IndiQube’s cautious approach to success; Why Infinity Learn is optimistic about edtech

Both Nifty 50 and Sensex ended flat on Monday as concerns of higher interest rates and a slowdown in global economic growth dampened sentiments. 

In other news, Apple supplier Pegatron temporarily halted iPhone assembly at its facility in India on Monday after a fire on Sunday night, three sources familiar with the matter reportedly told Reuters. The Taiwanese firm has called off all shifts for the day at the factory near Chennai and is yet to inform assembly workers whether the facility will function on Tuesday.

Amazon is throwing its might to corner the artificial intelligence (AI) market. On Monday, the company said it will invest up to $4 billion in cash in the high-profile AI startup Anthropic. The deal will allow Amazon’s employees as well as its cloud customers to gain early access to technology from the startup.

Speaking of AI,  ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has said it is starting to roll out voice and image recognition in the platform. Essentially, the AI can recognise a picture and communicate with users about it. Plus, the AI now has speech-to-text and text-to-speech synthesisation capabilities, which means that users can talk to ChatGPT.

ICYMI: While most of the demands made by striking autoworkers in the US look pretty typical—like better pay and benefits, one stands out: The union is asking for a four-day workweek. Amid the increasing buzz for shorter work weeks in several sectors, is it time for a shift in global work culture?

Oh, and a rare “Dumbo” octopus, with ear-like fins similar to the 1940s cartoon character, has been spotted in the north Pacific Ocean. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• IndiQube’s cautious approach to success 
• Why Infinity Learn is optimistic about edtech
• Vamsi Gaddam on power, mobility ventures

Here’s your trivia for today: The name of which small, covered vehicle comes from the Japanese word "jinrikisha", which translates to "human-powered vehicle?”

TechSparks

IndiQube’s cautious approach to success

IndiQube followed a straightforward plan for growth: it found ways to make its solutions employee-centric and worked with a domestic model built for India’s large real estate market, Rishi Das and Meghna Agarwal, Co-founders of the company, said at TechSparks 2023.

“The whole idea was that employee needs have to be met; otherwise [they] are working in their silos. So, for us, things like subsidised food, safe transport or parking lots were important. Those are the services that we made sure that we were focused on,” Agarwal said in a fireside chat with YourStory Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma.

Key takeaways:

• In FY22, IndiQube’s operating revenue climbed 19% to Rs 351 crore, while the company continued to be EBITDA-positive, according to reports.
• IndiQube currently offers co-working spaces in 11 Indian cities, including Tier II centres like Kochi, Madurai, and Jaipur.
• Last year, the Bengaluru-headquartered company raised $30 million in funding from WestBridge Capital, angel investor Ashish Gupta, and promoters.

Edtech

Infinity Learn’s Ujjwal Singh is optimistic about edtech

For several global edtech companies, the pandemic-led boom is long over. Despite the many questions and concerns over edtech startups’ business models, Infinity Learn CEO Ujjwal Singh believes this is the best time to be in the sector.

In a fireside chat with Shradha Sharma at TechSparks 2023, Singh said there has been a huge change in consumer behaviour as students use technology for learning.

New shores:

• Infinity Learn by Shri Chaitanya has grown its business in the last two years, touching a revenue of Rs 100 crore while also being profitable.
• The Hyderabad-based company currently serves 750,000 students and targets one million learners by 2025.
• Singh had advice for edtech entrepreneurs: always focus on the outcome. He was of the firm view that in the edtech segment, the first priority should always be on education and then followed by technology.

TechSparks

Vamsi Gaddam on power, mobility ventures

Vamsi Gaddam, Founder of Atum and Atumobile, believes that the paradigm has shifted from roti, kapda, and makaan, to roti, kapda, makaan, power, and mobility. According to the entrepreneur, his venture is changing how people look at India’s electric vehicle (EV) sector.

Talking about his solar EV scooter at TechSparks 2023, Gaddam, who started out with creating solar rooftops–and beating Tesla to the patent for it–said 95% of the company’s solar-powered EV bike, including the battery and motor, has been 'Made in India'.

Power up:

• Atumobile was launched in 2020, with the first electric bike, the Atum 1.0, which is a low-speed cafe racer-style electric bike.
• The first version of his company’s solar-powered EV bike, priced at Rs 50,000-Rs 60,000, sold 2,000 units. The latest version is priced at Rs 1.2 lakh.
• A third-generation entrepreneur, Vamsi launched Atum, one of the world’s early integrated solar roofs, in 2018.

News & Update

• IPO boom: Shares in Saudi Arabia's Lumi jumped as much as 30% above their listing price on Monday after the auto rental company raised $290 million in an initial public offering. Lumi, which listed 30% of its shares in the IPO, is a unit of Saudi travel company Seera, which was formerly known as Al Tayyar Travel Group.
• Price drop: Prices of the cobalt hydroxide used to make chemicals for electric vehicle batteries have plummeted due to an upsurge of supplies from the top producer, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cobalt hydroxide is produced in Congo, where it is a byproduct of copper. Hydroxide prices are usually cited as a percentage of the metal price known as payables.
• Breakthrough: Hollywood's writers' union reached a preliminary labour agreement with major studios on Sunday, a deal expected to end one of two strikes that have halted most film and television production and cost the California economy billions. 

The name of which small, covered vehicle comes from the Japanese word "jinrikisha", which translates to "human-powered vehicle?”

Answer: Rickshaw

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