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Tamil Nadu has set an ambitious target—to become a $1 trillion economy by 2030. 

At the Global Investors Meet 2024, the state government announced the Semiconductor and Advanced Electronics Policy 2024, which will attract investments in the state.

Meanwhile, top economists Raghuram Rajan and Arvind Subramanian said the state needs to attract “high-skilled manufacturing allied to services in the knowledge economy” and low-skilled manufacturing, which generates a high number of jobs to achieve its trillion-dollar economy by the start of the next decade.

The event also saw renewed interest among business stakeholders. 

Starting with Ola Electric, CEO Bhavish Aggarwal believes the company’s new EV hub—built in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district and operational from next month—will potentially employ 25,000 when it runs on the full scale.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said the oil-to-telecom conglomerate will open a data centre in Chennai next week in partnership with Canada’s Brookfield and US-based Digital Reality.

The state also signed investment pacts worth more than $4.39 billion with iPhone maker Apple suppliers Tata Electronics and Pegatron, as well as auto major Hyundai Motors.

Qualcomm, too, will expand in Chennai with a new design centre that entails a proposed investment of Rs 177.27 crore and job creation for up to 1,600 skilled professionals. 

Did you know: Samsung Electronics and Google plan to use Qualcomm’s new computing chip designed to power mixed and virtual reality headsets? The Qualcomm chip, the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, can handle data feeds from a dozen cameras inside the headset.

Lastly, here’s a wrap of the US economy in charts.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• AI transforming video analytics
• Thriwe doubling down on Middle East 

Here’s your trivia for today: What breed of cat doesn’t have fur?

Startup

ICYMI: AI transforming video analytics

Mumbai-based Assert AI offers SaaS solutions infused with AI for comprehensive video analytics across diverse business sectors, enterprises, and corporations. It aims to solve the main issue of bringing on-premise AI (Computer Vision) for businesses on scale. 

In simpler words, Assert AI makes “millions of cameras inside the industrial set-ups smart”.

Key takeaways:

• Assert AI can generate immediate real-time alerts for various deviations, including intrusion detection, fire or smoke detection, violations related to personal protective equipment (PPE), theft incidents, and irregularities in material handling.  
• Besides manufacturing and supply chain processes, its solutions can also be used in retail, healthcare, and traffic management.
• Last November, the startup raised $2 million from Prashant Purker, former managing director and chief executive of ICICI Venture and agritech startup Arya.ag.

YS Gulf

Thriwe doubling down on Middle East 

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Thriwe

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Delhi-headquartered loyalty solutions and consumer benefits startup Thriwe strives to double down on investments in the Middle East. The tech-enabled B2B startup curates, executes, and manages consumer membership programmes across the sectors of travel, wellness, lifestyle, sports, and dining solutions. 

It acts as a centralised interface between businesses and customers, facilitating the implementation and administration of loyalty initiatives by various brands. 

Expansion:

• It plans to invest $25-30 million in expansion in the region, including markets such as Egypt, Oman, and Qatar, in the next 18-24 months.
• Thriwe, which entered the UAE in 2015, serves 1.5 million customers through 15 clients, including major banks such as Emirates NBD, FAB, Emirates Islamic, Commercial Bank of Dubai, and Mashreq Bank. 
• The platform also manages over 1,000 brands in the UAE, including gyms, spas, hotels such as JW Marriott, airport lounges, and golf courses.

News & updates

• Halts: The grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max 9 quickly gathered pace, with carriers from the US to Panama to Turkey pulling the model from service for inspections after a fuselage section on a brand-new Alaska Airlines jet blew out during flight.
• Launch: A lot is riding on the first launch of the new Vulcan rocket by the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. A successful launch at Cape Canaveral next week would allow ULA to fulfill a deep backlog of missions worth hundreds of millions of dollars and establish a greater competitive footing with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
• Worries: Elon Musk’s drug use has worried executives and board members at businesses he runs, the Wall Street Journal reported. People close to the Tesla Inc. and SpaceX CEO said his drug use is ongoing, and that in particular, he’s consuming ketamine. Musk said in August he has a prescription to use the drug as an antidepressant.

What you should watch out for

• CES 2024: From startups to silicon giants, here’s what to expect at January’s big consumer electronics event to be held between January 9-12 in Las Vegas.
• Market setup: After a flat close for markets in the week gone by, a slew of important factors, including the start of Q3 earnings season, inflation numbers, and stock-specific triggers, are set to dictate the mood in the new trading week. 
• Earnings: TCS and Infosys (January 11), HCL Tech and Wipro (January 12) will declare their December-end results.

What breed of cat doesn’t have fur?

Answer: Sphynx cat.

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