Sachin Tendulkar’s sportswear play; OpenAI’s India chief

Hello,

AI is minting new billionaires, and luxury brands are already rolling out the red carpet.

Orient Express, the iconic travel brand now backed by Accor and LVMH, is betting that the next wave of ultra-rich customers will include AI entrepreneurs. Its first luxury yacht, which will shuttle across the French and Italian Riviera, offers four-day cruises starting at around €25,000 a suite. Accor expects the AI boom to create a fresh pool of billionaires with an appetite for exclusive experiences, indicating a broader shift in luxury.

According to Bain & Company, spending on high-end experiences is expected to grow much faster than spending on personal luxury goods this year, as the wealthy increasingly favour yachts, private jets and events such as Formula One.

But AI is also redrawing the global technology map. With the United States restricting exports of Anthropic’s most advanced AI models to non-Americans, startups in Japan and China are seizing the opportunity. Companies such as Sakana AI and China’s 360 have unveiled models of their own, pitching them as high-performance alternatives that are free from export restrictions. One country’s controls are quickly becoming another’s business opportunity.

Meanwhile, governments are tightening their grip on the digital world. Australia has doubled the maximum penalties for social media platforms that fail to enforce its ban on under-16 users, even as studies suggest many teenagers continue to bypass age checks and remain active online.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Sachin Tendulkar’s sportswear play
• Prabhjeet Singh to lead OpenAI India

Here’s your trivia for today: Who was depicted in Apple’s very first company logo before the rainbow apple?

Startup

Sachin Tendulkar’s sportswear play

Ten X You, a Bengaluru-based sportswear startup co-founded by Sachin Tendulkar, designs footwear for wider Indian feet and recreational athletes. Backed by recent funding, it plans offline expansion and international growth while promoting greater participation in sport.

Key takeaways: 

• Ten X You was founded in 2024 by former Swiggy colleagues Karthik Gurumurthy and Karan Arora, with Sachin Tendulkar as co-founder and chief inspiration officer.
• The company designs shoes specifically for Indian feet, citing research that Indian feet are generally wider than European and American feet, and focuses on recreational athletes.
• After raising $3.41M in seed funding, Ten X You plans to expand through offline retail and international markets, having already built a customer base.

Technology

Prabhjeet Singh to lead OpenAI India

OpenAI has named former Uber India executive Prabhjeet Singh as managing director for India. He will lead growth, partnerships and operations as the company expands its presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing artificial intelligence markets.

Key takeaways: 

• Singh spent nearly 11 years at Uber, where he led the mobility business across India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, expanding services including Auto and Moto.
• OpenAI opened its first office in New Delhi in late 2025 and has since expanded its engagement with developers, enterprises and policymakers in the country.
• The appointment comes amid intensifying competition in AI, with India emerging as a key market because of its large internet user base and strong developer ecosystem.

News & updates

• Stock market: SpaceX is set to join the Nasdaq 100 on July 7, a move that could trigger an estimated $4.3 billion in passive fund inflows as ETFs and index funds buy its shares.
• Private equity: Days before Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic has taken on a new role as a strategic adviser to private equity firm General Atlantic, reflecting its growing push into sport and wellness investing.
• Wimbledon: Serena Williams returns to Wimbledon after three years, facing Australia’s Maya Joint in the first round. The seven-time champion is back with a wildcard at 44.

Did you know?

Who was depicted in Apple’s very first company logo before the rainbow apple?

Answer: Isaac Newton

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