Inside Cult.fit’s fitness retail boom; Building brains of robots and drones

Hello,

What if we could power Earth for the next 170,000 years?

According to a paper published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, vast “hydrogen systems” are buried beneath continents across the planet. Researchers say that hydrogen gas has been building within the Earth's crust for the past billion years.

This presents a significant opportunity to unlock a commercially competitive, sustainable hydrogen source–one that could significantly contribute to energy transition. 

Some countries are already leading this transition in innovative ways.

A Swiss solar technology startup, Sun-Ways has launched a pilot project to generate sustainable energy by installing solar panels between railway tracks. The company has deployed 48 solar panels on a 100-metre section of railway track in western Switzerland.

In other news, our favourite kitty characters like Garfield and Puss in Boots are actually mutants.

Orange cats, or ginger cats, have a unique genetic mutation that gives them their special coats, two studies showed. It also explains why 80% of ginger cats are male.

Some pet owners believe that orange cats are sillier than other cats, but researchers did not find any difference in their gene expression. But their chaotic reputation is more likely becausemost orange cats are males.

A meow-tation menace.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Cult.fit’s fitness retail boom
• Building brains of robots and drones

Here’s your trivia for today: Pistachios aren’t technically tree nuts. Which category of botanical foods do they belong to?

Fitness

Cult.fit’s fitness retail boom

Fitness and lifestyle brand Cult.fit plans to open 15-20 new retail stores in the current year, continuing its expansion into fitness apparel and equipment, a segment the company sees as closely aligned with its core gym business.

“Over the last six to nine months, things have moved quickly. We’re constantly expanding our range and opening new stores,” said Naresh Krishnaswamy, CEO of Cult.fit.

Business health:

• Quick commerce is still early-stage for the company, but Krishnaswamy believes the channel will be increasingly relevant for smaller items such as accessories and light apparel. 
• While some gyms are company-owned, the business is increasingly moving toward a franchise-led model, especially in smaller cities. The company looks to partner with local entrepreneurs who understand regional markets.
• Fitness subscriptions—including offerings like Cultpass, Cult.fit centres, and platform services remained the primary revenue driver, contributing Rs 670 crore, or 72.3% of total revenue, up 46.6% year-on-year.

Startup

Building brains of robots and drones

What if the intelligence that guides autonomous machines, from warehouse robots to GPS-guided drones, came not from the cloud, but from within the devices themselves? Rebhu Computing, a Delhi-NCR–based startup, is building such edge-first intelligence for the next generation of autonomous systems.

The startup is building compact, edge-AI chipsets and software systems for robots, drones, and autonomous vehicles.

Key takeaways:

• Its systems are designed to enable tech automation, such as GPS-denied drone navigation, autonomous agricultural machines, and indoor navigation bots in industrial facilities.
• At the core of Rebhu’s offering are two products: AutonomySi, a hardware AI chipset, and VNTK, a software toolkit for visual navigation. But rather than positioning them as standalone tools, the team has employed an integrated brain-and-body model. 
• A bootstrapped company with $30,000 in funds, Rebhu secured Rs 33.3 crore through the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, which helped build its technology and team.

News & updates

• EV boom: Half of China's sales of heavy trucks could be electric vehicles by 2028, up from 10% in 2024, the chairman of battery maker CATL said on Sunday, according to a Jiemian report. The comments suggest further headwinds for fuel demand in the trucking sector, already hit by the rise of LNG trucks in China.
• Denied: Vodafone Idea has gone to Supreme Court to challenge the government’s rejection of a request by the debt-saddled telecom giant to waive more than $5 billion it owes the government, documents show. The government on April 29 rejected the request, saying the survival of India’s third-largest telecom player was at risk, according to the letter seen by Reuters.
• Rescue operation: In a fresh attempt to avert bankruptcy, Bajaj Auto, the co-owner of KTM AG motorcycle manufacturer, has successfully secured a Rs 5,245.6 crore one-year loan ahead of a deadline to raise funds for an insolvency plan for Austrian two-wheeler major.

What you should watch out for

• Q4 results: India Inc’s Q4 FY25 earnings season is in full swing, with several companies set to announce their quarterly results this week. Companies including Honasa Consumer, JSW Steel, Indigo, Zydus Lifesciences, IndusInd Bank, ITC, Sun Pharmaceuticals, DLF, BHEL, Fortis Healthcare, HT Media, TeamLease Services, and others will announce their Q4 results.
• Trade talks: India is having high-level talks with US officials on a proposed bilateral trade agreement, a step aimed at deepening India-US trade relations. Scheduled till May 20, the talks will involve Union Minister Piyush Goyal meeting US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Ahead of the ministerial meetings, top negotiators from both sides will hold working-level discussions from May 19 to 22. 

Pistachios aren’t technically tree nuts. Which category of botanical foods do they belong to?

Answer: Drupes. A drupe is a fruit with a fleshy outer part, a hard shell, and a seed inside.

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