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Hello,

Bhavish Aggarwal has donned his Santa hat this Christmas.

AI startup Krutrim is offering a one-time credit worth Rs 10,000 to be used across a period of 12 months on Krutrim’s cloud platform to all faculty members and students of IITs.

Speaking of AI, meet the new AI artist in town—Botto, a “decentralized autonomous artist”. 

Botto has produced around 150 images, or “works”, which together have fetched over $5 million via auctions since 2021. Here’s how it works.

Meanwhile, in the face of intense competition from Tesla and Chinese EV makers like BYD, Japanese automobile giants Honda and Nissan are in talks to join hands by 2026.

If finalised, the combined entity would become the world’s third-largest automaker in global sales, trailing behind Toyota and Volkswagen. 

ICYMI: Netizens are raging over the popcorn tax. This entrepreneur explains why it’s a bad idea.

Lastly, before the year ends, The Guardian brings us a glimpse into the uncontacted Amazon community—Massaco—flourishing deep in the rainforest despite environmental threats. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• “Cautious optimism” in jobs market
• EV startups hit the road in 2024
• Indian crypto investors bet long-term

Here’s your trivia for today: Which periodic table element is named after Paris?

Review 2024

“Cautious optimism” in jobs market

The hiring landscape in 2024 witnessed a delicate balance between caution and optimism. After the tumultuous cycles of the past few years—defined by over-hiring, mass layoffs, and economic headwinds—this year saw the job market stabilise with a renewed focus on strategic hiring.

“Cautious optimism” is a befitting term to describe the overall mood in hiring in 2024, says Naveen Tiwari, Co-founder of recruitment firm Scrabble. Despite the economic challenges, the overall hiring activity improved this year, he adds

Learnings from 2024:

• Hiring for freshers and entry-level roles surged in 2024, driven by strong demand for skills in AI, cloud computing, and data analytics, led by global capability centres (GCCs) and IT services firms. 
• “The 2024 layoff wave was driven by global economic uncertainties, over-hiring during the post-pandemic boom, automation, and startup funding challenges,” notes Krishna Vij, Business Head, TeamLease Digital, adding that geopolitical tensions further disrupted hiring across industries.
• Experts expect hiring activity to be stronger in the coming year on the back of improved funding. “As we enter 2025, India’s job market looks set to broaden its horizons, with a projected 9% growth in hiring,” says Anupama Bhimrajka, Vice President – Marketing, foundit.

Funding Alert

Startup: EPACK Prefab

Amount: $20M

Round: Equity

Startup: Univest

Amount: $10M

Round: Series A

Startup: Mindgrove Technologies

Amount: $8M

Round: Series A

Review 2024

EV startups hit the road in 2024

In 2024, EVs entered the mainstream. According to the national vehicle registry Vahan, 1.8 million EVs were sold this year till November. 

However, the year has also been a test drive for many EV companies, with the government rolling back subsidies that had made these vehicles a cost-efficient alternative to ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles. 

Zooming:

• In August, Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric was listed on the public bourses. At the time of listing, one of the sticky points was profitability. Next year, its competitor, Ather Energy, will also head to the public markets.
• High costs of manufacturing vehicles, thin profit margins, and establishing a charging infrastructure have been key sticking points in EV adoption. Additionally, EV chargers don’t follow a uniform standard, which comes with its own set of problems.
• “The integration of smart charging technologies, including vehicle-to-grid capabilities and energy management systems, is evolving how EV owners interact with the grid. It’s no longer just about more charging points; it’s about making them efficient, accessible, and even powered by renewable energy,” says Akshay Shekhar, CEO and Co-founder of Kazam.

Cryptocurrency

Indian crypto investors bet long-term

More Indian investors are cashing in on cryptocurrencies as a CoinDCX report revealed that 51.5% of investors’ portfolios now consist of Bitcoin and altcoins (cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin), indicating a shift towards long-term investment strategies.

Gold rush:

• According to the report, altcoins lead with a 34.5% allocation, driven by rising interest in projects like decentralised finance, Layer 2 solutions and decentralised applications.
• The company also saw a 159.65% increase in trading volume, reflecting the rising number of crypto traders in the country amid market momentum. It also reported a 366.67% surge in its assets under management.
• CoinDCX said women from cities like Delhi, Lucknow and Hyderabad now represent 20% of its high-net-worth-individual customers. Among their preferred tokens are Bitcoin, Ethereum, MATIC, and meme coin DOGE.

News & updates

• Obituary: Indian cinema bid its final adieu to filmmaker Shyam Benegal—a pioneering figure in the Indian parallel cinema movement—as he passed away at the age of 90 in Mumbai.  
• Profits: Founder Pavel Durov said Telegram is now profitable, and the chat app’s total revenue surpassed $1 billion in 2024. The company now has 12 million paid users, and the app is finishing the year with more than $500 million in cash reserves, without counting its crypto assets.
• Probe: The US government launched a new probe into legacy Chinese semiconductors that may go into everything from cars to household goods and defence systems. The investigation will look into China’s “acts, policies, and practices on the production of silicon carbide substrates or other wafers used as inputs into semiconductor fabrication.”

Which periodic table element is named after Paris?

Answer: Lutetium. It is named after Lutetia, the Latin word for Paris, France.

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