One important thing: RBI has furnished a list of digital lending apps being used by regulated entities for disbursals to the MeitY, which in turn, has shared the list with app stores so as to ensure that only those apps are hosted on their respective platforms. 

• Meanwhile, Google is reviewing a MeitY order to block a host of loan apps like Kissht, LazyPay and other betting apps with alleged Chinese links, sources tell us.

In today’s newsletter:

• Google & Microsoft to 'Open AI' search battle
• SoftBank suffers setback with $5.93B loss
• Fresh blow for Rapido

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Google averted a challenge from Microsoft's Bing to maintain its search dominance more than a decade ago.

However, with recent advances in artificial intelligence, another battle is on the horizon. This was evident when Google revealed its AI search plans just a day before a Microsoft-OpenAI event (I guess all's fair in love and war!).

Google has unveiled an experimental AI chatbot called Bard in an attempt to catch up with OpenAI's viral chatbot ChatGPT, whose popularity has soared in recent months.

• Google will initially test the chatbot with a select group of people before making it widely available to the public in the coming weeks, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said.

This rushed announcement comes as Google's flagship search business faces renewed competition from Microsoft, which has been increasing its AI investments.

• The software giant recently made a reported $10 billion investment in OpenAI and plans to add AI capabilities into its suite of software products and internet services, including its search engine Bing.

It will be interesting to see if the Bing-ChatGPT combo can make a dent in Google's search leadership in the near future, at a time when how people seek information is changing dramatically.

Bard currently has an edge over ChatGPT's existing avatar because it can answer questions about recent events. ChatGPT's knowledge is limited to internet data until 2021, whereas Bard uses information "from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses."

• Google has also been at the forefront of AI research for years and has been using these AI efforts to improve its products. Pichai has declared a "code red" and even pinged its co-founders to review its AI product strategy and expedite their release.

Indian edtech startups and higher education firms are experimenting with ChatGPT and the underlying technology GPT in a variety of use cases ranging from grading to customer support, innovative assessment methods, teaching tools, and content creation. 

We spoke to several startup founders about the implications of this technology and the potential impact on jobs. 

These conversation AI chatbots offer the chance to learn much faster and more efficiently than ever before, but they can also lower one’s ability to write independently, and may impact startup job prospects, they say. Read the story

SoftBank's troubles appear to be never-ending.

Many were relieved when the Japanese technology conglomerate swung back to profit after three quarters of loss in November last year. But that was just a blip.

With a $5.9 billion loss in the December quarter, the mega-tech investor has slid back into the red. In Q3, its two Vision Funds lost a total of $5.52 billion.

• While the first Vision Fund has a $11 billion gain since inception, the second has a $16.7 billion loss

• It is sitting on losses of $500 million for Paytm, $3.1 billion loss for WeWork, $9 billion loss for Didi

SoftBank invested $300 million across ‘a handful’ of deals in the December quarter as it did not want to ‘rush and waste money’ amid uncertain macroeconomic conditions.

• CFO Yoshimitsu Goto said that the company was closely watching inflation trends, key interest rates, possible recessions and geopolitical risks 

• Goto told analysts that SoftBank was in 'defence mode,' and that the company was prepared to wait out the funding winter until after 2024 in the worst-case scenario

Remember when you had to ask your mom for permission to spend the night with your friends and she told you to check with your dad? We all know it's a ruse, and they'll ping-pong your request! 

You can probably relate to Rapido, an auto and bike taxi aggregator that was banned in Maharashtra, appealed to the Supreme Court, and still got turned down. 

In fact, it got tossed back to the Bombay High Court.

Maharashtra banned the use of non-transport vehicles, including 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers and 4-wheelers from aggregation. 

Rapido, which filed an appeal, was ordered by the Bombay High Court to immediately cease operations in the state for lack of a licence.

• This was applicable to its two-wheeler taxis as well as autos
  
  
• The company said it had applied for these licenses

Rapido's plea in the apex court was primarily about the Maharashtra government's refusal to grant it a two-wheeler bike taxi aggregator licence.

The court said that as per the Motor Vehicles Act, aggregators cannot operate without a valid licence.

• The state government has to take a decision on whether or not to permit bike taxi aggregators by March 31
  
  
• Rapido is free to challenge the state government's order in the Bombay High Court. The HC must consider Rapido's challenge un-influenced by its earlier order

Rapido said it was evaluating its legal options. The platform appealed to the state government to take a "holistic view" of the matter at hand. 

This will safeguard the livelihoods of drivers and their families who are impacted by this order, it said.

Last week, Paytm posted its first-ever quarterly operating profit (excluding ESOP cost) as a listed firm in the December quarter, about three quarters ahead of its guidance. This brought some respite to the stock’s slide which has tanked 74 percent since its listing in November 2021. 

Having said that, despite improved operating metrics, the stock is unlikely to move much higher. Here's why

Also Read: Paytm on hiring mode to rope in more merchants, sell payment devices

Try to picture yourself dangling helplessly in space with nothing holding you to the spaceship. Scary, right?

On February 7th, 1984, astronaut Bruce McCandless made history by taking a leap of faith into the vast expanse of space. Daringly floating in the vacuum of space, untethered and unbound, he relied solely on the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) to propel him forward. 

With no lifelines anchoring him to the space shuttle Challenger, McCandless ventured far beyond the safety of his spacecraft, soaring over 300 feet/ 91 meters into the endless void of the universe. (Picture credit: NASA)

Watch the video

• Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers have reached an agreement with federal prosecutors regarding his use of messaging apps. According to the terms of the agreement, the former FTX CEO will have access to FaceTime, Zoom, iMessage, SMS text, email, and Facebook Messenger.
  
  
• Digital Currency Group (DCG) has started selling holdings in several investment vehicles managed by its subsidiary and digital asset manager Grayscale at a steep discount.

Imagine a world where the rules of ice as we know it no longer apply. A world where the crystal-clear frozen form of water transforms into something entirely new, blurring the lines between solid and liquid. 

Researchers in the UK developed a white powdery ice with unique properties through a process called ball milling, which involved shaking a jar of ice and metal balls at extremely low temperatures.

The new ice is amorphous, meaning that its molecules are not arranged in a regular crystalline pattern like traditional ice or the ice you might make in your kitchen. Go deeper

Picture credit: Twitter/@uclnews

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