From AI overlords to Bitcoin's wild rally: top stories from 2024 that you don’t want to miss

In 2024, the world acknowledged that Artificial Intelligence is here to stay.

Pessimism and scepticism about AI–especially in the creative domain–gave way to begrudging acceptance and, in some cases, even optimism about the technology. YourStory covered all this and more.

Companies today are hiring for roles that didn’t exist earlier—AI trainers, ethical AI architects, and chief AI officers at the C-suite level. These jobs require new skills and pay a premium salary compared to what normal tech roles offer.

YourStory also looked into how AI is creating jobs in rural areas. With large language models (LLMs) and voice translation powered by a rural workforce, India's AI boom is on the verge of a breakthrough that could empower millions. 

AI is also transforming data infrastructure in India, increasing the demand for computing power and storage. This surge has placed considerable strain on existing data centres— the country has 1,300 AI companies but hosts only 150 of the world’s 11,000 data centres. To keep up with the demand for data storage and processing, data centre operators in India are expanding their facilities.

The year also saw the emergence of a new buzzword–AI agents. Unlike chatbots, these agents can perform tasks, make decisions, and take actions independently, without human intervention. 

One of the architects of Aadhaar, Srikanth Nadhamuni is creating new-age banking solutions leveraging AI at Trustt, an AI-powered SaaS-based core banking platform that helps consumers remit and withdraw money, make payments, and avail themselves of a variety of banking and consumer-related products and services on its merchant network.

Keeping up with the changing times, Indian startups are transitioning from pure-play SaaS products to incorporating Gen AI in their offerings. 

GenAI startups are quickly raising funds to fuel their global ambitions. In the first half of 2024, these startups collectively secured $760 million, reflecting investor confidence in the sector. An EY report suggests that India's adoption of GenAI could add a staggering $359 billion-$438 billion to the country’s GDP.  

As the new technology evolves, one question remains: can GenAI truly replicate human creativity?

In the wider tech industry, GCCs or global capability centres, once synonymous with grunt work and low salaries, have stepped up hiring and are providing better career opportunities to both young graduates and seasoned employees.  

Meanwhile, technology is also shaping India’s spiritual space. Apps such as Astrotalk and AppsForBharat, which offer astrology and devotion tech services, have not only gained traction among users but have also raised funding and seen substantial revenue growth. 

“Astrology is a $15 billion offline market. And it is very suitable to take it online because you need not necessarily have to meet the astrologer in person. Today, all consultations have gone online, including medical consultations and so on. Astrology was one such space that was waiting to move online,” says Navin Honagudi, Managing Partner at venture capital firm Elev8 Venture Partners.

The year 2024 also saw a wild jump in Bitcoin prices. After its disastrous drop to around $18,000 following the collapse of major crypto exchanges like FTX in 2022, the cryptocurrency made a stellar comeback this year–even breaching the psychological $106,000 mark on December 16.

Right now, how long will the Bitcoin rally last is anyone’s guess.

From an investment perspective, crypto has emerged as a long-term opportunity, and Indian investors are placing calculated bets on the currency to diversify their investment portfolio.

Exclusive interviews

Here's what change makers and industry leaders have to say about their journey in their respective industries.

Banking to CRM: Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson and CEO of Salesforce India, talks about transitioning from her role as the chairperson of India's largest public sector bank to building the India division of global CRM (customer relationship management) platform Salesforce. 

Drone dreams: Ankit Mehta, Co-founder and CEO of drone startup ideaForge, gives a peek into the journey of building a hardware startup from scratch and his passion for building things, especially mobile robots.

Resilience: KP Ramasamy, Founder and Chairman of KPR Group, has built a profitable business by employing thousands of women and training them for future success. The company has a market cap of ~Rs 28,400 crore, and is among the largest apparel manufacturers in India. Beyond the market cap, the story of KPR is one of grit and determination. 

Building an ecosystem

Manufacturing hub: Karkhana, an on-demand manufacturer-focussed platform, and BharatAgri, a farming technology and advisory platform, are building solutions for Bharat. Their efforts hold relevance when Middle India–or the middle 60% of India’s income pyramid–is among the biggest untapped opportunities in the country. The demand potential from this segment, which constitutes ~400 million Indians, is plenty.

Bihar for business: Nitish Mishra, Minister of Industries and Tourism, Government of Bihar, believes the state faces a perception bias and wants to change that. Read about how the state is encouraging entrepreneurs. 

Next startup hub: Odisha, with its rich cultural tapestry and diverse landscapes, has set its sights on a bold, innovative future. The state aspires to be among the top three startup destinations in the country.

Build in India: India offers companies scale that isn’t available elsewhere. “You build for India scale, you build for the world,” says Subram Natarajan, Director of Customer Engineering at Google Cloud.

Other stories that matter

Health and wellness: Dr Ranjan Shetty has a theory for fitness, which he calls “SEP” or “systematic exercise planning”. It is akin to mutual fund SIPs, in the sense that SEP involves systematic endurance building by working out regularly.

Women in Indian cinema: In August, the Kerala government released the Justice K Hema Committee Report that revealed widespread sexual harassment of women in Malayalam cinema. In the wake of the report, HerStory spoke to a cross-section of women working in Indian cinema to understand the challenges they face on and off the sets.

The journey of an entrepreneur: Music director Ramesh Vinayakam became a startup founder at the age of 57. He has built the Gamaka Box, a notation system for Indian classical music that uses symbols and lines to help learners understand melodic movements and ornaments. Vinayakam's entrepreneurial journey has had many struggles, including scepticism from fellow musicians—and even humiliation—as well as lack of funding. Here is his story.