Microsoft’s India AI bet; WazirX’s new decentralised exchange

Hello,

A sunny outlook for cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin hit a new high Wednesday and crypto-related shares rallied as investors bet former President Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election will help cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin prices jumped 8% in early trading, climbing above $75,000 and smashing its previous record set in March. 

So did Wall Street, which anticipates lower taxes, deregulation, and a US president who is quick to sound off on everything from the stock market to the dollar.

The Dow soared 1,309 points, or 3% in morning trading, reaching a new high. This is the first time the Dow has gained more than 1,000 points in a single day since November 2022. 

Back home, omnichannel eyewear retailer Lenksart managed to rein in losses by 84% in FY24 to Rs 10.15 crore against a loss of Rs 63.7 crore in the previous year.  

The Peyush Bansal-led unicorn also posted a 43.2% rise in its operating revenue. Has the retailer found the clearest path to profitability?

Moving on, Swiggy had a tepid start to its IPO.

At the end of the first day of bidding, the IPO was subscribed around 12%. The portion reserved for employees was booked the most at 74%, followed by retail investors’ quota at 54%.

Lastly, is timber the new space material?

On Tuesday, the world's first wooden satellite was launched in an early test of using timber in lunar and Mars exploration.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Microsoft’s India AI bet 
• WazirX’s new decentralised exchange
• Making public spaces disabled-friendly

Here’s your trivia for today: Where is the oldest, continuously operating zoo?

Technology

Microsoft’s India AI bet 

India is one of the fastest-growing markets for nurturing the advancements of artificial intelligence (AI) at Microsoft, housing one of its strongest teams worldwide, Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, said at the “Building AI Companions for India” event in Bengaluru. 

Speaking at a fireside chat with S Krishnan, Secretary - MeitY, the AI pioneer revealed that beyond tech talent, Microsoft is working closely with professionals who have a deep understanding of human behaviour to create more user-friendly AI systems aligned with human values.

Insights:

• Suleyman stated the recent breakthroughs in AI as the “first step toward distilling intelligence into algorithmic constructs.”
• According to him, technology has come a long way in the past 30 years, transitioning from the creation of pixels and buttons to the development of large language models (LLMs) capable of evoking emotions through words.
• Suleyman is the third most prominent figure in the AI industry to visit India this year, following NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Meta’s Yann LeCun.

<Funding Alert>

Startup: GalaxEye

Amount: $10M

Round: Series A

Startup: MOOEV

Amount: Rs 4 Cr

Round: Seed

Startup: Heliware

Amount: Rs 4 Cr

Round: Pre-Series A

Cryptocurrency

WazirX’s new decentralised exchange

Crypto exchange WazirX is in the initial stages of developing a decentralised exchange (DEX) that allows users to trade crypto assets directly with one another, reducing counterparty risk. 

“We want to build something that gives you an even better user experience and an easier onboarding experience than the centralised exchanges. And if we can do that, we believe that this will give a great opportunity for people who want self-custody and not want to rely on centralised exchanges,” Nischal Shetty, Founder and CEO of WazirX, said.

Key takeaways:

• The exchange is expected to help WazirX build liquidity, which will be used to begin value flowing back to the creditors. The company will roll out an exchange token, reserved for people holding the recovery tokens. 
• Users holding recovery tokens can exchange them for DEX tokens. It will roll out a test version of the exchange in the next few months for users and creditors to try. 
• WazirX is also rolling out three new features onto its platform—crypto staking, over-the-counter (OTC) desk, and futures trading as it prepares to reopen the exchange in February, following the cyber heist that resulted in the loss of $234.9 million worth of assets.

Women Entrepreneurs

Making public spaces disabled-friendly

Born into a family of industrialists, Sminu Jindal’s journey took an unexpected turn when an accident left her wheelchair-bound at the age of eleven. Yet, the Managing Director of Jindal SAW Ltd and Founder of Svayam recalls those early years with a unique perspective. 

As a woman in a wheelchair in the male-dominated steel, oil, and gas industries, Jindal has been instrumental in shaping policies and projects that promote mobility and accessibility for all.

Pioneering:

• Through Svayam, an organisation dedicated to creating inclusive spaces for people with reduced mobility, Jindal decided to make the Qutub Minar accessible. Gaining approval for the project required extensive efforts and over 200 meetings with the Archaeological Survey of India.
• Most recently, Svayam’s campaign for Accessible Family Toilets (AFT) in rural India reached 138 districts across 14 states, impacting over 2.5 million lives through targeted awareness initiatives.
• On creating inclusive spaces, Jindal highlights the importance of shifting perceptions. She advocates for a language change from “disability-friendly” to “accessibility for all,” noting that accessibility affects everyone, not just those with disabilities. 

News & updates

• Power: Shares of Tesla surged by 12% Wednesday morning, sending the company’s stock toward a new record while adding $15 billion to Elon Musk’s fortune after Donald Trump was reelected as US president. Now, he has a direct line to the White House that he may be able to use to bend policy in ways that could benefit Tesla.
• Probe: The EU is investigating US manufacturer Corning, a leading supplier of speciality toughened glass for mobile devices, including Apple’s iPhone, over possible anti-competitive practices. 
• Proportion: SAP Labs will hire "over proportionally" in India, which will soon house its biggest workforce, overtaking the headcount in its German headquarters. SAP Labs India currently has 15,000 employees, the largest number of engineers for the company worldwide and the second-highest overall headcount.

Where is the oldest, continuously operating zoo?

Answer: Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna, Austria. Built in 1752 as part of Schönbrunn Palace, the zoo was opened to the public in 1765.

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