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Hello,

It’s official: The slowdown has hit big tech.

A day after Meta reported better-than-expected revenue, Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple all delivered underwhelming results for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, leading to a drop in the US stock markets. 

Last week, Microsoft announced its weakest quarterly sales growth in six years. Additionally, barring Apple, all these tech companies have laid off more than 50,000 employees combined in the past few weeks.

Closer home, domestic indices ended the week in the green after two days of being in the red as the BSE Sensex rose by 900 points, closing just under 61,000 while the Nifty50 gained 243 points to end the day at 17,854. 

In other news, Adani stocks saw some stabilisation by closing time on Friday following a plunge of nearly $112 billion in market cap after Hindenburg Research accused the conglomerate of stock manipulation. 

However, Bloomberg writes how this is “raising bigger, darker questions about India’s credibility as a global growth engine and a destination for international investors.” Also, S&P has lowered its rating outlook for Adani Ports and Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd to negative from stable on Friday. 

Lastly, here’s an interesting article on the science of country names.

Turns out, we are not really that special…

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Budget opens up digital for kiranas
• Gamification for customer retention
• A safe space for sex education 

Here’s your trivia for today: Who was Facebook’s first investor?

Budget 2023

Budget opens up digital for kiranas

Budgetary provisions propose allowing merchants not registered under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, 2017 to sell in other states through ecommerce operators without having to register themselves as taxpayers under the Act. This can be a game-changer for kiranas and other micro-enterprises.

Spreading their wings:

• Currently, merchants not registered under the GST Act are allowed to sell only within specified areas of their establishments.
• Standalone stores earning under Rs 20 lakh in annual revenue can now expand their customer base by listing on ecommerce platforms.
• The decision is also expected to drive increased adoption of the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce.

Top Deals of the Week

Startup: Enzene Biosciences

Amount: $50M

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: Freightify

Amount: $12M

Round: Series A

Startup: Profit.co

Amount: $11M

Round: Series A

Startup

Gamification for customer retention

Every industry struggles with customer retention. Enter Loop Subscriptions, which uses gamification to help brands retain their customers. It enables brands to create offers, discounts, swapping, and free trial options.

Various strategies: 

• The platform works on a self-serve model to enable brands to set up their accounts on the platform. It also helps them use the product better.
• Co-founder Piyush Jain says the SaaS platform turned profitable within six months of operations.
• Over the last year, the company has onboarded 1,600 customers, of which 12% have migrated from US competitors.

Sex education

A safe space for sex education 

Sex and sexuality, especially for women, are considered taboo in a patriarchal society like India. Through The Sex Book: A Joyful Journey of Self-Discovery, sex educator, influencer, and author Leeza Mangaldas is normalising conversations on sex, sexuality, body, and gender.

Creating safe spaces:

• Leeza first began creating sex-ed content about five years ago on YouTube to make content around sexuality and sexual health accessible.
• She also hosts a Spotify Exclusive Podcast, called The Sex Podcast, where she answers commonly-asked sex-related questions in Hindi. 
• With the book, Leeza is building a comprehensive, in-depth resource in an easy-to-understand format, contextualised to India. 

News & updates

• In the slump: Technology bellwethers Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet posted results that show an economic slowdown is throttling demand for everything from electronics and ecommerce to cloud computing and digital advertising.
• Rules needed: EU industry chief Thierry Breton has said new proposed artificial intelligence rules will aim to tackle concerns about the risks around the ChatGPT chatbot and AI technology, in the first comments on the app by a senior Brussels official.
• Grounded: Billionaire Bill Gates has said he would rather pay for vaccines than travel to Mars, which he does not think is a good use of money. He also spoke of his surprise at becoming the face of conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Who was Facebook’s first investor?

Answer: Peter Thiel, who invested $500,000 in the company in 2004. 

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