Decoding the current state of Gen AI; Flying high with Drone Didis

Hello,

Gold rush on quick commerce platforms.

Forget essentials, on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya on Friday, Bigbasket, Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto partnered with leading jewellery stores to deliver gold and silver coins in just 10 minutes. 

Did you know Akshaya Tritiya is the country’s second-biggest gold-buying festival after Dhanteras?

However, customers didn’t seem to be in a buying frenzy during this year’s festival. The demand for physical gold was much lower than usual on Friday as near-record high prices deterred retail buyers and forced dealers to offer steep discounts. 

Moving on. After announcing its IPO roadmap, insurtech firm Go Digit has fixed the price band for its IPO at Rs 258 to Rs 272 per equity share. The offer will open on May 15 for subscription and close on May 17, while the allocation to anchor investors will happen on May 14.

Meanwhile, Flipkart has launched a new rate card policy to streamline the seller experience. This includes a simplified rate card structure, revised fulfilment rates, and shipping policy updates, which will come into effect on May 18, 2024.

ICYMI: Are you secretly using AI for important work tasks? Well, this research has found that you are not alone!

Lastly, a small Italian island is giving away feral goats. Yes, you read that right. 

Would you adopt one?

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Decoding the current state of Gen AI
• Inside the life of S Jaishankar
• Flying high with Drone Didis

Here’s your trivia for today: Which country has a museum dedicated to Arnold Schwarzenegger?

DevSparks

Decoding the current state of Gen AI

Generative AI (Gen AI) has been on the rise, and many consider this technological advancement comparable to the discovery of electricity and the invention of the internet. On the other hand, it has also brought to the fore various challenges. 

The question looms large: what defines this juncture, and where does Gen AI's trajectory lead? 

Key takeaways:

• Varun Mayya of Aeos highlights the dual facets of Gen AI utilisation. “One is where I use Gen AI for work every day. We create content, so everything related to content is useful, from scripting to doing B-rolls for videos,” he notes.
• Aditya Mohanty, Co-founder of The Product Folks, talks about the widespread use of AI; around 80% of the company’s workflows benefit from AI assistance.
• While there are many micro-level uses wherein AI can assist users, Sanket Sahu of GeekyAnts talks about the need for an assessment of whether certain problems can be addressed with AI. 

Interview

Inside the life of S Jaishankar

S Jaishankar has no time for rest. India’s Minister of External Affairs works round the clock, with as many as 30 to 40 overseas trips on his packed annual calendar. 

“The routine keeps changing as I travel a lot. There is jet lag and sometimes you don’t know where you are physically and where you are mentally,” says the Minister. “It is a 24/7 life.”

Work and beyond:

• A diplomat and former foreign secretary, S Jaishankar assumed his current role in July 2019 and has handled the reins of external matters with confidence during a time of multiple global crises.
• The Minister sticks to a morning routine of working out and catching up on important news to get in the mental frame to deal with any global development.
• Some days are slow, he shares. However, there are no weekends. “People think that is a holiday but in reality, all the overflow goes to Saturday and what is left is completed on Sunday.”

In-depth

Flying high with Drone Didis

The NaMo Drone Didi Scheme aims to empower 15,000 women-led SGHs with drones to assist in agricultural activities. HerStory speaks to Drone Didis from rural India to understand how they are bringing social change with technology.

Taking to the sky:

• On March 11 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Sashakt Nari-Viksit Bharat programme at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, Delhi, where he distributed 1,000 drones to beneficiary women of SHGs in villages.
• Shaloo Rani, a Drone Didi from Harayana, holds an MSc degree in mathematics and is highly educated by her village standards. But she complains there aren’t many job prospects where she comes from.
• Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder of Garuda Aerospace, explains that its pilot training programme starts with classroom sessions, wherein women are introduced to the basics of drone technology.

News & updates

• Out of it: Britain’s economy grew by the most in nearly three years in the first quarter of 2024, ending the shallow recession it entered in the second half of last year. Britain’s GDP expanded by 0.6% in the three months to March, the strongest growth since the fourth quarter of 2021 when it rose by 1.5%.
• AI funding: Paris-based Mistral AI, a startup working on open-source LLMs, is raising money at a $6 billion valuation, three times its valuation in December, to compete more keenly against OpenAI and Anthropic. 
• EV: Shares of Zeekr Intelligent Technology were indicated to open up to 19% above its IPO price on Friday, giving the China-based EV maker a potential fully diluted valuation of $6.55 billion. The debut would mark the first major US listing by a Chinese company since 2021.

Which country has a museum dedicated to Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Answer: Austria. Schwarzenegger grew up in Thal, near the city of Graz in Austria. 

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