Upskilling blue-collared workforce with AI; Instamojo turns profitable

Hello,

Ola Electric begins its IPO journey.

The electric mobility company is likely to file its DRHP on December 20 to list on the Indian bourses. The Bhavish Aggarwal-led company is looking to raise $700 million at a valuation of $7-8 billion in its IPO, likely to happen by early 2024. 

In other news, digital lending platform Indifi Technologies has appointed Sangram Singh as its CEO. He will lead the expansion of the core Indifi franchise, directly overseeing key functions, including product management, distribution, partnerships, technology, risk management, and treasury.

Also, FICCI expects the Indian economy to grow at 7.5-8% in the current fiscal and 8% in 2024-25 on the back of strong growth momentum, positive sentiments, and rising private investments, its newly-elected president Anish Shah said.

ICYMI: From Barbie to Oppenheimer—here’s who all are nominated for the 2024 Golden Globes awards.

Lastly, check out this list of The New York Times’ most popular recipes of 2023 for the holiday season that is just around the corner!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Upskilling blue-collared workforce
• Instamojo turns profitable
• Decoding cringe content

Here’s your trivia for today: What is the world record for the longest hiccupping spree?

Startup

Upskilling blue-collared workforce

Chaabi is a WhatsApp-based learning platform for blue-collar workers that integrates learning on the messaging app with AI-powered vernacular content, supporting 20 native languages.

“We streamline the process by taking entire SOPs or documentation, such as HR or training materials, from a company. For AI systems, our goal is to construct training in the language of the blue-collar worker, ensuring accuracy and relevance to their roles and specific tasks,” says Founder and CEO Puneet Dhiman.

Soft skills:

• chaabi provides real-time analysis where companies can track the number of users enrolled, training completion percentage, and user training progress.
• Through a gamified approach, the platform offers a rewarding learning experience, encouraging quicker module completion and optimising the training cycle.
• The startup recently finished a project with Blinkit on compliance training, which includes code of conduct, POSH, employee health and safety, fire safety, and sustainability training.

Earnings

Instamojo earns a profit

Mastercard and Times Internet-backed Instamojo, which recently shut down its core payment business, recorded a flat operational revenue of Rs 46 crore in FY23. From a loss of Rs 1.1 crore last year, Instamojo turned profitable at Rs 8.26 crore in FY23.

Key points:

• Instamojo earned Rs 7 crore from IT services, while Rs 38 crore came from a ‘revenue account’, the details of which couldn't be assessed.
• The filings show that its employee benefit expenses, including salaries, recruitment charges, and provident, were down by Rs 4 crore, at Rs 14 crore.
• Last month, Instamojo put a lid on its payments business after the Reserve Bank of India returned its application for the licence.

Trends

Understanding India’s meme culture

Many of us find ourselves spending hours on Instagram watching content that's sometimes funny, sometimes awkward, sometimes illogical, and sometimes, irksome yet addictive.

Tanvi Gupta, an assistant professor in marketing and Co-Chair of the Consumer Culture Lab at IIM Udaipur, says, “Cringe content in the space of internet subculture has been variously defined as cheap comedy or awkward posts that cause secondhand embarrassment. This might include bad singing, terrible dancing, and so on.”

Going viral:

• According to research, there is a perception of 'cringe' content associated with creators from small towns, particularly when their content does not align with the preferences of urban audiences as they are creatively pushing regional narratives.
• "The brain becomes accustomed to seek the pleasurable sensation associated with cringe content, fostering a continuous cycle of viewing,” says Dr Rahul Chandhok.
• Darshil Shah of Chtrbox says the content that becomes viral either aligns with audience trends or stands out by defying expectations and being completely non-relatable.

News & updates

• Expansion: ByteDance’s TikTok wants to do more business in Indonesia. It is putting up $1.5 billion in a new joint venture that will bring Tokopedia, the ecommerce unit of the Indonesian tech giant GoTo, together with TikTok Shop Indonesia, where it will have a controlling stake of 75.01% in the new entity.
• Selloff: Bitcoin posted its steepest drop in almost four months as traders moved to lock in profits following a more than 150% rally this year, triggering large liquidations of bullish bets. The largest token sank as much as 7.5% on Monday, the biggest intraday decline since August 18. 
• IPO: Fast fashion firm Shein has held talks with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) about the possibility of a public listing in the United Kingdom, Sky News reported on Monday. Shein Chairman Donald Tang met executives from the LSE and other stakeholders in the UK economy during a visit to London last week.

What is the world record for the longest hiccupping spree?

Answer: 68 years. The record belongs to Charles Osborne (US, 1894-1991), who started hiccoughing in 1922 and continued until a morning in February 1990.

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