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‘Tis the season of decline.

After six days of gains, domestic indices ended Friday in the red on the back of disappointing results for the first quarter of the financial year—led by IT major Infosys. BSE Sensex closed at a loss of 888 points at 66,684, while Nifty ended 234 points lower at 19,745. 

Infosys itself saw its share price decline by almost 8% due to its weak revenue guidance, also bringing down fellow tech majors TCS, Wipro, and HCL Technologies.

Meanwhile, a group of 30 Indian and foreign investors wrote a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the GST Council’s decision to levy a 28% tax on the real money online gaming industry will lead to an impairment of $2.5 billion of investment made in the segment. 

Speaking of investors, VC funding in the Indian startup ecosystem remains muted, with the third week of July seeing only $64 million raised across 13 deals, $2 million less than what was raised in the previous week. This is the eighth time funding has dropped below $100 million in a week this year.

ICYMI: Barbie through the ages.

Since 1959, this doll has been a cultural icon—from reflecting the trends of the time to, sometimes, setting them herself.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Getting candid with Sonam Kapoor
• Paytm grants 1.7M new ESOPs
• Oppenheimer thrills and scares

Here’s your trivia for today: In 1933, American aviator Wiley Hardeman Post became the first pilot to fly solo around the world. How long did it take him to complete the trip?

Celebrity

Getting candid with Sonam Kapoor

Actor Sonam A Kapoor, who was on a maternity break, has made a comeback after three years in Sujoy Ghosh’s action thriller Blind. But acting is not Kapoor’s only forte. She is known for her iconic fashion sense and has been vocal about the challenges associated with pregnancy.

Tête-à-tête:

• Sonam Kapoor tells YS Life that Raanjhana is close to her heart since it explored ideas and conflicts that make you think.
• “From the moment Vayu was born, I experienced a flood of emotions-joy, love, exhaustion, and even a bit of fear,” she says.
• Kapoor says her priority is her son so her career will have to take the backseat for the time being. However, she won’t stop acting and is choosing projects she is passionate about.

Top Deals of the Week

Startup: o9 Solutions

Amount: $116M

Round: Equity

Startup: RenewBuy

Amount: $40M

Round: Series D

Startup: Bureau

Amount: Series A

Round: $16.5M

Fintech

Paytm grants 1.7M new ESOPs

Paytm parent One97 Communications has granted 1.7 million new employee stock options (ESOPs) to its staff. In May last year, the financial technology firm granted 3.97 million new ESOPs worth Rs 277 crore to its staff.

Terms and conditions:

• At the current share price of Paytm, which is around Rs 851 a piece, the total value of the new stock option grant comes out to be around Rs 144 crore. 
• The stock of Paytm, which fell to an all-time low of Rs 438 earlier this year from its IPO price, has nearly doubled and is now up over 60% on a year-to-date basis.
• The company turned operationally profitable in the December quarter, while net losses narrowed in the March quarter as well.

YS Reviews

Oppenheimer thrills and scares

Christopher Nolan is at the peak of his craft with Oppenheimer, which explores the grey shades of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, better known as the ‘Father of the Atomic Bomb’. While his triumphs and trials make your blood rush to your head, the story also leaves you with a warning and a sense of fear about the end of the world

Nuclear drama:

• Nolan’s command of the narrative wouldn’t have been possible without composer Ludwig Göransson’s stirring score that matches the film’s nuclear theme.
• Cillian Murphy’s portrayal of the titular character is a revelation as he invites you into the moral dilemma facing the character.
• Robert Downey Jr stands out as the Machiavellian former US Secretary of Commerce Lewis Strauss, immersing into the character skin deep.

News & updates

• Alarming: Social media platforms, including TikTok and Instagram, have come under mounting scrutiny in recent years for their potential to lead younger users to harmful content and exacerbate what experts have called a national mental health crisis among teens. 
• Commitment: Seven top artificial intelligence companies, including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI, will convene at the White House on Friday. They’re pledging to create ways for consumers to identify AI-generated materials and test their tools for security before public release.
• Setting up: Amazon is building a $120 million processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for its planned Kuiper internet satellites. This is part of the company’s Kuiper project, a planned network of 3,200 low Earth-orbiting satellites designed to beam broadband internet globally.

In 1933, American aviator Wiley Hardeman Post became the first pilot to fly solo around the world. How long did it take him to complete the trip?

Answer: 7 days, 18 hours, 49 minutes.

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