Hello,

Domestic indices closed at a record-high on Friday.

While BSE Sensex rose 467 points to end at 63,385, Nifty 50 gained 137.90 points to end the day at 18,826. This is close to their all-time highs of 63,583 and 18,888, which they hit on December 1, 2022.

Meanwhile, India has asked for its MSMEs to be exempted from the European Union's carbon tax, which would kick in from October, as it would impact the domestic industry in certain sectors, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said.

ICYMI: Watch as someone solves the Rubik’s cube in a record 3.13 seconds.

Last, but not least, check out YS Life’s Curtain Raiser column for all the happening events in India’s metros this weekend.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Decentralised apps for businesses 
• Behind the scenes with Hansal Mehta
• Solutions for fashion enthusiasts 

Here’s your trivia for today: When and where did luxury brand Tiffany & Co open its first store in India?

Blockchain

Decentralised apps for businesses

Ahmedabad-based Yudiz Solutions is helping enterprises find blockchain solutions to run their businesses. Among other technologies, the startup builds blockchain apps for customers in sectors such as gaming, social media, and healthcare.

Block by block:

• Founded in 2011 by Pratik Patel and Chirag Leuva, has a team of blockchain developers that build decentralised apps (DApps), blockchain games, and other types of apps based on the tech best suited for the customer’s use case.
•  Yudiz has built blockchain-powered platforms to connect job seekers with hiring managers, patients with healthcare organisations, hosting play-to-earn games, etc.
• In May 2023, the company received approval from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for a small and medium enterprises (SME) IPO (initial public offer).

<Top Deals of the Week>

Startup: Lenskart

Amount: $100M

Round: Equity 

Startup: Indifi Technologies

Amount: $35M

Round: Series E

Startup: Aviom

Amount: $30M

Round: Series D

Interview

Behind the scenes with Hansal Mehta

A National Award-winning filmmaker, Hansal Mehta has spent years waiting for the right opportunity to tell socially-relevant stories. With Scam 1992 (2020) and the recently-released crime drama series Scoop, the director has finally found the audience and the platform for his kind of storytelling.

Director’s cut:

• Shahid (2013), a poignant film about a fair-fighting lawyer, won Mehta the National Film Award for Best Direction, and also won awards across film festivals and got a theatrical release.
• City Lights (2014), a poor migrant’s struggle story; Aligarh (2016) poignant drama adapted from a real incident about a gay professor’s plight; and Simran (2017) are some of his other movies that have won him praise.
• He is working on a film with Kareena Kapoor Khan and a follow-up season to Scam 1992.

Startup

Organisation solutions for fashion enthusiasts

Buying a luxury item is one thing, but maintaining these prized possessions is another beast. Tidy Up offers organisers and other storage solutions that help store bags and shoes carefully and protect them from moisture, mildew, and scratches. The Delhi-based brand also aims to promote sustainable consumption practices by helping people increase the longevity of their personal belongings, instead of buying more.

Safe space:

• Tidyup also offers shapemates and shoemates—soft pillow shapers that provide structural support for bags and shoes and preserve their shape.
• The startup, which initially started with 20 SKUs, has 220 SKUs across five categories. Products are priced between Rs 450 and Rs 9,000.
• So far, TidyUp has sold over 7,500 units at a customer retention rate of 45%.

News & updates

• Chipping in: Intel plans to invest up to $4.6 billion in a new semiconductor assembly and test facility near Wrocław, Poland, as part of a multi-billion-dollar investment drive across Europe to build chip capacity, employing 2,000 workers.
• Bidding adieu: Binance Holdings is leaving the Netherlands after failing to register with the country’s financial authorities, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange faces escalating pressure from regulators across the globe.
• Winning over: Amazon’s planned $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot, the maker of Roomba vacuums, has been greenlit by Britain’s competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority said it determined the deal would not result in “a substantial lessening of competition” in the UK.

When and where did luxury brand Tiffany & Co open its first store in India?

Answer: In February 2020, in New Delhi.

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