Hello,
The uncertainty in the stock markets is making companies think twice before their debuts.
Beauty and wellness brand Mamaearth has put its IPO plans on hold amid the banking crisis and weak market conditions. The company intended to raise $200 million-$300 million with an aim for a $3 billion valuation.
Hospitality unicorn OYO, too, is reconsidering its stock market debut amid plunging tech valuations. It is reportedly preparing to file a fresh offering with just a third of the shares it originally planned to sell.
Meanwhile, crypto exchange Binance has come under the full force of regulators as co-founder Changpeng Zhao and former executive Samuel Lim were sued by the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission alleging that Binance actively solicited US users and subverted its compliance programme.
In other news, India is expected to experience rising temperatures in the coming weeks, and with the country on track to become the most populous on Earth, it’s a recipe for disaster. This has left many scientists concerned about the future.
Got you too worried? Here’s a robot that is befriending a colony of emperor penguins in Antarctica—whatever it takes to tackle climate change!
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- Fintech unicorn Slice posts 2X losses
- Reimagining healthcare with AI/ML
- Using sales bots to make buying easy
Here’s your trivia for today: Who became the oldest person ever to be nominated for an Oscar?
Fintech
Fintech unicorn Slice posts 2X losses
Bengaluru-based fintech unicorn Slice’s losses spiked 2X to Rs 267 crore in FY22 from Rs 103.87 crore in the previous fiscal. The digital lending and payments platform’s majority revenue came from commission income, which increased to Rs 109.27 crore from Rs 19.5 crore in FY21, while the remaining constituted internet handling fees of Rs 73.26 crore from Rs 17.78 crore.
Key takeaways:
- The Tiger Global-backed fintech unicorn clocked an operating income of Rs 182.53 crore, significantly higher than the Rs 37 crore it made the year before.
- Recently, the startup acquired a 5% stake in Guwahati-headquartered small finance bank, Indian Bank North East Small Finance, this year.
- It is yet to be deciphered how the deal would immediately be beneficial to the platform, which was among the worst hit by the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) digital lending norms circular issued last year.
Healthcare
Reimagining healthcare with AI/ML
Venky Ananth, Senior VP at Infosys and the global head of its healthcare industry vertical, strongly believes AI and ML can reimagine the entire process of how the sector functions—be it around patient-doctor relationships, insurance companies, and pharma firms. In the end, all that matters is whether one delivers superior service at a lower cost.
For everyone:
- In India, the convergence of healthcare and technology has the potential to create a greater patient-centric healthcare model that prioritises well-being rather than just responding to illness.
- This will also drive traditional hospitals to explore new models of care, something that is already happening in urban hospitals across the country.
- AI-augmented care enables quicker and more accurate prognosis of certain disease conditions. The physician can acquire contextual intelligence in care delivery, thus helping in improving patient care while reducing the cost of care due to the avoidance of unnecessary tests and prescriptions.
Startup
Using sales bots to make buying easy
Bengaluru-headquartered DaveAI uses virtual sales avatars to provide potential customers with an interactive and immersive sales experience. “Dave is powered by AI and audio-visual communication that mimics a real salesperson and creates an immersive experience for customers, which stimulates their discovery mindset and leads to a sale,” said Sriram PH, Co-founder and CEO of DaveAI.
Innovative sales:
- DaveAI employs 55 people and expanded its operations to India and the Middle East in 2020. It now counts clients in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, besides India.
- Middle Eastern customers’ process of discovering and buying complex technical products is common to Indian customers. DaveAI hopes to increase the region’s share of its total revenue to 25% by FY23-24.
- Putting DaveAI to work can take somewhere between four hours to fourteen days depending on the complexity of the deployment. Clients can have a trial run for three months on a limited subscription, after which the services are chargeable.
News & updates
- Implications: World Bank warned that the average potential global economic growth will slump to a three-decade low of 2.2% per year through 2030, ushering in a “lost decade” for the world’s economy unless policymakers adopt initiatives to boost labour supply, productivity, and investment.
- Spreading caution: While the buyout of Silicon Valley Bank by First Citizens Bank has eased worries on the bourses, ANZ Banking Group’s CEO Shayne Eliott cautioned that the turmoil in the global banking system has the potential to trigger a financial crisis.
- Worker walkout: Germany came to a standstill as railway and transport unions went on a strike, causing disruption for millions at airport, bus and train stations. The workers are demanding higher wages in view of the rising inflation and high energy costs.
Who became the oldest person ever to be nominated for an Oscar?
Answer: Composer John Williams. At 90, he was nominated this year for his work on The Fablemans—his 53rd nomination.
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