G42 eyes upping India's AI power; Samantha Prabhu's mantra for investing

Hello,

At the end of the day, it’s all about jobs, jobs, jobs!

However, a job applicant for a senior sales role had to first answer 50 questions in 15 minutes. 

On Reddit, he posted how a company required him to undergo a speedy IQ test. But he isn’t a lone ranger. Others also told stories of how they couldn’t land a job despite years of experience because they failed the test. Talk about jumping hurdles!

Going ahead, engineering graduates will have to worry about a lot more than just an IQ exam. A new study by Gartner revealed that by 2027, 80% of software engineers will need to upskill to remain relevant in an AI-integrated world.

ICYMI: How TeamLease EdTech is addressing India’s skills gap by collaborating with universities and corporates.

While AI may be a threat to jobs, a person in the US used a free AI tool to apply for 2,483 jobs at a rate of 17 jobs an hour! 

The free tool, AI Hawk, automatically entered the person’s bio, generated resumes, wrote customised cover letters, and checked all the necessary boxes before filing the paperwork on their behalf.

Back in India, a 23-year-old entrepreneur is trying to solve for job search for freelancers. Yaseen Ammaar created sniff, a tool which primarily focuses on unofficial channels like private groups on Telegram, Discord, and WhatsApp for job listings, tapping into hidden job opportunities.

Time to apply now.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Inside G42's AI plan for India
• Samantha Prabhu's mantra for investing

Here’s your trivia for today: Which famous author did Mahatma Gandhi correspond to when he was in South Africa?

Technology

Inside G42's AI plan for India

UAE-based G42 aims to drive innovation from Asia and position India as a major AI superpower, said Manu Kumar Jain, CEO of G42 India. It is an AI and cloud computing firm focused on AI research and development, as well as creating and deploying technology solutions across industries. 

“India, in the next five years, is going to be a large AI superpower. We want to ensure that we play a small role as a catalyst in making this happen,” Jain told YourStory.

Key takeaways:

• The company’s India strategy centres around three key initiatives: establishing an 8 exaFLOP machine, India’s largest supercomputer; constructing data centres designed for AI workloads; and developing AI models, particularly an Indic LLM.
• In September, G42 announced plans to launch NANDA, a Hindi-language LLM with 13 billion parameters, trained on about 2.13 trillion tokens of language datasets, including Hindi.
• In addition to LLMs, G42 is developing an audio model for commercial applications, enabling users to interact in native languages. 

Woman Entrepreneur

Samantha Prabhu's mantra for investing

Actor and investor Samantha Ruth Prabhu recently added another feather to her entrepreneurial cap after investing in Secret Alchemist, a D2C wellness startup, and joining it as a co-founder.

“Everything I have invested in…is associated with making an impact on the future and creating meaningful change….I wouldn't venture into something that isn't me,” she says.

Balancing act:

• Prabhu uses her knowledge and experience in aromatherapy to give input on Secret Alchemist’s product development and packaging. She also creates educational content to raise awareness about aromatherapy. 
• As an investor, she tends to follow her heart in search of making an impact. “I believe it is really important now to be a part of brands that collectively influence and are good for society at large.”
• Prabhu believes both cinema and entrepreneurship fuel different creative energies for her and complete her in different ways. Both roles have one thing in common—“When you fail, you fail in front of a live audience.”

News & updates

• Face-off: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance has privately argued that the telecom regulator TRAI incorrectly concluded that home satellite broadband spectrum should be allocated by the government and not auctioned, intensifying a face-off with Elon Musk's Starlink, sources told Reuters.
• Catch 'em all: Pokémon developer Game Freak has reportedly suffered a significant hack resulting in the leak of stolen data that includes codenames for 10th generation Pokémon games and even the Nintendo Switch 2.
• Mechazilla's arms: SpaceX launched the latest test flight of Starship, the most powerful rocket system ever constructed. For the first time, the Super Heavy rocket booster was successfully caught midair with a pair of massive metal pincers, which SpaceX calls “chopsticks.”

What you should watch out for

• Largest IPO: Hyundai Motors India is set to launch the country’s largest-ever initial public offering on October 15. The company is looking to raise Rs 27,855 crore via the IPO, offering shares in the range of Rs 1,865-1,960 apiece. The IPO is entirely an offer for sale of 142,194,700 shares, and Hyundai Motor Company’s stake will reduce from 100% to 82.50% post-IPO. Retail investors can bid for a minimum of 7 shares while HNIs can bid for 105 shares or more.
• Q2 results: Indian tech giants Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies are scheduled to deliver their July to September quarter financial results this week with high expectations from investors. However, there are worries that the stock market may undergo a correction and whether earnings across sectors can justify expensive valuations. Last week, TCS reported a 4.9% YoY rise in net profit but fell short of market expectations. 

Which famous author did Mahatma Gandhi correspond to when he was in South Africa?

Answer: Leo Tolstoy.

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