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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been charged by US authorities with eight criminal counts, including conspiracy and wire fraud, for allegedly misusing billions of dollars in customer funds before the spectacular collapse of his cryptocurrency empire.

According to Bloomberg, an indictment detailing the charges alleged that Bankman-Fried agreed with others “to defraud customers of FTX.com by misappropriating those customers’ deposits and using those deposits to pay expenses and debts of Alameda Research.”

Meanwhile, Binance has paused withdrawals of the stablecoin USDC while it carries out a “token swap.”

The move comes as investor concerns grow about Binance’s stability following the collapse of FTX and a report of a potential criminal investigation for possible money laundering and criminal sanctions violations from the US government.

Closer home, One97 Communication, the parent company of fintech major Paytm, approved the buyback of a maximum of over 1 crore equity shares of Rs 850 crore at a maximum price of Rs 810 per share.

It will also buy back 10,493,827 equity shares at the said maximum buyback price and maximum buyback size, i.e., Rs. 425 crore—which represents about 1.62% of the paid-up share capital of the company as of March 31, 2022.

ICYMI: From an old iMac to rotisserie ovens: here’s what’s being auctioned off at Twitter.

Holiday shoppers can also get their hands on a 100% authentic, 3-feet tall statue of the Twitter bird!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about

• New speciality of Zomato’s Hyperpure
• What do women founders want?
• J.A.R.V.I.S. for enterprises

Here’s your trivia for today: When was the US’ biggest motorsport event NASCAR founded?

Foodtech

New speciality of Zomato’s Hyperpure

For a business centred on procuring farm produce, poultry, and other fresh supplies for restaurant kitchens, a ready-to-eat line might seem counterintuitive. For Hyperpure, though, which currently services fewer than 5% of the restaurants on Zomato’s food-delivery platform, it represents a significant growth bet.

What’s happening?

• Hyperpure wants to build an end-to-end ecosystem for restaurants to manage their entire backend operations, including affordable eco-friendly packaging and inventory management offerings.
• The B2B unit has emerged as a crucial factor of Zomato’s growth strategy as the foodtech giant scales up and integrates its non-food delivery businesses.
• Overall, Hyperpure serves about 30,000 restaurants across 10 cities, with the business accounting for about 15% of Zomato’s total revenue.

In-depth

What do women founders want?

Capital may be one of the top priorities for a woman entrepreneur to start up and scale, but there are other important factors at play. These include avenues to network, hiring the right team, access to mentorship and training programmes, continuous capacity-building sessions, and strong role models.

Key takeaways:

• The role of incubators and accelerators is vital to building companies from the ground up or to scale, thereby providing a strong all-round support.
• According to Deepthi Ravula, CEO of Telangana-based women-focused incubator WE Hub, women entrepreneurs could benefit from more structured learning support.
• Swati Bhargava, Co-founder of CashKaro and EarnKaro, points out the narrative around how businesses run by women can’t be successful. Her advice is not to pay attention to these stereotypes; rather, concentrate on core goals and keep moving forward.

Startup

J.A.R.V.I.S. for enterprises

The relationship between Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Iron Man and Jarvis is iconic. What would it be like have to a real-life J.A.R.V.I.S.? UAE-based Leena AI decided to build one – for employees.

J.A.R.V.I.S., are you up?

• Founded in 2018 by IIT Delhi collegemates Adit Jain, Mayank Goyal, and Anand Prajapati, the enterprise conversational AI enhances employee experience via HR helpdesk automation and employee engagement software.
• In its current form, Leena AI helps enterprises ease processes like onboarding, IT support, operations, employee experience, creating a workflow for employees, and more.
• Leena AI’s 350+ clientele base includes Puma, P&G, Sony, AirAsia, Coca-Cola, and Kuwait-based Boubyan Bank.

News & updates

• Huge real estate: Bahamian lawyers say FTX executives Sam Bankman-Fried and Ryan Salame spent $256.3 million to buy and maintain 35 different properties across New Providence, Bahamas. Now, Bahamas regulators are trying to claw back the property from FTX’s US bankruptcy protection proceedings.
• US inflation: The US consumer price index rose just 0.1% from the previous month, but increased 7.1% from a year ago, compared with respective estimates of 0.3% and 7.3%. The increase from a year ago, while well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target for a healthy inflation level, was tied for the lowest since November 2021.
• Breakthrough: Scientists at US’ Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility have made history by successfully producing a nuclear fusion reaction resulting in a net energy gain, a breakthrough hailed by US officials as a “landmark achievement” and a “milestone for the future of clean energy.”

When was the US’ biggest motorsport event NASCAR founded?

Answer: On December 14, 1947, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) was founded in Daytona Beach, Florida.

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