5 most sound businesses in Web3

Soon, you could buy a laptop for just Rs 15,000. 

After disrupting India’s mobile segment, Reliance Jio is now planning to launch an affordable laptop priced at $184. Enterprise customers such as schools and government institutions can access the laptop from this month while other consumers will have to wait a couple of months, Reuters reported. 

In other news, YourStory is in the last leg of its 500 Challenger Brands initiative and we are very excited to reveal the last cohort of 100 challenger brands. And if you think your brand has the potential and capability to revolutionise India’s D2C space, apply here.

ICYMI: Google Stadia is dead…or will be from January 18, 2023. The game streaming service, which was launched in 2019, had ambitious plans but alas will join a string of projects the tech giant has killed so far. Here’s a list.

Last but not least, South Korea is facing a ‘kimchi crisis’.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• 5 most sound businesses in Web3 
• The need to share stories in tech
• Rural artisans at IIM-A

Here’s your trivia for today: Who created Siri (the AI-powered digital assistant)?

Web3

5 most sound businesses in Web3

With each passing day, Web3 protocol-related announcements appear in news reports; from larger brands like e-commerce firm Flipkart and coffee chain Starbucks partnering with Polygon to enter the Web3 market to protocols like Aave, The Graph, and Fantom emerging as key players in Decentralised Finance (DeFi).

YourStory Research and The Decrypting Story examined 52 protocols in a 30-day time frame and determined the top protocols in terms of four separate metrics: earnings, revenue, fees, and token incentives.

Demystifying Web3:

• The 30-day revenue analysis highlights that the top 5 protocols are Ethereum, dYdX, Synthetic, GMX and LooksRare.
• The top 5 protocols by transaction fees, which refers to the amount paid by end users for using the platforms, include Ethereum, Uniswap, Lido Finance, Convex Finance and Aave. 
• Of all the major lending protocols, only MakerDAO’s earnings and revenue exceed the token incentives. 

Women in tech

The need to share stories in tech

Vijayashree Natarajan, Senior VP and Head of Technology, Omega Healthcare, believes it is essential to talk about the success stories of women leaders and give them a platform to show other women that advancing their careers in this field is possible.

Growing together:

• Vijayashree currently leads a team of over 300 people at Omega.
• According to the tech leader, women in the field struggle to find a good work-life balance, which impacts their career growth.
• Sharing personal experiences and journeys can help women feel more connected. 

Social impact 

Rural artisans at IIM-A

The Creative and Cultural Businesses Programme (CCBP) at IIMA has been curated for entrepreneurs in the creative and cultural industries. Mohammed Saqib, a dyer from Rangrez community in Rajasthan; and Navneet Siju, a weaver from Kutch talk about their experience at the prestigious institute.

Weaving talents:

• Started in 2013, the CCBP has impacted businesses of over 200 entrepreneurs in fields such as fashion, fragrances, jewellery, art, performing arts, travel, hospitality, F&B, home decor and design.
• Saqib is a fifth-generation artisan of the Rangrez (textile dyer) community in Rajasthan, a community famous for creating leheriya designs in myriad colours.
• Navneet's grandfather Vankar Vishram Valji had won the ‘Best Craftsman Of The Year’ title from Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1974 after one of his blankets was entered for a contest. 

News & updates

• Price cut: Telegram has cut the monthly subscription fee for its premium tier by more than half in India, just months after introducing the offering. The monthly subscription now costs customers Rs 179, down from Rs 469 earlier. 
• Against tides: Despite criticism, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda doubled down on his strategy to continue investing in a range of electrified vehicles instead of going all-in on all-electric cars and trucks. He believes adoption of EVs will be slower and that gas banning regulations will be “difficult” to accomplish.
• Foreseeing disasters: The US government is investing millions of dollars in boosting its computing power for climate and weather-related events. Earlier this year, NOAA announced it would triple its supercomputing capacity, spending half a billion dollars on two 12-petaflop General Dynamics systems.

What you should watch out for

• Nykaa board will meet to consider a maiden bonus issue.
• World Architecture Day.

Who created Siri (the AI-powered digital assistant)?

Answer: SRI/DARPA. 

Co-founded by SRI's Dag Kittlaus (CEO), Adam Cheyer (VP Engineering) and Tom Gruber (CTO), Siri was an offshoot of the DARPA-funded CALO project. Siri's speech recognition software, however, was provided by Nuance Communications.

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