

Atomgrid, an R&D-first platform for contract development, manufacturing and sourcing of specialty chemicals, has raised Rs 10 crore in a seed funding round led by B2B venture capital (VC) firm Merak Ventures.

Dexter Ventures, Upsparks, Point One Capital and the founders of UniCards (Nitin Gupta and Prateek Jindal) also participated in the funding round.

The startup will use fresh capital to expand its in-house R&D infrastructure, increase global outreach, build a supply chain tech platform, and hire teams across Business Development, R&D, and fulfilment functions.

T-Hub and AIC launch mobility cohort for AIC T-Hub Program

Startup incubator T-Hub, in collaboration with Atal Incubation Centre (AIC), have announced the launch of the mobility cohort of the AIC T-Hub Program. The selected startups will focus on critical areas including battery technology, battery management systems (BMS), electric vehicle (EV) development, shared mobility solutions, and distribution networks.

Amongst the selected startups are- VPush Technologies, Sock8, Zeromatter Tech,  Electriq, Savy Electrics,  Blumotiv, Sunmit Electronics and Bambam Kart.

The 3-month program aims to provide startups with exclusive 1:1 mentoring, collaborative group sessions, vital investor connections, and opportunities for market pilots. Since its inception, AIC T-Hub has nurtured 147 startups, facilitated funding totaling Rs 15 crore and engaged over 100 mentors, thus significantly enriching the innovation ecosystem.

NSRCEL IIM Bangalore partners with Deloitte to empower early-stage startups

NSRCEL, the incubation hub of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), has announced a strategic partnership with Deloitte India to-create online modules covering vital topics for early-stage businesses.

These modules will delve into corporate governance, taxation, entity formation, funding stages and instruments, mergers and acquisitions, and company structure, a statement said.

The modules will address various forms of funding and financing available to start-ups, equipping them with valuable financial skills. Furthermore, learning about mergers and acquisitions will prepare start-ups for potential partnerships or exits, the statement added.

Google Wallet launches in India for android phones 

Google has launched its Wallet app designed with a primary focus on organising digital documents for various purposes, including travel, movies, event alerts, gift cards, and even car keys.

To enable the experience for Indian users, Google Wallet has partnered with 20 brands such as PVR & INOX, Air India, Indigo, Flipkart, Pine Labs, Kochi Metro, Abhibus and many others.

For corporate users, Google Wallet offers integration with corporate badges, in partnership with system integrators Wavelynx and Alert Enterprise. Google Wallet allows users to store and access their corporate badges directly on their Android devices.

Apple launches iPad Pro with M4 chip and AI capabilities

Apple has refreshed its tablet line-up, with iPad Pro models housing new M4 chip and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

The iPad Pro comes in two variants — a 13-inch model and a super-portable 11-inch model, with a breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display with OLED technology.

The 11-inch and 13-inch devices will be available in silver and space black finishes in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations, the company said in a statement.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS

Uber reported a net loss of $654 million,weak second-quarter forecast

Uber posted a surprise first-quarter loss and forecast gross bookings in the second quarter below Wall Street expectations.

Uber reported a net loss of $654 million, driven by legal charges and provisions and those related to fair valuation of certain company investments. Analysts were expecting a net profit of $503.1 million.

Uber also missed market expectations for quarterly gross bookings, a key metric that indicates the total dollar value of transaction on the platform. CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah attributed it to softer ride-share demand in Latin America and the impact from certain holidays shifting into the first quarter.

SoftBank in talks to buy AI chipmaker Graphcore: Report

Japan’s SoftBank is in talks to buy artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker Graphcore, Bloomberg News reported.

The months-long negotiations between the two companies recently reached a more advanced stage but financial terms of the deal haven’t yet been decided, the report said, adding that talks could still collapse.

Last year, UK-based Graphcore said in a forecast made through 2027 that it needed to raise cash to break even as Nvidia’s dominance in AI chilled funding for startups looking to compete directly.

UK tells tech firms to ‘tame algorithms’ to protect children

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will have to “tame” their algorithms to filter out or downgrade harmful material to help protect children under proposed British measures published.

The plan by regulator Ofcom is one of more than 40 practical steps tech companies will need to implement under Britain’s Online Safety Act, which became law in October.

The platforms must also have robust age checks to prevent children seeing harmful content linked to suicide, self-harm and pornography, the regulator said.

FTX files amended reorganisation plan, expects $14.5-$16.3 billion for distribution

Crypto exchange FTX will have between $14.5 billion to $16.3 billion to pay its creditors and customers, according to an amended reorganization plan filed by the company in a U.S. bankruptcy court.

FTX said it has anticipated the figure based on monetizing assets, most of which were investments owned by Alameda Research, a crypto-focused hedge fund controlled Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX Ventures businesses, and litigation claims.

The amount for distribution includes assets under the control of the chapter 11 debtors, as well as those controlled by liquidators of FTX Bahamas Digital Markets, Bahamas Securities Commission, liquidators of FTX’s Australia unit, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and several private parties, the statement added.

US eyes curbs on China’s access to AI software behind apps like ChatGPT

The Biden administration is poised to open up a new front in its effort to safeguard the U.S. AI from China with preliminary plans to place guardrails around the most advanced AI Models, the core software of artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, Reuters reported.

The Commerce Department is considering a new regulatory push to restrict the export of proprietary or closed source AI models, whose software and the data it is trained on are kept under wraps.

Any action would complement a series of measures put in place over the last two years to block the export of sophisticated AI chips to China in an effort to slow Beijing’s development of the cutting edge technology for military purposes. Even so, it will be hard for regulators to keep pace with the industry’s fast-moving developments.

TikTok, ByteDance sue to block US law seeking sale or ban of app

TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance sued in U.S. federal court seeking to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that would force the divestiture of the short video app used by 170 million Americans or ban it.

The companies filed their lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing that the law violates the U.S. Constitution on a number of grounds including running afoul of First Amendment free speech protections. The law, signed by Biden on April 24, gives ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban.

“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban,” the companies said in the lawsuit.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow