TECH FOUNDERS
Get AI's mojo back intelligently
As AI emerged, it was met with optimism, but soon concerns over AI safety, explainability, data privacy, and deepfakes overshadowed the excitement. Experts began to caution that AI could threaten humanity's existence. To harness the positive potential of AI, we must rekindle the initial hope, joy, and curiosity associated with technological advancements.
Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal endorses Narayan Murthy’s 70-hour work week
Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola, has strongly supported Narayan Murthy’s proposal advocating a 70-hour workweek for young professionals. In an exclusive podcast interview with ANI, Aggarwal praised Murthy's leadership during his return to Infosys in 2013, emphasizing the transformative impact he had on the company. Aggarwal also expressed admiration for Steve Jobs and his influence on him, citing his preference for Apple products. Additionally, Aggarwal raised concerns about "techno-colonialism," highlighting issues surrounding India's data being processed abroad and sold back to India.
Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin buys team in Tech M's Global Chess League
Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has partnered with Prachura Group founder Prachura PP and former Prestige Estates CEO Venkat K. Narayana to acquire the American Gambits team in the Global Chess League (GCL), a joint venture between Tech Mahindra and the International Chess Federation. The team will debut in the second season of the league, which will be held from October 3-12 in London.
India produces 20% of world's data: Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal
Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal highlighted that India which constitutes 20 per cent of the world's population produces 20% of the world's digital data. The Ola founder underscored that India should actually produce even more data since we are young.
AI became the teacher of the year
AI is transforming the landscape of education as lecturers and EdTech platforms across the country utilise the technology for teaching, testing, and assessment. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT have found their way into Indian classrooms. However, AI also presents potential drawbacks. It may stifle creative thinking among young learners due to an over-reliance on technology.
Top startup and tech stories this week
Welcome to a brand new edition of ETtech Unwrapped – our weekend newsletter packed with the most important stories that we covered this week. Here’s a recap if you missed them.
- Go To Page 1
Pressure on diagnostics industry will continue for another five years : A Velumani, Thyrocare Tech
Yes, there were challenges in diagnostic industry of a different nature in early 2000. There were no automations available adequately. Before year 2000 there were only two-three automations in the country and by another 10 years it became 500, another 10 years it has become literally 5,000.
Global experts, CISOs, founders to converge at Accel Cybersecurity Summit in Bengaluru on July 25
The summit comes when India's cybersecurity landscape is witnessing remarkable growth, and demand for products and services is rising at a fast clip. Accel has been operating in India since 2008. The global venture capital firm said, "Accel is set to host India's largest Cybersecurity Summit in Bengaluru,"
Koo founders on why the social media app is shutting down
Once considered as a rival of X (previously Twitter), Tiger Global-backed Indian social media app Koo is shutting down operations. the company founder Aprameya Radhakrishna said on social media. "As for us, we are entrepreneurs at heart and you will see us back in the arena one way or another. Till then, thank you for your time, attention, good wishes and love," Radhakrishna posted on LinkedIn.
Tech-enabled construction startup Wify raises funding from Mount Judi Ventures, Capria Ventures
The Mumbai-based on-site installation and post purchase services provider said it will use the funds to penetrate deeper into existing categories. Wify will also The Mumbai-based on-site installation and post purchase services provider said it will use the funds to penetrate deeper into existing categories, company said in a statement.
'We hire more women because they are more disciplined', says Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal on Foxconn controversy
Ola's founder Bhavish Aggarwal reaffirmed the company's commitment to employing women, including married women, amid reports of Foxconn's discriminatory practices. Ola's FutureFactory in Tamil Nadu employs an all-women workforce, with plans to extend this model to its new Gigafactory. Aggarwal emphasized that women are disciplined and dexterous, and Ola aims to address the low representation of women in the workforce by hiring at all levels, including senior management.
Flexible workspace operator Smartworks raises Rs 168 crore
“Capital from the latest fund raising will be used for the growth and expansion of the business of the company and to meet its general corporate expenses,” said Neetish Sarda, founder Smartworks.
Indian deep tech startups count surges in 2023 but funding plummets 77%: Nasscom
Total $850 million was raised in 2023 itself -- this is a 77% decline over $3.7 billion raised in 2022. The number of deals, meanwhile, declined by 25% in 2023 over 2022, it said.
ETtech Q&A | We pivoted multiple times, have been close to bankruptcy: Ixigo founders
Le Travenues Technology, the company behind the travel platform Ixigo, saw its shares listed on stock exchanges at a 48.5% premium to the IPO price. Cofounders Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar discussed the successful IPO and investor response with ET.
Top startup & tech stories this week
Welcome to a brand new edition of ETtech Unwrapped – our weekend newsletter. The week was packed with important stories broken by our reporters. Here’s a recap if you missed them.
MyGate founder Vijay Arisetty joins Aurm as founder and CEO
Veteran armed forces member and MyGate founder Vijay Arisetty has been appointed as founder and CEO of Aurm, an asset protection firm in Mumbai. Arisetty aims to address the gap in safe-deposit locker availability in India by offering state-of-the-art, technology-enabled solutions with military-grade security infrastructure. Aurm partners with banks and real estate developers to provide secure, automated locker services.
ETtech Q&A | Public markets have reset, private tech valuations still lagging behind: Rubrik founders
The US software company said it has 900 employees in Bangalore, India, developing products for the globe from here. Rubrik has hired engineers, product managers, and UX designers in India along with setting up a significant chunk of its customer service team out of India.
Unacademy’s Hemesh Singh joins other founders who donned non-executive roles
Unacademy's Hemesh Singh on Saturday stepped down as CTO of the company, moving to an advisory role. This is one of the many top-deck changes reported in startups over the past year. Here's a look at some of the key changes announced by startups in their leadership.
100X.VC invests $2.7 million in 17 startups
100X.VC, a Mumbai venture capitalist firm, injected $2.7 million into 17 startups in their 11th cohort. This brings their total portfolio to 161 companies. Ninad Karpe, founder and partner at 100X.VC, said they invested Rs 1.25 crore in each startup and provided mentorship to help them refine their products and go-to-market strategies.
Top startup & tech stories this week
Welcome to a brand new edition of ETtech Unwrapped – our weekend newsletter. The week was packed with important stories broken by our reporters. Here’s a recap if you missed these stories.
New-age consumer brands trend on deal street
Uppercase–a luggage brand started by former VIP Industries MD Sudip Ghose–is in talks with Flipkart-backer Accel to raise new capital, sources told us. This would be the 3rd major deal in the space after Peak XV Partners’ Mokobara investment and Lighthouse’s bet on Safari.
How Unacademy board tweaked targets for founders’ voting rights
Edtech unicorn Unacademy has changed the target for its cofounders Gaurav Munjal and Hemesh Singh to access additional voting rights through bonus shares issued to them in 2022. Industry sources said this move throws light on Unacademy’s changing ambitions as well as the broader sluggishness in the startup funding ecosystem.
New-age brands buzz on deal street; Unacademy founders’ voting rights
Happy Friday! New-age brands are attracting capital from VC funds, founders and other types of investors. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
SuprDaily founder Puneet Kumar joins Nexus as venture partner
Kumar joining Nexus Venture Partners adds to a long list of top personnel changes at venture firms in India over the last 8-10 months. He was previously at startup accelerator Y Combinator and had also founded Supr Daily along with Shreyas Nagdawane and Rohit Jain.
Out of school, into startups: Young founders are on the rise, ready to even pause studies to chase their entrepreneurial dreams
In 2023, Ayush Pathak and Aryan Sharma founded Induced, assisting businesses in automating workflows with AI. Apoorv Singh launched Connect AI with Asta. Himanshu Rajpurohit's startup, Strangify, provides corporate mental health solutions. Dyumna Madan's ProjectClay helps students find career paths.
Combating dark patterns; declining VC funds for female founders
Happy Thursday! The government will soon release a tool to help consumers fight manipulative ‘dark patterns’ used by websites. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
EV firms focussed on high-tech products need more support: Ultraviolette founders
Electric bike maker Ultraviolette is set to begin deliveries of its bikes in European Union (EU) markets like Turkey, Spain and Germany from the second half of this year.
Stability AI to lay off staff weeks after founder Mostaque resigned as CEO
The move signals another shift for the AI startup after Mostaque's departure as chief executive and member of the company's board, in the face of stiff competition from firms like ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and French startup Mistral.
ESKEYN Ventures founder pledges $9.6 million to IIT Hyderabad’s healthcare tech biz incubator
The incubator aims to accelerate development and adoption of breakthrough healthcare solutions to address unmet needs and improve patient outcomes.
Load More
