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The secret ingredient in Google’s marketing recipe for smartphones in Japan: potato chips! 

The tech giant is luring customers in the country by relaunching its flavoured potato “Original Chips” to promote its upcoming Pixel 7 smartphone. On offer are Snow Cheese, Hazel Onion, Salty Lemon, or Obsidian Pepper—flavours that mirror the colour options of the devices in the Pixel 7 range. 

Meanwhile, after a joint investigation, the US has returned this coin—dating back to a Jewish rebellion against Roman rule almost 2,000 years ago—to Israel. Minted in  69 AD, the “exceedingly rare” quarter shekel is estimated to be worth over $1 million.

ICYMI: Japan’s oldest man Mikizo Ueda, who survived the Hiroshima atomic bombing and fought in World War II, passed away at the age of 112.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• BYJU’S delays public foray
• Namita Thapar’s new book
• Democratising molecular tests

Here’s your trivia for today: In which novel did mystery novelist Agatha Christie first introduce detective Hercule Poirot?

Edtech

BYJU’S delays public foray

Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd-run BYJU’S reported nearly unchanged revenue growth for the financial year 2020-21, saying it had to defer recognising significant business growth, but expects to be cash-flow positive by the end of the financial year.

The edtech startup has also pushed its IPO (Initial Public Offering) plan by 9-12 months due to macroeconomic factors. 

Key takeaways:

• BYJU’S was planning a public share listing in the US by getting acquired by a blank-cheque company, or the Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) route.
• It registered gross revenue of Rs 10,000 crore in FY22. Between April and July this year, it logged revenue of Rs. 4,530 crore.
• The company said it is heading towards cash-flow positivity in terms of BYJU’S, Aakash Education, and Great Learning. WhiteHat Jr, however, is still burning significant cash. 

Women leaders

Shark Namita Thapar’s new book

Namita Thapar, executive director, Emcure Pharmaceuticals and a judge on Shark Tank India, believes that contrary to popular opinion, women have many traits that make them better entrepreneurs.

“I don’t like to stereotype or put labels, but certain patterns do stand out. Women tend to be good listeners, which helps them in winning and managing customers. They are thoughtful and invest more time in the emotional connect that contributes to an engaging workplace,” she tells HerStory. 

Of Sharks and dolphins:

• Namita’s business journey, leadership learnings, and her Shark Tank India experience are part of her book The Dolphin and the Shark: Lessons in Entrepreneurship.
• She says her company Emcure encourages leaders to speak up and give contrary views in an effort to boost teamwork. 
• Technology, she says, is a great enabler and helps women connect with their peers in the ecosystem. 

Healthcare

Democratising molecular tests

In India, a person receiving a blood transfusion is 3,000 times at a greater risk for HIV than a person in the US. The reason? Most blood transfusions in our country use blood units that have been tested with less accurate methods despite the availability of more precise molecular tests due to their higher costs.

Bengaluru-based Algorithmic Biologics is on a mission to make gold standard molecular testing more widely available. 

A closer look:

• Launched last year, the deep-tech startup is building algorithms for molecular programming.
• Apart from making blood transfusions safer, the startup’s technology has applications in pharmaceuticals, agriculture, animal husbandry, food safety, synthetic biology, and molecular biology research. 
• Within a year of inception, the startup has received regulatory approvals, tested 25,000 samples, and signed up five enterprise customers.

News & updates

• Money matters: SoftBank Group Corp founder Masayoshi Son has revived discussions of setting up a third Vision Fund. The 65-year-old entrepreneur has raised billions of dollars in cash recently and sees another startup fund as one of several possible priorities for the money.
• Out of shadows: Former Cisco CEO John Chambers is taking on his former company with a new networking startup called Nile. The startup promises to run networking infrastructure for wireless connections at offices, and can save companies up to 50% on their costs.
• Ray of hope: The world has never been in a better position to end the COVID-19 pandemic, said the head of the World Health Organisation, urging nations to keep up their efforts against the virus that has killed over six million people.

What you should watch out for

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will review the state of the economy at a meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC).
• India celebrates Engineers’ Day today, marking the birth anniversary of Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya.
• Kolkata’s first-ever e-court for traffic offences to be operational from today.

In which novel did mystery novelist Agatha Christie first introduce detective Hercule Poirot?

Answer: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which was published in 1920. Since then, Poirot has appeared in 33 novels, two plays, and over 50 short stories.

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