AI helps solve missing children cases; Dacio making roads safer

Hello,

How much is a $Trump?

Late last week, Donald Trump surprised everyone by launching his own cryptocurrency. According to CoinGecko price data, the new meme coin–$Trump–rose more than 600% by Saturday, with its market capitalisation reaching $5.5 billion. The coin was trading at $70.72 (on Sunday, 7 pm IST).

With Trump returning to the White House on Monday, cryptocurrencies are expected to see a wild run. Bitcoin, which has had a spectacular rise in the last few weeks, was up 4% at over $104,000 on Friday, according to Coin Metrics.

The optimism in the sector stems from a Bloomberg report late Thursday that Trump could create the crypto advisory council he previously promised, giving the industry a voice within his administration. He is also expected to ease regulatory hurdles affecting cryptocurrencies. 

ICYMI: The dramatic return of Bitcoin.

It appears like the planets are aligning for the crypto industry after a turbulent year.

Speaking of celestial bodies, six planets–Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune–are currently visible in the night sky. During just one night in late February, they will be joined by Mercury, a rare seven-planet alignment visible in the sky.

Get ready for a planetary parade!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• AI helps reunite families
• Dacio is making roads safer

Here’s your trivia for today: Eric Arthur Blair was the real name of which author?

In-depth

AI helps reunite families

Beyond powering voice assistants and personalised recommendations, AI is becoming an ally of law enforcement agencies by reuniting missing children with their families and identifying criminals. It’s offering hope to families frantically searching for their missing loved ones and justice to victims of crime.

New hope:

• According to Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an estimated 96,000 children go missing in India every year. With platforms like Khoji.in, police officers and NGOs hope to trace missing children and elderly citizens faster.
• Founded by father-son duo Abhishek Gupta and Dhruv Gupta in November last year, Khoji.in acts as an AI-powered one-click missing person identification system and has partnered with DigiLocker for quick identity verification.
• Beyond reuniting families, AI startups are also helping law enforcement agencies. Among them is Gurugram-based Staqu Technologies, which has partnered with several state governments to enhance public security. 

Startup

Dacio is making roads safer

With speeding and a general disregard for traffic rules becoming commonplace, Indian roads are becoming increasingly dangerous. In 2022 alone, the country reported over a lakh deaths in road accidents. 

Bengaluru-headquartered Dacio.ai is trying to make Indian roads safer. The company sells AI-powered dash cams with multi-channel cameras, allowing drivers and fleet operators access to key data on driving behaviour and driving tendencies.

Drive safe:

• Dacio’s product alerts the driver before an incident happens via live tracking and voice alerts and also pushes a video playback of the incident to the fleet operator, which is the key for cracking numerous insurance and theft cases.
• The startup offers a multi-channel system, capable of supporting up to five cameras per vehicle. Each camera serves a specific purpose, such as monitoring road conditions, driver behaviour, or other critical areas of the vehicle such as the boot.
• The Driver Monitoring System (DMS), one of its core offerings, is designed to enhance driver safety and prevent accidents caused by human error. 

News & updates

• TikTok ban: TikTok stopped working in the US late on Saturday, shortly before a federal ban on the Chinese-owned short-video app was due to take effect. The app was no longer available on Apple’s iOS App Store or Google’s Play Store.
• No sparkle: Changing habits and the gloomy state of the world are taking the fizz out of French champagne sales, the producers’ association has said, with shipments down nearly 10% last year. More affordable alternatives including prosecco, English sparkling wine and crémant are increasingly replacing champagne. 

What you should watch out for

• Trump inauguration: Donald Trump is set to take the oath of office for his second term on Monday. He will be sworn in at 12 pm EST (1700 GMT), but due to the cold weather, the ceremony will take place inside the congressional complex rather than on the US Capitol steps. 
• Earnings watch: One 97 Communications (Paytm), Zomato, Persistent Systems, and IndiGo are among the nearly 250 companies that will reveal their Q3 earnings in the coming week. Banking heavyweights such as HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, will also release their results. 

Eric Arthur Blair was the real name of which author?

Answer: George Orwell 

We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail [email protected]. 

If you don’t already get this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here. For past editions of the YourStory Buzz, you can check our Daily Capsule page here.