Uttarakhand’s big industrial estates bet; Helping SMEs build online presences

Hello,

We are back with more from the world of AI. So, let’s begin!

Starting with Meta, which has agreed to take a 49% stake in data labeling firm Scale AI for $14.8 billion. 

With that, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company is looking to place the startup’s 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang, in a top position inside Meta, as it gears up to build a new research lab to pursue “superintelligence”—an AI system that surpasses human intelligence.

Meanwhile, Mistral AI has introduced Magistral, its first family of reasoning models, which works through problems step-by-step for improved consistency and reliability across topics such as math and physics.

There’s bad news too. AI is shaking up news sites. For instance, Google’s AI Overviews and other AI-powered tools, including chatbots, are affecting traffic to news publishers, which need the page views to sustain quality journalism. 

ICYMI: All that happened at WWDC 2025! Don’t miss out on what Apple had to say about its AI models, following the dismal performance of Apple Intelligence! 

Lastly, the wait is over for BTS ARMY—the fandom of popular band BTS! 

With the return of the members RM, V, j-hope, and Jin, as well as the scheduled return of Jimin, Jungkook, and Suga from their military service, the septet will be finally back to the global music scene after an hiatus of two years—right on time to celebrate their 12th anniversary in Seoul. 

It’s finally Spring Day for BTS ARMY!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Uttarakhand’s big industrial estates bet
• Helping SMEs build online presences
• Mahi G’s songs of resistance

Here’s your trivia for today: The word "crochet" comes from the French word for what?

Interview

Uttarakhand’s big industrial estates bet

In 2003, the Indian government offered fiscal concessions for industrial investments in the newly-formed State of Uttarakhand and its north-western neighbour Himachal Pradesh. The states then went on to unveil industrial policies that were identical in every respect except one: town planning.

This single point of difference was the reason why one State could leverage the benefits of CIP significantly better than the other, according to a comparative study published recently by the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).

Critical difference: 

• Between 2000 and 2010, Uttarakhand’s economy grew at a CAGR of 11.05%, compared to Himachal’s 6.91%. The big divergence came in the industrial sector growth, where Uttarakhand’s manufacturing output grew 9.5 times over two decades, while Himachal’s rose 4.6 times.
• While Himachal Pradesh took the route of letting industries buy land directly from farmers, allowing land use conversions and providing support for infrastructure, Uttarakhand opted for a industrialisation in designated Industrial Estates with facilities provided and financed by the state government.
• Uttarakhand developed three full-fledged industrial townships in just 3 years. Two of the estates were developed through the classical governmental approach; the third estate was developed through a public private partnership approach, according to the study. Himachal lagged, in comparison.

Funding Alert

Startup: Glean

Amount: $150M

Round: Series F

Startup: FlexiLoans

Amount: Rs 375 Cr

Round: Series C

Startup: Rapido

Amount: Rs 125 Cr

Round: CCPS

Startup

Helping SMEs build online presences

Typof—founded in 2021 by 34-year-old Parida and 24-year-old Divya Mallick, Co-founder and CEO—works on a B2B SaaS model, helping artisans and small businesses set up their websites without the need to use too many third-party tools, which can be a complicated and expensive affair.

Digital businesses: 

• Typof’s services go beyond developing a client’s website. It helps with other facets, such as selling their product and delivering to the buyer’s address. It also helps local businesses like kirana stores have an online presence.
• The startup has nearly 2,500 recurring customers, some of whom have subscribed to a lifetime deal plan. It aims to double that number by the end of 2025. Anyone globally can avail the startup’s services, and it already has some paying customers from South Africa and Singapore.
• Bootstrapped with an initial investment of Rs 1 crore, Typof now has an annual recurring revenue of Rs 3 crore, and is yet to be profitable. The startup plans on raising a seed round for SMEPay, its own UPI-based payment gateway.

Social Impact

Mahi G’s songs of resistance

Beginning with poetry, Adivasi rapper Mahi G is now using hip-hop to highlight the social, political, and ecological issues faced by her community in Maharashtra. Her songs, Jungle cha Raja (King of the Jungle), and Haq Se Hijda Hun touch upon issues of environmental destruction and trangender rights, respectively, and highlight her Adivasi identity and connection to the land and the community. 

Bharat ke Innovators

Solving India’s wastewater crisis

Lambert Water's "Water Battery™" uses chemical-free electrochemical technology to process wastewater, which generates 70% less sludge and is 200 times faster than conventional technology.

Xpieder is reimagining social connections

Founded in 2024 in Assam, spatial social platform Xpieder enables users to drop, discover, and interact with augmented reality content tied to real-world locations.

News & updates

• Downgrade: The World Bank sharply cut its global economic growth projections, citing disruption from trade uncertainty in particular. It now expects the global economy to expand by 2.3% in 2025, down from an earlier forecast of 2.7%. 
• Delivery: BigBasket plans to roll out 10-minute food delivery services nationwide by the end of FY26 as competition intensifies in the $7.1 billion quick-commerce space. The Tata-backed grocery giant is targeting customers of Zomato and Swiggy, while also unlocking a new pool of customers, co-founder Vipul Parekh told Reuters.
• DMs: Meta Platforms would start rolling out direct messaging on its Threads app, adding a feature long offered by rivals, to attract more users. Users in select markets, including Hong Kong and Thailand, will get a dedicated inbox for direct messages on the app as part of the test, eliminating the need to switch to Instagram's messaging platform.

The word "crochet" comes from the French word for what?

Answer: Small hook. The term first appeared in the Dutch magazine "Penélopé" in 1823, but the craft has been around a lot longer.

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