WazirX needs cash, fast; From literature to investment banking

Hello,

They’re back!

On Friday, four astronauts returned to Earth after a nearly eight-month space station stay that was extended due to Boeing’s capsule trouble and Hurricane Milton.

A SpaceX capsule carrying the crew parachuted before dawn into the Gulf of Mexico, just off the Florida coast, after undocking from the International Space Station earlier this week.

Their experiences will offer insight into the debilitating effects of extended space travel. 

Moving on, OpenAI plans to launch Orion, its next frontier model, by December, The Verge reports. 

However, unlike the release of OpenAI’s last two models, GPT-4o and o1, Orion won’t initially be released widely through ChatGPT. Instead, it will work with companies to enable them to make their products and features.

Speaking of AI, Aravind Srinivas, the CEO of Perplexity, says that the search engine is now performing 100 million queries each week. 

The company’s legal tussles with publishers, however, could pose a threat to its growth plans. News Corp’s Dow Jones and the NY Post have sued Perplexity over what they call “content kleptocracy”.

Lastly, would you pay $120,000 for a painting created by a robot?

Sotheby’s will sell its first work credited to a humanoid robot using AI later this month. The painting, “A.I. God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024)”, was created by Ai-Da Robot, the artist robot and brainchild of British gallerist Aidan Meller.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• WazirX’s depleting reserves
• From literature to investment banking
• Building social network for the disabled

Here’s your trivia for today: During the 1960s, which musician formed and fronted the band “The Mothers of Invention”?

Cryptocurrency

WazirX’s depleting reserves

WazirX reported a 41% decline in its total reserves as of October 24, compared with when it published its last report in June before the cyberattack that saw $234 million worth of crypto assets stolen.

As of October 24, the company has a total holdings of $298.17 million. In June, the company had a total holdings worth $503.62 million.

Lacking transparency:

• WazirX did not disclose its reserves-to-liabilities ratio, which would help understand whether the exchange has sufficient funds to meet the user’s needs in unforeseen scenarios.
• On October 22, Liminal Custody, a digital asset custody platform, accused WazirX in a post on X saying the company continues to use the platform even after criticising it publicly and blaming the platform for the breach.
• In August, Zettai Pte Ltd, the parent entity of Zanmai Labs that operates WazirX in India, filed an application with the High Court of Singapore for a moratorium.

Woman Entrepreneur

From literature to investment banking

Sraboni Haralalka has worked in various roles in the banking sector, including as a private banker, corporate banker, and branch manager. Today she is the Executive Director of Wodehouse Capital Advisors, the investment banking firm she co-founded in 2010 along with her ex-colleague, Manmohan Tiwana.

All about finance:

• She started working in HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management and soon shifted to American Express. She managed the HNI book for American Express Bank for Western India and was a part of the team that launched the unique MoneyPlus product for American Express.
• At Wodehouse, she has led several major deals, including advising US-based Zeda on an acquisition, assisting Lifeline Diagnostics in selling the business, facilitating the strategic sale of SGK LABS, and helping Mahamaya Lifesciences raise funds through structured finance.
• Haralalka believes that she has prioritised her career as much as her personal life. In her journey so far, she has stuck to her principles of honesty and hard work.

Tech for social impact

Building social network for the disabled

Moneisha Gandhi, an entrepreneur from Mumbai, was concerned about her son Mihaan, who has Down Syndrome, as he approached the end of his school years. She worried that as his friends moved on to colleges of their choice, Mihaan's social network would diminish.

In 2019, she and Gopika Kapoor co-founded Buddy Up, designed specifically to foster meaningful friendships among this demographic. 

Friendships for life:

• Buddy Up is designed to bridge the communication and mobility gap for users, allowing them to engage in group chats, attend events, and partake in one-on-one meetups with their “buddies.”
• Since its launch about five weeks ago, Buddy Up has garnered 1,184 sign-ups, with 43% of the accounts managed by caregivers and 57% by individuals with disabilities.
• “We’ve built relationships based on shared experiences, watching our children grow into capable adults who can find friends for life,” shares Smitha Pathak, a user of Buddy Up.

News & updates

• Cost cuts: Mercedes-Benz will step up cost cuts after earnings halved in the third quarter hit by tepid demand and fierce competition in China. The luxury carmaker cut its full-year profit margin target twice during the third quarter, joining a growing number of European rivals blaming a weakening Chinese car market for falling profits and margins.
• New deal: Meta has struck a multi-year deal with Reuters to use its news content to provide real-time answers to user queries about news and current events in its Meta AI chatbot, Axios reported, quoting sources.
• Fossils: Hong Kong officials say they have discovered dinosaur fossils in the city for the first time, on a remote and uninhabited island. The fossils were part of a large dinosaur from the Cretaceous period, about 145m to 66m years ago, the government said in a statement. 

During the 1960s, which musician formed and fronted the band “The Mothers of Invention”?

Answer: Frank Zappa

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