Welcome to the world of facts and news: August 2023

Amazon’s Amit Agarwal on funding India investments; who’s 2023’s model startup founder?

Amazon India’s senior executive Amit Agarwal told ET in an interaction that the ecommerce giant’s newer investments in the country are going into technology and services to bring more shoppers online. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

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SBM Bank India appoints Dipak Agarwal as deputy CEO to head overall business

This move comes at a time when the bank is under scrutiny of the Reserve Bank of India for its fintech partnerships, some of which have bordered regulatory grey zones.

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US denies blocking chip sales to Middle East

This comes after disclosures that Washington had expanded export license requirements for Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices artificial-intelligence chips.

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Who’s 2023’s model startup founder?

After 15 years of venture capital infusion into companies, who are the likely role models for young, fledgling entrepreneurs in India today?

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US agencies probing Tesla's use of funds for secret 'glass house' for Elon Musk

Earlier reports in July mentioned that Musk once planned a lavish glass house for himself near Tesla headquarters in Austin, Texas, worth millions of dollars.

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China's Baidu rolls out ChatGPT rival to public

China's Baidu rolled out its ChatGPT rival ERNIE Bot to the public on Thursday, in a major leap for the country's tech sector as it aims to cash in on the global artificial intelligence gold rush.

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IT sector drives strong PE interest; Dunzo delays June-July pay yet again

Data shows the number of private equity (PE) firms holding stakes in Indian IT services companies has doubled between 2019 and 2022 as investors eye safe bets, and such companies have demonstrated a tried-and-tested business model and profitability. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

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DevOps startup Facets.cloud raises $4 million in funding

Facets’ platform streamlines all the cloud deployment processes into one generative internal developer platform.

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US restricts exports of some Nvidia chips to Middle East countries

One year ago Nvidia said US officials told it to stop exporting the same two computing chips for AI work to China. The move was seen as potentially slowing Chinese firms' ability to carry out advanced work like image recognition.

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British officials say AI chatbots could carry cyber risks

In a pair of blog posts due to be published Wednesday, Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said that experts had not yet got to grips with the potential security problems tied to algorithms that can generate human-sounding interactions - dubbed large language models, or LLMs.

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Goldman may part-convert Pharmeasy debt to equity; P2P lenders look to diversify partnerships

Goldman Sachs is likely to convert some of its loan to online pharmacy PharmEasy into equity. Buoyed by binding commitments from existing investors, the epharnacy also plans to pay back a considerable chunk of its debt following the rights issue in September. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

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Goldman may convert part-debt into equity in PharmEasy

The online pharmacy is also in talks to restructure debt terms ahead of rights issue; share sale set to open on September 4

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X will allow political ads from candidates, parties ahead of US election

Before billionaire Elon Musk acquired the company in October, Twitter had banned all political ads globally since 2019.

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SoftBank expected to sell Zomato shares for Rs 940 crore

SoftBank’s sale of Zomato shares follows the complete exit of the New York-based Tiger Global from the company. Tiger sold 1.44% stake, or 12.35 crore shares of the Zomato on Monday for Rs 1,124 crore.

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US judge set to decertify Google Play class action

A U.S. judge plans to free Google from having to defend against a class action by 21 million consumers who claimed it violated federal antitrust law by overcharging them in its Google Play app store.

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SAP’s incoming chairman Punit Renjen on the India opportunity; Isro sets sights on the sun

Incoming SAP chairman Punit Renjen dwells at length on his new role, the opportunities it throws up, and his hopes for a wider collaboration between India and the US. Here’s what he told us and more in today’s Morning Dispatch.

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India should expand manufacturing base by taking advantage of supply chain shift: Punit Renjen, incoming chairman, SAP

​​​In an interview with ET, incoming SAP chairman Punit Renjen talked about his "second innings" at SAP, and how the enterprise software major will significantly expand its India base from the current 17-18% of workforce.

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4B Networks founder Rahul Yadav files for anticipatory bail in cheating case

Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) probing the matter opposed the ABA, contending that Yadav failed to join the probe on at least two occasions.

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SoftBank plans AI tour for founders to boost technology adoption

SoftBank Group Corp. will take a group of its Indian startup founders to Silicon Valley next month for an artificial intelligence tour as the Japanese investor steps up efforts to infuse its portfolio companies with the technology.

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Will make sure that X competitor to LinkedIn is cool: Elon Musk

Elon Musk on Sunday took on Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, saying he will make sure that the X (formerly Twitter) competitor to LinkedIn is cool.

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China's Xpeng to acquire Didi's smart EV unit in deal worth up to $744 million

As part of the deal, which could be worth as much as $744 million, Xpeng will launch an A-class model next year under a new brand, currently called MONA, aiming to expand in the mass-market segment.

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India’s late-stage tech funding stuck due to high valuations: SoftBank’s Sumer Juneja

Happy Monday! We ended last week with Zepto’s $200-million funding, a rare large-sized round which made the quick-commerce company 2023’s first unicorn. We now turn our attention to late-stage startups that are refusing to accept cuts in their valuations, something that’s keeping SoftBank’s venture capital arm at bay. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

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Prashanth Ranganathan’s new venture in talks for $20-25 million

Ranganathan, who left Prosus-owned PayU earlier this year, is currently on gardening leave. His new venture will likely be in the wealthtech space.

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UK PM Sunak faces questions over wife Akshata's Infosys shares in FTA with India: Report

"As the Prime Minister recently learned, it's important he declares any interests properly. I expect him to do so in respect of the India trade deal too," said Darren Jones, Labour MP and chair of the cross-party House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee - which has been scrutinising the FTA talks.

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Microsoft Launcher for Android to get ChatGPT-supported Bing Chat

Microsoft unveiled its Launcher application in 2017 to enable users to bring the Microsoft interface to their Android phones' home screen experience.

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India's digital public infrastructure to reach 50 countries in next 5 years: Nandan Nilekani

The DPIs will also play a critical role in climate adaptation and mitigation to facilitate the increasing need for cash transfers to fortify vulnerable areas and people, and emergency funding after extreme climate events like floods.

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The fight over a 'dangerous' ideology shaping AI debate

Elon Musk and OpenAI's Sam Altman have signed open letters warning that AI could make humanity extinct -- though they stand to benefit by arguing only their products can save us.

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Growing list of Indian-origin CEOs at top firms impresses Elon Musk

Currently, Sanjay Mehrotra is the CEO of Micron Technology; Shantanu Narayen is the CEO of Adobe; Satya Nadella is Chairman and CEO of Microsoft; Sunder Pichai is the CEO of Alphabet and Google; Jay Chaudhry is the CEO of Zscaler which is a cloud security company; Arvind Krishna is the CEO of IBM; Neal Mohan is the CEO of YouTube; and George Kurian is the CEO of NetApp, among the top tech giants.

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Rocket Science: Chandrayaan-3’s success to provide a shot in the arm for private investments

India created history as it became the first nation to land on the south pole of the moon — and at 30% of the average cost

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Zepto becomes India’s first unicorn in 2023, raises $200 million at $1.4 billion valuation



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Meta faces backlash over Canada news block as wildfires rage

She described to AFP how "insanely difficult" it has been for herself and other evacuees to find verifiable information about the fires blazing across the near-Arctic territory and other parts of Canada.

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E-pharmacy draft rules: DCGI holds fresh talks with all stakeholders

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Thursday held fresh consultations with stakeholders on the draft rules to regulate e-pharmacies, amid the Delhi High Court asking the government to inform it about the outcome of deliberations on the draft rules with stakeholders.

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Despite cheating fears, schools repeal ChatGPT bans

Tech giants and billionaires promised that the AI tools would revolutionize learning. Critics warned the bots would be more likely to undermine education, inundating students with misinformation and facilitating widespread cheating.

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Tiger Global says ex-employee targets it in misinformation attacks

Investment firm Tiger Global Management LLC, known for its early bets on tech firms like Meta and Spotify, on Friday told limited partners it was targeted in a series of misinformation attacks by a former employee, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

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Artificial intelligence will augment human ingenuity, not replace it, says Adobe CEO

Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe Inc., believes that artificial intelligence (AI) will enhance human creativity rather than replace it. He warns against rushing to regulate AI and limiting its advancements. Narayen also discusses the role of Adobe India in developing AI-led products and the potential monetization opportunities arising from the AI boom. He expresses optimism about India's future, citing demographics, talent, technology, and the government's efforts in digital public goods.

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Grocery delivery app Instacart makes IPO filing public

The U.S. initial public offering (IPO) market has shown signs of revival in recent months after a drought in 2022, as markets climb on bets that the Federal Reserve could guide the economy to a "soft landing".

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ETtech Exclusive: PayU’s global CEO, CFO likely to quit after Prosus part-sells payments business

PayU India CEO Anirban Mukherjee is now slated to directly report to Prosus chief executive officer Bob Van Dijk and may take up additional responsibility for other international markets including Turkey and Southeast Asia.

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Nvidia hits new all-time high as AI demand fuels record results

Nvidia generated revenue of $13.51 billion in the second quarter and predicted that revenue would reach $16 billion in the third quarter, the company reported late on Wednesday. Both results exceeded analyst expectations, as per Refinitiv.

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WestBridge Capital Co-Founder buys sea-view luxury pad in Mumbai’s Worli for Rs 96 cr

The apartment spread over 7,459 sq ft on the 60th floor of the tower Oberoi Three Sixty West and the deal values it at nearly Rs 1.29 lakh per sq ft, making it one of the most expensive residential transactions ever. Based on the 6,779-sq-ft carpet area, the apartment is valued at over Rs 1.42 lakh per sq ft.

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India over the moon about Chandrayaan-3; lunar landing cheers spacetech industry

As the lander of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission touched down on the lunar surface at around 6:04 pm on Wednesday, India entered the elite club of countries that have successfully landed on the moon. The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) second attempt at the landing was successful, making India the first country to land on the satellite’s south pole, and light up the dark side of the moon. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

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India over the moon as ISRO goes the distance

After the US, Russia and China, India becomes the fourth country to make a soft landing on the moon's surface and the first to reach near its south pole.

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Nvidia rallies as Wall Street anticipates pivotal report

Nvidia's shares have more than tripled this year, with the chipmaker at the center of a Wall Street technology rally fueled by optimism about the potential of AI.

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What an incredible moment: Sundar Pichai on India's historic lunar landing

"What an incredible moment! Congratulations to @isro for the successful landing of #Chandrayaan3 on the moon," he said in a post on X.

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Huawei is building secret network for chips, trade group warns

The U.S. Commerce Department had added Huawei to its export control list in 2019 over security concerns. The company denies being a security risk.

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CaratLane to challenge FEMA violation notice; govt may use DigiLocker for parental consent

CaratLane Trading is under the lens of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged violation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regulations. The omnichannel retailer has challenged a show-cause notice issued by the investigative authority, sources tell us. This and more in today’s Morning Dispatch.

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Frontend devtool startup Kombai raises $4.5 million

Kombai, founded by two former Mindtickle senior executives, said it will use the capital to continue investing in research and development, accelerate improvements to its base models, build compatibility with a range of libraries and frameworks used by developer teams and elevate the developer experience around the product.

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Soon, store parental consent in DigiLocker

Social media platforms such as Meta's Facebook or Instagram and Google’s YouTube Kids will be able to directly fetch and verify documents of teenagers’ parents from DigiLocker and use it to avail parental consent, people aware of the matter, told ET.

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Global Capability Centers mushroom again as focus falls on India’s deep talent pool

The global captives had sold a part or even their entire operations to Indian IT companies, mostly during the global financial crisis, to focus on core operations instead. But they now see India as a crucial profit centre.

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Bharat Billpay eyes a space in P2P and government pay

The NPCI-promoted organisation is a leader in electricity bill payments currently with two new categories like Fastag and loan EMIs emerging as fastest growing ones.

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CaratLane contests ED notice on alleged FEMA violation

​​The ED accused CaratLane of violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The notice served on March 28, 2022, stated that FDI was not allowed in single-brand retail at the time. The notice has not been made public till now.

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Fintech firm Ramp raises $300 million at lowered valuation of $5.8 billion

The new funding is at a lower valuation from the $8.1 billion achieved by the New-York based startup in a funding round last year, a spokesperson of the company confirmed.

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Yellow.ai deploys 30% of global generative AI bots domestically

While markets like the US are mostly using GenAI for customer support in a bid to cut costs, India Inc. is using them as an opportunity to g...