Tata Steel’s AI plans; Digitising India’s offline retail stores
Tata Steel is well-positioned to meet its lofty goals: it has a crude steel capacity of 35 million tonnes per annum with plants spread across India, the UK, the Netherlands, and Thailand. It has around 169 companies under its network.
Hello,
Omnichannel eyewear brand Lenskart has received shareholder approval to go public, setting the stage for what is expected to be a significant IPO in India’s consumer tech sector.
The company plans to raise Rs 2,150 crore through a fresh issue of shares as part of the IPO, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies.
Meanwhile, India’s largest software exporter, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), reportedly plans to trim 2% of its workforce, or roughly 12,000 roles, over the fiscal year 2026. The cuts, which will primarily affect middle and senior management, are part of a broader strategy to streamline operations and align talent with future demand, Moneycontrol reported.
Elsewhere, Ambikapathy–the Tamil version of the 2013 Hindi film Raanjhanaa– is making headlines due to an AI-generated alternate ending, which is now changed from tragic to a “happy” one. The film’s director, Aanand L Rai, who reportedly learned of the move through media reports, isn’t pleased with the change.
AI is also showing up in fashion. A Guess advertisement in Vogue now features a flawless AI model showcasing a striped maxi dress and a floral playsuit from the brand's summer collection.
As The Cut aptly puts it, AI bots can now relate to Drake’s lyrics: “Don't tell me that you model if you ain't been in Vogue”.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- Tata Steel’s AI plans
- Digitising India’s offline retail stores
Here’s your trivia for today: What was the name of the first synthetic plastic ever developed?
Enterprise
Tata Steel’s AI plans
Steel and AI seem to be opposite ends of a spectrum, but for Tata Steel, the 118-year-old iconic company, they just go hand-in-hand. The company plans to use tech to accelerate steel delivery—from weeks to days.
In an interview with EnterpriseStory, Tata Steel Chief Information Officer (CIO) Jayanta Banerjee said, “We are now trying to become the Zepto, Zomato and Blinkit of the world. Being a steel company, I will not be able to deliver steel to you in 10 minutes, but I can deliver steel to you in 72 hours.”
Key takeaways:
- The company is well-positioned to meet its lofty goals: it has a crude steel capacity of 35 million tonnes per annum with plants spread across India, the UK, the Netherlands, and Thailand. It has around 169 companies under its network.
- Its digital journey, which began over eight years ago, has now resulted in the company building 600 AI tools.
- Tata Steel’s digital platforms have helped it sell products online. Additionally, by mapping its entire operations spread over multiple sites with different functions, the company gains better visibility on how it can serve customers better once an order is placed.
Startup
Digitising India’s retail stores
Founded in October 2022 by Sridevi Reddy and Varun Kashyap, Hyderabad-based Zithara.AI is an AI-native customer engagement platform designed for offline-first retailers—businesses that operate through brick-and-mortar stores but lack the digital infrastructure to build customer relationships beyond the point of sale.
Digital drive:
- Zithara’s platform enables retailers to gather and activate insights from in-store visits, billing software, messaging platforms like WhatsApp and POS systems to create a centralised customer profile.
- One of Zithara’s standout features is its conversational AI agent, which automatically responds to WhatsApp messages and Google reviews, ensuring consistent communication without adding to a store owner’s workload.
- In less than two years, the platform has onboarded over 500 paying retail customers across India, spanning sectors like jewelry, wellness, fashion, and gourmet retail.
News & updates
- Tariff talks: Senior US. and Chinese negotiators will meet in Stockholm on Monday to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of the countries' trade war, aiming to extend a truce and keep the sharply higher tariffs at bay.
- Cyberattack: Tea, an app that allows women to post anonymous comments about men they’ve supposedly dated, said last week that it has suffered a data breach, with hackers gaining access to 72,000 images.
- Data deal: US investment firm KKR is in talks to buy Singapore-based ST Telemedia Global Data Centres in a deal that could value the Asian infrastructure provider at more than $5 billion, Bloomberg News reported.
What you should watch out for
- Launch: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch the NISAR satellite from Sriharikota on July 30 onboard a GSLV Mk-II rocket. ‘NISAR’ stands for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar. Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the event marks a defining moment in the journey of Indo-US space cooperation.
- UPI update: The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system is expected to see several changes starting August 1, 2025. The updates introduce revised guidelines for the use of Application Programming Interfaces by all banks and digital payment platforms, covering features like AutoPay and balance inquiries.
What was the name of the first synthetic plastic ever developed?
Answer: Bakelite
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