Shilpa Shetty on why yoga is profound; Matching Revfin's funding figures

What do Ashwini Vaishnav, Anil Kapoor, and Sundar Pichai have in common?

They’re some of the many Indian and Indian-origin people on Time magazine’s list of the top 100 most influential people in AI. 

Vaishnaw was credited with leading India’s efforts to become a major player in artificial intelligence, despite significant infrastructure challenges. Meanwhile, Kapoor was included on the list after he won a significant legal case last year challenging the unauthorised use of AI and protecting intellectual property. 

It’s increasingly clear that the subcontinent is becoming a hub for new technologies and fresh investments. So, the pressing question is, where are all the jobs going?

By 2030, one out of every five working-age people on the planet will be Indian, according to a report by investment bank Natixis SA. That requires nearly 115 million new jobs to be created by the end of the decade!

In writing India’s growth story, is the informal sector being left behind as a postscript?

ICYMI: Singer, entrepreneur, and now, a billionaire—what’s driving the success of Selena Gomez’s empire?

Meanwhile, tech is working symbiotically to aid companies in an unexpected area: employee training.

Companies such as United Parcel Service and Walmart are getting their employees to use virtual reality 

headsets to train on everything—from stacking packages and managing high-intensity situations like dog attacks, to soft skills and customer interactions.

The future is digital, and it is now. 

In the words of World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab, there has never been a time of greater promise or greater peril. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Shilpa Shetty on how yoga has changed her life
• Matching Revfin's funding figures
• Creating a grassroots sporting culture

Here’s your trivia for today: Which Italian city is considered the birthplace of modern gelato?

Mindfulness

Shilpa Shetty on how yoga has changed her life

An advocate of yoga and wellness, actor Shilpa Shetty has redefined ‘fitness’ in her late 40s.

YS Life caught up with Shetty to dive deeper into her journey with yoga, her philosophy of consistency, and what’s next on her plate.

Tête-à-tête:

• In 2015, the actor launched her Yoga DVD, later campaigning for the Indian government-led Fit India Movement in 2019. She also launched the Simple Soulful by Shilpa Shetty app to focus on yoga as well as overall fitness and wellness. 
• “As they say, consistency is key, and in yoga, with every stage and with years of practice, it gives you a key to open another door,” says Shetty.
• “Sometimes I can only get in maybe three or four days of a workout of any kind, in a week. But what I do religiously is, before I wind down, I do my pranayam. 10 minutes in the day, at the end of the day,” she adds.

Top Funding Deals of the Week

Startup: Rapido

Amount: $200M

Round: Series E

Startup: Drip Capital

Amount: $113M

Round: Equity and debt

Startup: Blue Tokai

Amount: $35M

Round: Series C

Electric Vehicles

Matching Revfin's funding figures

EV financing company Revfin has raised about Rs 800 crore in debt funding so far, Sameer Aggarwal, CEO and Founder of Revfin, told YourStory.

The company, which raised Rs 60 crore in debt funding in August, expects to raise between Rs 100 crore and Rs 150 crore in debt this month, Aggarwal added.

Key takeaways:

• Revfin is looking to raise 25% of the money from equity funding and expects the rest to be funded using debt. Aggarwal said the company is commencing its equity raise shortly. 
• The company is acquiring 15,000 vehicles worth Rs 100 crore, operating as part of SUN Mobility’s mobility-as-a-service portfolio.
• Aggarwal told YourStory that these assets are generating over Rs 50 crore of annual revenue already and will start generating revenue for Revfin as soon as the transition takes place.

Sports

Creating a grassroots sporting culture

It took 20 years for another Indian woman (Manu Bhaker) to enter the final of the shooting event at the Olympics after Suma Shirur at the Summer Olympics in Athens in 2004. 

Currently, Shirur is the head coach of the Indian shooting team at the Paris Olympics and says there has been a rise in the number of athletes who want to start shooting.

Bullseye:

• Shirur co-founded Lakshya Shooting Club in Navi Mumbai in 2006 and has been associated with it first as a shooter and then as a coach.
• “What I see as a general trend is that once an athlete breaks through and reaches a certain level, then everyone wants to help him/her stay at that level. But we need to see how we can create a broader and stronger base,” she remarks.
• “We need to have ranges–in every district, state, region–where athletes can practise. That’s how it works in Europe. You don’t need competition size ranges, but small ranges that can even be constructed in universities,” Shirur says.

News & updates

• Deal talks: Qualcomm has explored the possibility of acquiring portions of Intel's design business, with a particular interest in Intel’s client PC design business, to boost the company's product portfolio.
• Anticompetitive: Alphabet Inc’s Google is abusing its dominant position in advertising technology, the UK’s antitrust agency warned, in a move that could pave the way for hefty fines and an order to change one of the tech giant’s most lucrative businesses.
• Flight safety: The European Union’s aviation safety agency called for inspections to be carried out on Airbus A350 model planes after Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific discovered earlier this week that engine components on some of its planes required replacement.

Which Italian city is considered the birthplace of modern gelato?

Answer: Florence.

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