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Hello,

BYJU’S dropped a big news last night.

Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, the parent company of the edtech startup, has issued a notice for convening a Board meeting in the second week of October for approval and adoption of its accounts for FY22. “The Board of Directors, along with the Advisory Council and certain invitees, will meet to formally adopt the audited accounts,” a spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, starting today, the finance ministry will implement the amended GST law provisions for taxing e-gaming, casinos, and horse racing.

These supplies will henceforth be treated as “actionable claims” similar to lottery, betting, and gambling and subject to 28% GST on the full face value of bets, the ministry said.

ICYMI: Netflix mailed the last DVD of its delivery service, marking the “end of an era”. In its last-ever red envelope, it shipped the Blu-ray disc of True Grit (2010).

Last, but not least, check out what Elon Musk’s X is paying content creators!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Funding rises 116% in September 
• Atlassian’s people-first culture
• Meet Jaane Jaan director Sujoy Ghosh

Here’s your trivia for today: What was the first book ever ordered on Amazon?

Funding

Funding rises 116% in September 

September turned out to be quite positive for the Indian startup ecosystem, with venture capital (VC) funding almost doubling, compared to August. In fact, there was only a marginal decline to the same period last year. 

This development comes after month-on-month VC funding dropped to its lowest ever for 2023 in August at $396 million.

Current trends:

• This month, VCs invested $857 million in Indian startups cutting across 83 deals—a 116% month-on-month rise. In September 2022, the VC funding amount stood at $905 million—just 5.3% higher, as per YourStory Data.
• This month, Perfios—which raised $229 million—bagged the highest funded transaction, followed by electric vehicle maker Ola Electric at $140 million and Ather Energy at $108 million.
• The late-stage category received the highest amount at $520 million, followed by the growth stage at $267 million. The highest number of deals were seen in the early stage at 61, but the value stood at just $67 million.

Interview

Atlassian’s people-first culture

Atlassian Co-founder and Co-CEO Scott Farquhar was keen to pursue a career in technology but was not excited at the prospect of working in a rigid corporate environment. Why not start building software, he thought? And that one profound idea changed the course of the technology landscape in Australia and beyond.  

In conversation with YourStory Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma, Farquhar talks about the company’s efforts to develop conducive policies to motivate and engage employees.

Building with trust:

• Atlassian wants employees to feel pride in their work without being restricted by hierarchical structures of decision-making.
• Farquhar believes in encouraging employees to do more than what they thought was possible.  
• Atlassian believes in trusting employees, allowing them to choose where they work through its remote-first policy, Team Anywhere.

Entertainment

Meet Jaane Jaan director Sujoy Ghosh

For filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh, life has come full circle. Ghosh, who accidentally accelerated the multiplex movie trend with Jhankaar Beats (2003), is also the director of the recent successful Netflix crime drama, Jaane Jaan. 

An adaptation of the popular Japanese novel Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino, the movie has an all-star cast led by Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Vijay Varma. 

Director’s cut:

• Focused on building characters that audiences can identify with, Ghosh wrote this film around three people who navigate love and infatuation while dealing with a crime. 
• Jaane Jaan features a memorable performance by Ahlawat in the company of Varma. Both have displayed acting chops that movie actors aspire to build, and together, they deliver some of its best scenes. 
• Be it his acclaimed hit, Vidya Balan-starrer Kahaani (2012) or Badla (2019), a remake of the Spanish film The Invisible Guest with Taapsee Pannu, Ghosh has a knack for bringing out strong, solid performances from female actors.

News & updates

• Plans changed: Volkswagen’s $2.1 billion plan to launch a dedicated electric vehicle factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, is kaput. The automaker instead reportedly plans to modify its existing plants in Zwickau and Wolfsburg to handle production of a new flagship EV—the postponed Project Trinity—and an all-electric Golf hatchback. 
• Deadline: The Reserve Bank of India will extend its deadline to return the country’s highest denomination Rs 2,000 currency notes by a week to October 7. While the notes cannot be exchanged at banks after the deadline, people can still do so at 19 designated RBI issue offices.
• Costlier: Chocolate risks becoming even more expensive if West Africa’s new cocoa harvest ends in disappointment. Cocoa prices have soared about 47% in the past year on fears that bad weather and crop disease will hurt output in Ivory Coast and Ghana, which make up two-thirds of world supply. 

What was the first book ever ordered on Amazon?

Answer: Douglas Hofstadter’s Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought.

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