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Ola Electric is going public.

SEBI has officially approved Ola Electric’s initial public offering (IPO) to raise Rs 5,500 crore.

The EV maker joins the ranks of Awfis, ixigo, and Go Digit Insurance, which recently debuted on the public markets. Its IPO, although the first for a two-wheeler EV company, will soon be followed by Hyundai’s giant $3 billion public market bid.

Moving on, where are India’s unicorns?

A record 25 potential billion-dollar-valuation companies have been dropped from the Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2024 as scarce funding grips India’s startup ecosystem.

While some firms including Zepto, InCred Finance, and Porter were removed as they’ve already achieved unicorn status, 25 other companies, including Dunzo, Koo, Practo, Jar, and Park+, were dropped due to declining valuations.

Meanwhile, funding in the Indian tech startup ecosystem declined 13% to $4.1 billion during the first half (H1) of 2024 compared with $4.8 billion raised during the same period a year ago, according to India Tech Semi-Annual Funding Report H1 2024 by Tracxn. 

In other news, the Financial Intelligence Unit has levied a fine of Rs 18.82 crore on cryptocurrency exchange Binance for operating in the country in violation of domestic anti-money laundering regulations.

Lastly, don’t miss out on the launch of India’s CTO Excellence Awards, which will celebrate engineering professionals who have disrupted the technology landscape over the past decade through innovation and growth. 

Be apprised of all the coverage here. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Disrupting interior design with AI
• Aiming for the stars
• Yoga-cations for the body and soul

Here’s your trivia for today: When was India’s first monsoon forecast made?

Startup

Disrupting interior design with AI

During his tenure as Director of Operations at Livspace, Sanjeev Bhandari discovered a significant gap between the demand for customised corporate interiors and the fragmented market, compelling him to create his own solution powered by technology.

Founded in 2023, Gurugram-based AirBrick specialises in commercial interior design and construction, using AI to streamline design processes, reduce project timelines, and create cost-effective solutions.

AI-powered commercial design:

• Using proprietary technology including an AI-driven design library, AirBrick aims to reduce office space design time from 20 days to just two days.
• AI algorithms handle around 80% of AirBrick’s design process, covering concept generation, 3D modelling, material selection, and predictive analytics, according to Bhandari.
• The company has worked with 15 clients across various sectors to date, including Pizza Hut and Nike. 

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Sanjeev Bhandari

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Funding Alert

Startup: Bombay Rayon Fashion Textiles

Amount: Rs 350 Cr

Round: Optionally convertible debentures

Startup: Ummeed Housing Finance

Amount: $76M

Round: Series F

Startup: Travel Wallet

Amount: $10M

Round: Unspecified

Sports

Aiming for the stars

Every morning, Amir Ahmad Bhat begins his day by running, followed by cycling and meditation. Then, till early afternoon, he engages in an intensive eight-hour training in shooting.

From being the child who always dreamt of joining the Indian Air Force to winning various medals for India on the global stage in pistol shooting, Bhat has come a long way. Today, he is the first para shooter from the Army, as well as the first from Kashmir, to qualify for the Paris Paralympics 2024.

Reaching new heights:

• After completing his class 12 studies, Bhat joined the Indian Army in 2012 as a junior commissioned officer, where he developed a keen liking for shooting.
• He was involved in an accident in a mine as a sniper in the Army’s commando team for special operations, resulting in the loss of his heel and adjoining bones.
• Bhat credits his Army training for his mental strength during recovery, eventually going on to rejoin shooting and receiving accolades, including winning the team gold medal at the World Shooting Para Sports World Championship in Lima, Peru in September 2023.

International Yoga Day

Yoga-cations for the body and soul

From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bollywood actors like Kareena Kapoor Khan and Shilpa Shetty—everyone is finding solace and fitness through the practice of yoga.

With yoga’s growing popularity and people’s lives getting busier, many are giving their health goals the time they deserve by opting for dedicated “health-cations”—kicking off their vacations to the most mindful start with a relaxing yoga session, including meditation, pranayama, strengthening movements, and stretches, all with incredible views.

Wellness in luxury:

• Nestled amid 64 acres of tropical gardens and fringed by the island’s largest lagoon and the Indian Ocean, Four Seasons Resort Mauritius offers varied yoga programmes that incorporate Hatha and Ashtanga practices, pranayama and meditation sessions, and gentle yoga for pregnant women. 
• One of the world’s best-known holistic wellness retreats, Ananda is set against the majestic Himalayan foothills, providing a serene backdrop for yoga and meditation integrated with Ayurveda and holistic well-being.
• For beach lovers, Niraamaya Retreats Surya Samudra in Kovalam, with 10 dedicated Ayurveda rooms, offers multiple options for a luxurious yoga-cation.

News & updates

• Upbeat: IT services provider Accenture projected annual revenue growth largely above estimates as the growing adoption of AI offsets sluggish growth in enterprise spending and a strong dollar. Shares of the company rose more than 10%.
• AI race: Anthropic is launching its newest model, called Claude 3.5 Sonnet, which it says can equal or better OpenAI’s GPT-4o or Google’s Gemini across a wide variety of tasks. According to the company, Claude 3.5 Sonnet will be far better at writing and translating code, handling multistep workflows, interpreting charts and graphs, and transcribing text from images. 
• Tricky travel: Booking.com is warning AI is driving an explosion in travel scams. The firm’s internet safety boss Marnie Wilking said there had been “anywhere from a 500% to a 900% increase” in the past 18 months.

When was India’s first monsoon forecast made?

Answer: June 4, 1886.

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