Crafting quality culinary experiences; BharatPe slashes EBITDA losses

Hello,

Are we closer to a greener future?

The world is nearing the “age of electricity” as fossil fuel demands are expected to peak by the end of the decade, the International Energy Agency said. Clean energy projects are on the rise and China alone accounted for 60% of new renewable energy in 2023, with its solar generation on course to exceed the US’ total electricity demand by early next decade.

India is also stepping up its clean energy plans with a $109 billion investment in the electricity grid to incorporate new renewable sources.

Meanwhile, Silicon Valley is looking at nuclear power for its clean energy requirements. 

Amazon on Wednesday said that it was investing in small nuclear reactors. The news comes just two days after Google laid out similar plans. Both tech giants are seeking new sources of carbon-free electricity to meet surging demand from data centres and artificial intelligence.

Late last month, the owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said that it plans to restart operations under an agreement that would allow Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centres.

Will the switch to clean energy be fast enough to undo damage to the environment?

The year 2023 was the hottest year on record. And, preliminary findings by an international team of researchers show the amount of carbon absorbed by land has temporarily collapsed.

Other warning signs show the Earth is not able to regulate the human-led climate crisis. Greenland’s glaciers and Arctic ice sheets, for example, are melting faster than expected, which is disrupting the Gulf Stream ocean current and slowing the rate at which oceans absorb carbon.

ICYMI: The aftermath of a rare flood in the Sahara. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Crafting quality culinary experiences
• BharatPe slashes EBITDA losses
• Transforming legacy systems via GenAI

Here’s your trivia for today: Which country's legislative body is called the “Diet”?

Startup

Crafting quality culinary experiences

Food takes centre stage at every event—from the grand wedding buffets to smaller spreads at intimate parties. More often than not, many guests inquire about the catering services provider, hoping to hire them in future.

Ensuring that the food lives up to expectations is a daunting task. While many are lucky enough to find the perfect caterer for their event, others may not. This is where CaterNinja comes in.

Pocket-friendly catering:

• To accommodate varying catering needs, CaterNinja’s proprietary algorithm—leveraging extensive consumer behaviour datasets—simplifies menu customisation, enabling customers to generate personalised quotes based on event size and cuisine preferences.
• The startup has strategically located cloud kitchens in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune, where it prepares the food and maintains quality control, ensuring fresh, quick delivery to clients across different locations.
• According to the co-founders, CaterNinja clocks in a monthly order volume of 1,000. With a 10X quarterly growth, the company has offered its services in over 25,000 events, so far.

Funding Alert

Startup: UGRO Capital

Amount: $40M

Round: Debt

Startup: Everstage

Amount: $30M

Round: Series B

Startup: Primus Senior Living

Amount: $20M

Round: Seed

News

BharatPe slashes EBITDA losses

The BharatPe Group demonstrated growth over the fiscal year, reducing its EBITDA loss before share-based payment expense by 75% to Rs 209 crore in FY24 from Rs 826 crore in the previous financial year.

The fintech firm’s revenue from operations also jumped 39% to Rs. 1,426 crore, from Rs 1,029 crore in the previous year.

Sustained growth:

• In its core business areas, BharatPe expanded its average merchant lending portfolio by 40% compared to FY23. It also enhanced its payment solutions by introducing Android POS systems for merchants and continued to see strong adoption of its soundbox devices. 
• Calling FY24 a "milestone year" for BharatPe as it turned EBITDA positive in October 2023, CEO Nalin Negi said the fintech had "considerably slashed” its cash burn in FY24 and was on track to build a “sustainable and profitable business”.
• Looking ahead, BharatPe plans to focus on growing its lending vertical, launching new products in POS and soundbox, and scaling its consumer business.

Interview

Transforming legacy systems via GenAI

GenAI has become a key priority for enterprises across the globe, for productivity gains and to create newer models for businesses to operate. IBM has been at the forefront of the belief that AI has a role to play in augmenting existing technology systems or people, rather than replacing them.

In the case of several older computer languages which are still operational but skills are fewer, GenAI is also playing a key role in refactoring these legacy systems into more modern applications, believe Ritika Gunnar, General Manager, Data and AI, IBM; and Vishal Chahal, VP, IBM India Software Lab. 

Mordernising legacy languages:

• GenAI is being used to understand code as a starting point, Gunnar states–an invaluable ability as the skills to understand and document legacy languages has become a lot more scarce.
• At the same time, one should look at AI as augmenting the human and not replacing the human, according to Gunnar. Even with the GenAI that’s driving code, to ensure accuracy rates, it is important to still have a human in the loop. 
• Agents will become the middleware of GenAI, believes Chahal, with a key role in planning and optimising data and code for various models.

News & updates

• Prada spacesuits: Luxury fashion house Prada and commercial space company Axiom Space have unveiled the designs for a spacesuit that will be worn for NASA’s Artemis III moon mission. Unveiled during the International Astronautical Congress in Milan on Wednesday, the mostly white suits feature a cropped torso and stone-grey patches across the elbows and knees.
• Ancient wonders: A museum housing the world's largest collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts has opened the doors to some of its galleries. The 120-acre Grand Egyptian Museum near the pyramids of Giza, will showcase over 100,000 objects, including treasures from the tomb of King Tutankhamun.
• Colour on Kindle: Amazon on Wednesday announced its first colour Kindle e-reader following years of effort to bring the more immersive device to market. The ‘Kindle Colorsoft’ carries a $280 price tag.

Which country's legislative body is called the “Diet”?

Answer: Japan

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