Wakefit’s bottomline turnaround; Fidelity’s innovation-driven strategy

Hello,

‘Addiction machines’--that’s how social media platforms including Facebook and YouTube were described during a recent court hearing in California.

The trial, which began earlier this week, will likely lead to closer scrutiny of social media platforms and set a benchmark for future cases. Over the course of the next few weeks, experts, and family members of children who have been affected by the companies and representatives of the tech giants will present their testimonials, according to the BBC. 

Meanwhile, India wants social media platforms to increase policing of deepfakes and other AI-generated impersonations, according to multiple media reports. It has also shortened the time given to platforms to take down such content, in a move that could significantly affect how social media companies work in one of the world’s largest market for internet services. 

In the world of technology, data and AI company Databricks has completed $5 billion of new equity financing and secured about $2 billion of additional debt capacity, lifting total new investments to more than $7 billion and valuing the business at about $134 billion.

Lastly, how’s your work week going? We bet that whatever latest office struggles you are facing pales in comparison to the absolute chaos unfolding at South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. The company is scrambling to recover more than $40 billion of cryptocurrency, which it accidentally gave away in the form of Bitcoins last week. 

While the company has managed to recover most of the lost crypto, about $9 million remains unaccounted for after recipients sold or withdrew the funds, The Guardian reports. 

Ouch!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Wakefit’s bottomline turnaround
• Fidelity’s innovation-driven strategy
• Livelihoods for tribal communities

Here’s your trivia for today: What planet was the first to be discovered by mathematical prediction and not observation?

News

Wakefit’s bottomline turnaround

Omnichannel mattress and furniture player Wakefit doubled its profit sequentially to Rs 32 crore in the December quarter, sending its shares 7.8% up on NSE, the company shared in an exchange filing on Tuesday.

In a separate filing, the company also announced the appointment of ex-Myntra exec Parul Gupta as its new chief financial officer, effective February 10.

Doubling profits:

• In its first quarterly disclosure since its public debut in December last year, the company announced an operating revenue of Rs 421 crore in the third quarter, a growth of 9% from Rs 385 crore it clocked in the corresponding quarter of last year. During the same period, the company turned around its bottom line with a profit of Rs 31.8 crore against a loss of 2.4 crore last year.
• On a sequential basis, the company saw its topline grow 11% from Rs 376 crore, and profits doubled from Rs 15.9 crore in the September quarter.
• The company has been sharpeningits focus on high-volume, small-ticket categories like curtains and tabletop décor to build customer trust and funnel shoppers toward larger furniture purchases. Looking ahead, the company is also betting on experiential retail to sustain this momentum.

Funding Alert

Startup: Supertails

Amount: $30M

Round: Series B

Startup: GoDesi

Amount: $2.8M

Round: Series B

Startup: BotGauge AI

Amount: $2M

Round: Undisclosed

Interview

Fidelity’s innovation-driven strategy

Financial services firm Fidelity International has been engaged with India over the last 25 years in technology, finance, human resources, and legal expertise sectors. The company’s global capability centre (GCC) has now evolved into a strong leadership location as individual leaders, along with their teams have a seat at the decision-making table.

In an interview with EnterpriseStory, Rohit Jetly, Head of Global Platform Solutions Delivery and Site Head — India, explained the key role this GCC is playing for the company globally. “We bring the energy, fresh ideas and brilliant tech innovations,” he remarked.

Key takeaways:

• According to Jetly, Fidelity International’s approach to AI involves redefining a new operating model, which is AI-driven and agentic AI-driven. AI is also an integral part of ensuring productivity gains, as well as in alpha generation. 
• What sets Fidelity’s GCC apart from the rest is that the firm does not consider its India centre as an offshore location, he adds. As a result, several global roles are now based within the country, and there is a lot of global participation from India.
• The company has gone live with its first conversational AI agent called Freya, which can engage with customers, answer their queries and understand their intent. It has also built agility in these agents so they can be deployed in any geography.

Environment

Livelihoods for tribal communities

Introduced to India as an ornamental plant, Lantana camara spreads aggressively, forming dense thickets that crowd out native grasses, shrubs and saplings, altering forest structure and limiting the space available for wildlife to forage and move.

This month, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department began a focused effort in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve to remove lantana from forest areas and repurpose it into biomass. The idea was to link ecological restoration with livelihood opportunities for the indigenous tribals, such as Kurumba,s who have been living along forest fringes for generations.

News & updates

• Physical AI: Chinese tech giant Alibaba on Tuesday launched an AI model designed to power robotics, as more companies bet on this field. Called RynnBrain, the model is designed to help robots comprehend the physical world around them and identify objects.
• Weak outlook: A decline in demand for sodas across North America and Asia reflected on Coca-Cola’s earnings report. The company has forecast muted revenue growth for 2026 after missing Q4 expectations. The beverage maker has been raising prices to offset input costs. 
• Environment: The scientific community is celebrating the cancellation of a $10-billion dollar project in Chile. The proposed green hydrogen plant, they say, would have impacted the clearest skies in the world. The project was under evaluation by the South American country’s environment regulator for almost a year. 

What planet was the first to be discovered by mathematical prediction and not observation?

Answer: Neptune

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