One quick thing: IPL media rights value projected to reach $50 billion in two decades, says league chairman

In today’s newsletter: 

• Indian startup funding hits 6-year low in Nov
• ChatGPT's bumpy enterprise ride
• Former TCS CEO's second coming

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With the funding winter showing no signs of abating, startups that had planned to raise capital in 2023 seem to have nothing to cheer about.

Indian startups recorded only $223 million across 35 deals in November, a 66% decline from the previous month. 

This represents the lowest funding level for Indian startups since January 2017, when they raised $207 million across 43 deals.

“...With the year coming to an end and the festive season, VCs are not doing newer rounds and mostly looking at closing pending ones. This along with caution among investors is pulling the numbers down,” Mitesh Shah, founder of VC firm IPV, told us.

Late-stage funding rounds have once again vanished from the ecosystem in the past two months, following a brief resurgence in August and September. 

• While early-stage rounds have also become less frequent, the top deals in November were predominantly focused on seed to series B funding

Anirudh Damani, managing partner, Artha Venture Fund believes that the flow of funding will improve in the coming year, with many deals expected to close in the next two quarters. 

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OpenAI's generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT, ended its first year with mixed results. While it achieved some successes, it also faced significant challenges.

• But most importantly, it marked a pivotal moment in the commercialisation of AI

After a tumultuous 12 months plagued by data security issues, calls for a pause on AI development from Elon Musk and AI experts, and regulatory concerns, OpenAI is all set to rake in the moolah. However, the question remains: can it succeed?

ChatGPT is currently generating over $100 million in revenue per month and is projected to reach $1.3 billion in revenue by the end of the year, according to media reports.

• OpenAI has around 22,000-25,000 B2B enterprise adopters globally across Azure OpenAI and GPT-4, as per UnearthInsight's estimates
  
  
• Nearly 80% of the demand originates from the US 

In contrast, OpenAI's presence in India is characterised by a comparatively modest customer base, with only around 55 to 75 listed companies and approximately 300 startups as clients.

Analysts have expressed disappointment in the revenue generation potential of generative AI thus far, citing multiple factors. 

• These include the relative immaturity of the technology, the high cost of operation, a poor fit for certain applications, and uncertainty surrounding regulations and data governance norms

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Months after stepping down as CEO of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Rajesh Gopinathan is back in action, albeit not in the IT industry this time.

Within a single week, Gopinathan's name has surfaced in two vastly different roles.

His most recent appointment is as head of Translational Research and Entrepreneurship, and professor of Practice at IIT Bombay. 

This comes just two days after media reports claimed his joining Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as a senior advisor for their Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) practice.

• He is expected to work with BCG's Delhi team, focusing on business strategies in the assigned sector

Through IIT Bombay's numerous initiatives in advanced applied research, entrepreneurship, and technology research parks, a new translational research centre was recently established to facilitate the transition of intellectual property from lab to industry.

• Consequently, Gopinathan was appointed as the head of Translational Research and Entrepreneurship to further accelerate these initiatives

After spending 22 years at the country's top IT services company, including the last six as CEO, this move by the executive into academia is unprecedented in the industry.

• It is unclear whether this is a temporary transition before he takes up another major role in the IT industry, or pursues other endeavours

 Find out more

• The US forced a Saudi Aramco-backed VC firm out of an AI chip startup backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman due to concerns raised by the Committee on Foreign Investment.
  
  
• Meta executives believe there is no downside to openly sharing their AI technology, allowing them to build products and services on top of it while others in the industry keep their technology closed-source.

The weekend is here, and what better way to spend it than curled up with a good movie?

Step onto the pitch with 800, the biographical sports film chronicling the life of Sri Lankan cricket legend, Muttiah Muralitharan. Witness his journey from a young boy with a dream to becoming the highest wicket-taker in the history of the game. Watch it on JioCinema

Seeking a dose of laughter? Look no further than Family Switch. This comedic drama follows Jess and Bill Walker, parents struggling to connect with their grown-up children. Enter an astrological reader and a full-body switch! Stream it on Netflix

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