OpenAI’s Jalapeño AI chip; Nekko’s next growth engine
OpenAI has stepped beyond the world of models by announcing its first-ever custom-built chip named Jalapeño. Bengaluru-based Nekko is positioning itself as an AI and machine learning services company focused on business process transformation.
Hello,
Companies make losses, that’s not unusual. What’s uncommon is CEOs apologising for that.
Honda’s CEO Toshihiro Mibe has apologised to shareholders for the company’s poor financial performance in the previous fiscal year. This gesture seems to have won investors’ backing at the company annual meeting as Mibe received support for his reappointment to the board. The company posted its first annual loss in 70 years last month.
Meanwhile, a new analysis has found that the current heatwave in Europe is the most severe and widespread one to have ever affected the region. Scientists from the World Weather Attribution have pinned it on the climate crisis driven by fossil fuel burning.
In other news, Chinese onshore tech IPOs could have their strongest year since 2023. Tech companies have cumulatively raised $3.1 billion from stock market listings so far this year—over five times the size in the year-earlier period. The upcoming IPO lineup includes semiconductor firms and robotics startups.
This week’s Crux by The CapTable discusses AI adoption in hiring. Surprisingly, recruiters aren’t the biggest users. It’s the candidates themselves—AI is their new interview coach.
ICYMI: Delivery robots are a common sight in some cities around the world. But not everyone is enthused about them.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- OpenAI’s Jalapeño AI chip
- Nekko’s next growth engine
Here’s your trivia for today: Burger King in Russia briefly launched a cryptocurrency named after what signature burger?
Explainer
OpenAI’s Jalapeño AI chip
ChatGPT maker OpenAI has stepped beyond the world of models by announcing its first-ever custom-built chip named Jalapeño.
The Jalapeño chip highlights that frontier AI requires vast power and bespoke hardware from specialised factories, while also marking the company’s strategic transition into a leading full-stack semiconductor and infrastructure player.
What is Jalapeño?
- Jalapeño is an application-specific integrated circuit, which is a chip built for one particular job: to make the inference process as fast and cheap as possible.
- The main goal of Jalapeño is efficiency. Early lab tests suggest that the chip will offer a performance-per-watt that is substantially better than the current top-of-the-line hardware.
- Jalapeño is a key part of the future because it provides an efficient engine that massive data centres will need.
Top Deals of the Week
Startup: CRED
Amount: Rs 8,550 Cr
Round: Series H
Startup: Square Yards
Amount: Rs 900 Cr
Round: Debt and equity
Startup: Mitigata
Amount: $15 M
Round: Series B
In-focus
Nekko’s next growth engine
Bengaluru-based Nekko is positioning itself as an AI and machine learning services company focused on business process transformation rather than traditional digital transformation.
“Our approach is to rethink and rebuild processes using AI, especially agentic process automation,” says CEO Anand Kalyanraman. “We see it as the next step beyond traditional robotic process automation because it can handle a wider range of real-world workflows.”
Key takeaways
- Nekko has developed TensAI, an agentic AI framework designed to orchestrate multiple specialised agents for workflows such as request-for-quotation processing, visa handling, and customer support. The framework integrates with CRM platforms and enterprise systems.
- The startup is also developing physical kiosks powered by TensAI, designed to deliver more personalised recommendations based on user behaviour.
- Alongside its services business, Nekko has also developed a computer vision platform aimed at industries such as manufacturing and retail, where safety, compliance, and operational visibility have become increasingly important.
News & updates
- Job cuts: Volkswagen is mulling shutting four German factories and ramping up job cuts to as many as 100,000, in what could be the biggest overhaul in the carmaker's history, Reuters reports.
- Shipping traffic: Shipping traffic is rebounding in the Strait of Hormuz a week after the US-Iran deal, but an attack on a cargo ship off the Omani coast on Thursday has led to uncertainty. Companies are faced with a difficult choice: take the risk to transit or hold back, CNBC reports.
Burger King in Russia briefly launched a cryptocurrency named after what signature burger?
Answer: Whopper
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