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Several prominent accounts, including the Indian government's MeitY, MIB, and PIB Fact Check unit, as well as celebrities and business leaders have lost their blue checkmarks. Find out more

In today’s newsletter:

• Bengaluru suburban rail's delayed journey
• Spacetech startups laud (inter)stellar policy
• Startup funding drops in Q1 2023

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In 1983, the Indian cricket team won their first-ever World Cup. That same year, Southern Railway suggested a 58-km ring rail for Bengaluru. 

Fast forward to 2011, when India won their second cricket World Cup, and yet the suburban rail was nowhere in sight. Instead of the much-needed commuter rail, the city only received eight more study reports on its necessity.

In 2020, the Union government approved the 149-km suburban rail project, which brought great joy to the people of Bengaluru. However, this happiness was short-lived as certain issues arose.

Out of the four suburban corridors, work has commenced on only one, and civil work tender has been floated for only one of the remaining three.

In June 2022, while laying the foundation stone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to deliver a long-pending project within 40 months that had been delayed for 40 years. However, citizens are now complaining that there has been no visible progress on the ground.

After the IT boom of the late 1990s, Bengaluru underwent a transformation from a peaceful pensioner's paradise to a congested metropolis with bumper-to-bumper traffic. It now appears on the global list of the most congested cities.

• A dedicated suburban rail system similar to Mumbai and Chennai has been a long-awaited dream for Bengalureans 

• Citizens groups and volunteers organised the 'Chuku Buku Railu Beku' awareness campaign, which demanded suburban rail services

K-RIDE, a Special Purpose Vehicle formed by the Union Railway Ministry and Karnataka government, said the project will pick up pace after the elections.

Find out more

Spacetech startups are ecstatic. After years of operating under regulatory uncertainty and bureaucratic hurdles, they finally have the long-awaited regulation that promised them the moon and the stars (and everything in between!)

Startups we spoke with praised the Indian Space Policy, which was released on April 20th, for the following reasons:

• Emphasising on private participation in the space sector
  
  
• Clear directives to address bureaucratic hurdles
  
  
• Demarcating responsibilities of various bodies under the Department of Space

Startups lauded the policy for stating that entities under the Department of Space will not only provide support for innovation but will also intervene to address risks as necessary.

"The policy gives wings to startups across the space value chain to carry out end-to-end activities," Pawan Kumar Chandana, CEO of Skyroot Aerospace said.

The Indian Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has been instrumental in assisting spacetech startups with authorisation and permission-related matters. However, there were concerns within the industry about the absence of a legislative mandate for the body. With the new policy clearly defining IN-SPACe's responsibilities, startups are delighted.

"The policy clearly establishes IN-SPACe as the regulatory authority for the nation’s space sector. This development addresses previous concerns of bureaucratic hurdles and simplifies the process for startups," said Awais Ahmed, CEO of Bengaluru-based spacetech startup Pixxel.

Do check our in-depth explainer on what the Indian Space Policy means, and what it will do.

In the pursuit of sustainable financial returns, investors have once again shown a preference for startups with sound unit economics, as evidenced by their cautious investment approach in the first quarter of 2023.

The first quarter of 2023 saw a cautious stance from venture capitalists (VCs), leading to a total funding of $2.1 billion, a 25% decrease from the $2.8 billion invested in the December quarter, a report from KPMG showed.

• In comparison to the $9.3 billion raised by Indian startups from VCs in the first quarter of 2022, the $2.1 billion figure represents a significant 77% YoY decline

In a difficult funding environment, KPMG points out that micro VC firms are likely to play a crucial role in helping early-stage startups to establish themselves and secure their first round of funding.

In a recent report, Bain also said that the increase in the number of active micro VC funds in India from around 65 in 2021 to over 80 in 2022 is a positive sign, particularly for first-time entrepreneurs who are planning to enter the market.

Go deeper

Welcome to the weekly AI wrap, where we keep you up-to-date on the latest developments in the world of artificial intelligence!

This week, we saw Elon Musk taking yet another step towards his AI vision, as he announced plans to create a rival to ChatGPT dubbed "TruthGPT," in an effort to compete with OpenAI and Google/DeepMind (Note: Alphabet Inc is merging Google Brain and DeepMind to form Google DeepMind. More on that here)

• Musk has already integrated AI/ML into all of his businesses, including Tesla and Twitter. He even founded a new company called X.AI

Meanwhile, the conversation around AI-generated art gained momentum as an AI-generated photograph won the Sony World Photography Awards. However, the artist declined the award, calling for an open discussion on what can be considered photography and what cannot.  

And speaking of AI, have you ever dreamed of having an AI assistant like Iron Man's Jarvis? Well, the AutoGPT application brings us one step closer to that reality, using a GPT-4 AI agent to complete tasks without any human intervention. (Check it out!)

• A report from a venture firm in Israel, however, has raised concerns about the use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, as they could potentially leave companies vulnerable to data leaks and lawsuits.

Finally, Reddit is getting in on the AI action by introducing a premium access point for third-party companies that need access to its valuable data. As they say, data is the new oil, and Reddit is looking to cash in on it. (Picture credit: DALL.E)

More from the world of AI:

• Want more out of generative AI? Here are 9 useful resources
• Inside the secret list of websites that make AI like ChatGPT sound smart
• Michael Schumacher fake AI ‘interview’ prompts family to take legal action

• US-based crypto exchange Gemini has named its global CTO, Pravjit Tiwana, as the new CEO for APAC and plans to open its first office in India as part of its international growth plans.
  
  
• California financial regulator accused some firms claiming AI-assisted crypto trading services of being "fraudulent investment schemes". Two of them allegedly used actors and AI to impersonate CEOs.

The much-awaited third season of Indian Matchmaking is here and Sima Taparia, aka Sima Aunty, is all set to play cupid once again! 

Directed by Smriti Mundhra, this season promises to bring some fresh faces to the mix while also reintroducing us to some familiar ones. Stream it on Netflix

But if arranged marriages and matchmaking aren't quite your cup of tea, fear not! Dead Ringers starring Rachel Weisz is here to save the day. Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.

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