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Data protection FTW!

On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet approved a draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill 2023 for tabling in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, which will be held from July 20 to August 11. 

The bill proposes to levy a penalty of up to Rs 250 crore on entities for every instance of violation and includes almost all the provisions of the last draft issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for consultation.

In other news, the RBI is proposing new arrangements between card networks—such as Visa, MasterCard, and RuPay—and banks and NBFCs. The central bank has issued a draft circular proposing that customers should be given the option to choose their own card network, creating a level-playing field for companies.

Meanwhile, Pharmeasy is looking to raise Rs 2,400 crore ($290 million) at a 90% valuation markdown in order to repay a loan from Goldman Sachs, according to The Economic Times. The rights issue will be led by PharmEasy’s existing shareholders TPG and Temasek. 

Additionally, a MoneyControl report stated that Manipal Group has expressed interest in investing Rs 1,800 crore for an 18% stake in API Holdings, the parent company of PharmEasy and Thyrocare.

ICYMI: Los Angeles-based tech company Co-Star has developed a machine, which uses ChatGPT to generate astrological readings. 

Crystal balls or AI? What are you banking your future on?

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Zepto’s ex-CFO launches VC fund
• Infosys to bridge Gen AI skills gap
• Helping unprivileged diabetic children

Here’s your trivia for today: Which tech multinational company began its journey as ‘Cadabra’?

Venture capital 

Zepto ex-CFO Jitendra Nagpal’s new VC firm

With a new venture capital firm, Capinity Partners, Jitendra Nagpal, the former chief financial officer (CFO) of quick commerce startup Zepto, has turned to fulfilling the financial needs of early-stage startups. Nagpal explains the firm’s investment philosophy. 

The playbook:

• Capinity Partners is expected to make the first close of its $30 million corpus fund by December 2023. 
• Incorporated in May, the VC firm is bullish on several sectors, including ecommerce, clean tech, consumer technology, and fintech.
• It will focus on investing in startups up to pre-Series A round, with a special focus on digital-first firms.

<Funding Alert>

Startup: GIVA 

Amount: Rs 270 Cr

Round: Series B

Startup: Freakins 

Amount: $4M

Round: Seed

Startup: ZuAI

Amount: Rs 4 Cr

Round: Seed

Technology 

Infosys Springboard to bridge Gen AI skills gap

Infosys Springboard, the learning and upskilling platform of IT services major Infosys, recently introduced the free AI/ML and Generative AI courses to bridge the skill gap and enable learners, especially engineering students, to become job ready. Thirumala Arohi, Senior Vice President and Head, Education, Training, and Assessment at Infosys, tells YourStory more. 

Be prepared:

• Courses offered by Infosys Springboard have been selected and created by experts in the field of technology and business at Infosys. 
• The training is accompanied by an AI Internship programme for 1,500 students in the first phase. The programme was rolled out in June this year.
• Arohi says it is important to also debunk the many myths about Gen AI and its implications, especially those laced with doomsday predictions.

Inspiration

Helping unprivileged diabetic children

Seeing her younger brother struggle with Type 1 diabetes pushed Divaa Uthkarsha to help children from underserved communities access proper care and medications like insulin. In 2021, she started Project Surya to enable adolescents across Bengaluru to manage Type 1 diabetes.

Key takeaways:

• Project Surya has extended its reach to more than 100 underprivileged children in Karnataka living with diabetes. 
• The project has raised Rs 1,50,000 so far. It also conducted a fundraiser midnight marathon in Bengaluru, which was attended by 8,000 people. 
• For her initiative, Uthkarsha recently received The Diana Award. Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, The Diana Award is the most prestigious accolade a young person aged 9-25 years can receive for their social action or humanitarian work.

News & updates

• Kick off: Saudi Arabia plans to launch a multibillion-dollar investment company to expand its sports interests following its power grab in golf and success in English football. The sports group, which will be part of the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, will have a war chest to fund its expansion.
• Long shot: Dozens of robots, including several humanoid ones, will take centre stage at a conference organised by the U.N. technology agency in Switzerland this week to showcase their potential to help it reach a series of increasingly improbable global goals.
• Probed: Binance’s offices in Australia were searched by the country’s financial markets regulator as governments turn up the heat on the biggest cryptocurrency exchange. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission conducted searches at several of the company’s locations on Tuesday.

What you should watch out for

• Launch of Instagram Threads, Meta’s take on Twitter.
• Adani Green Energy board to discuss plans for funds.

Which tech multinational company began its journey as ‘Cadabra’?

Answer: Amazon

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