The AI way to networking; Harnessing solar power

Hello,

The S&P 500 rose on Thursday as Wall Street attempted to recover from the index’s worst session since 2022. Asia and Europe markets too felt ripple effects of Wednesday’s rout where stocks led by Tesla and Google parent Alphabet wiped a collective $1 trillion in value off US equities. 

Speaking of tech, Google India is rolling out a new routing feature–built on an AI model specifically designed for India–that will help four-wheeler users avoid narrow roads. 

Meanwhile, technology giant Apple has also broken out of its walled garden by launching a public beta of Apple Maps on the web, allowing users to access its mapping service from their desktop or mobile browser.

In other news, CrowdStrike is facing the heat…again. 

This time, it's the $10 Uber Eats gift cards that it sent to staff and firms it worked with to apologise for the global internet outage that affected millions. The kicker? Some people who received the voucher said it didn’t even work. Ouch!

ICYMI: The bizarre history of internet outages. 

Lastly, India's campaign at the 2024 Olympics has begun with its six archers looking to get favourable seeding. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• The AI way to networking
• Harnessing solar power
• Strategy to stay ahead in AI game

Here’s your trivia for today: Which European country has the longest coastline?

Startup

The AI way to networking

Building relationships can often be challenging whether you are a business owner or climbing the corporate ladder. Cold emails are usually left unread, messages are ignored on LinkedIn, and meetings most often end with a handshake.

To solve this, Aakash Anand teamed up with Sumit Jha and Palash Arneja in 2023 and built Unikon.ai as an AI/ML-based peer-to-peer networking platform, to help users connect with advisors or professionals for advice, and enable experts to share knowledge and earn. 

Nice to meet you:

• The Gurugram startup focuses on making connections rewarding by enabling individuals who have "been there and done that" or “presently doing it” to offer advice. They can organise webinars or workshops and share expertise to earn income. 
• The platform offers four main features: UniShorts, UniKonnect, UniSeek, and UniShows. 
• Currently, the company operates in India and plans to launch in the US within three months. 

<Funding Alert>

Startup: Unimech Aerospace

Amount: Rs 250 Cr

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: Nasher Miles

Amount: $4M

Round: Bridge

Startup: Mamo

Amount: $3.4M

Round: Undisclosed

Women Entrepreneurs

Harnessing solar power

About a decade ago, Shreya Mishra could have hardly imagined herself as an entrepreneur in the renewable energy sector. Raised in a family steeped in the stability of government service, she was expected to follow their example and find a secure job.

Years later, her journey would lead her to the helm of Solar Square, providing safe solar solutions for residential and commercial customers. 

Energy saving:

• In 2015, she launched her first startup, Flyrobe, a fashion rental service. Despite initial successes, including raising $10 million in funding, the company faced challenges and was eventually sold. 
• After selling Flyrobe, she joined her husband's company, Solar Square, which initially functioned as a B2B solar business. 
• Mishra says her entrepreneurial journey has been defined by continuous learning and adaptation, including navigating the challenges of scaling up in the fast-growing renewable energy sector.

Events

Strategy to stay ahead in AI game

The increasing adoption of AI is disrupting the SaaS landscape, enabling businesses to stay competitive in a changing market. The pressing question is: How can SaaS startups capitalise on AI early and adopt strategies to stay competitive? 

At the Tamil Nadu Story 2024 in Chennai—the SaaS capital of India—industry leaders gathered to explore the current state of Indian SaaS and AI, along with strategic go-to-market strategies for business.

Key takeaways:

• Several products today are developed to boost user engagement, build loyalty, and skyrocket conversions by delivering spot-on content and features specific to each user. The secret sauce, according to Khuze Siam of Siam Computing, is personalisation. 
• “We're lucky to see that the AI inflection is going to happen, and all industries are going to get disrupted. I don't think there is anything that you can say, that one in particular is going to be disrupted more or not..,” he said. 
• With strong expertise in IoT-based services and sustainable building solutions, Facilio’s Prabhu Ramachandran highlighted the importance of automation and verticalisation of SaaS products to win at a global scale.

News & updates

• Plan halt: IPO-bound Ola Electric has suspended its electric car launch plans as the Softbank-backed company wants to focus on its e-scooter business. Founder Bhavish Aggarwal laid out plans in 2022 to launch an electric sports car with an all-glass roof in two years that could reach 100 km per hour within four seconds.
• Weight loss: Roche said its Wegovy rival weight loss drugs will be part of a suite of medicines aimed at combatting the effects of obesity. CEO Thomas Schinecker welcomed positive early-stage trial results from the firm’s two weight loss drug candidates as showing "best in disease potential."
• Sequel: Inside Out 2 has overtaken Frozen II to become the highest-grossing animation of all time. Pixar’s sequel to its 2015 smash hit about emotions battling for primacy inside the head of a preteen girl has taken $1.46 billion over its first six weeks of release.

Which European country has the longest coastline?

Answer: Norway, with a length of 100,915 km, including all the islands. It is the second longest coastline in the world after Canada.

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