One quick thing: Swiggy vs Zomato: Arch rivals now square off with food ambassadors 

In today’s newsletter: 

• OfBusiness, Upgrad founders to start up again
• SurveyMonkey sets up base in Bengaluru
• MeitY targets deepfake threats with tech

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"Every exit is an entry somewhere else," says Tom Stoppard, and for two co-founders, this is especially true as they gear up to re-enter the startup arena.

OfBusiness (OFB) co-founder Nitin Jain and UpGrad co-founder Mayank Kumar are both gearing up to launch their new ventures.

• Kumar has announced his departure from operational duties at UpGrad to focus on his startup dedicated to global talent mobility

• Meanwhile, Jain insists he remains an integral part of OfBusiness, clarifying that he is “just exploring options”

Interestingly, the co-founders’ moves come at a time when both OfBusiness and UpGrad are strategically positioning themselves for public markets.

Jain’s new venture has been brewing for quite some time. 

• His startup will concentrate on Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions powered by AI, sources told us

• Jain been in talks with venture capital firms, including Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India), for funding

Sources also suggest that senior leadership at OfBusiness might invest seed money into Jain's new venture.

“…I will just be an investor in the venture started by my friend and will not be moving out of OFB,” Jain said in a fresh statement on October 16.

Upgrad’s Kumar has chosen to stay true to his core expertise by launching a new venture in global talent mobility, leveraging his edtech background.

• The idea is to connect skilled professionals, particularly blue-collar workers, with opportunities in international markets

• The target audience at present is nurses and geriatric care workers

In an internal note, Kumar said he will continue to shape Upgrad’s strategic direction as a co-founder, director, and shareholder, allowing him to maintain influence within the firm.

• Meanwhile, founder and chairman Ronnie Screwvala steps up to take on a more active role

Picture credit: Microsoft Copilot

India's highly skilled talent pool is attracting US tech firms to the country. The popular survey platform SurveyMonkey is the latest to join the bandwagon.

SurveyMonkey has opened an office in Bengaluru, a key step in its global expansion strategy.

• The office will serve as a hub for product development, R&D and customer outreach, CEO Eric Johnson said

Currently, SurveyMonkey employs 50 engineers, product managers, and designers in India, with plans to double the workforce by March 2025

“25% of our R&D efforts will happen in India by 2025. There are certain functions like market research and audience, where we have moved the entire development effort to the country,” Johnson said. 

The firm also plans to expand its customer base in the country, where it has already seen initial momentum. It currently has over 2,000 paying customers, including firms like TCS, Aditya Birla Group, Shapoorji Pallonji, and Swiggy.

• SurveyMonkey's platform supports over 56 languages, including four Indian languages - Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi, and Bangla

• English makes up just 13% of the surveys sent in the country, Johnson said. Hindi is the largest contributor, followed by Tamil

Go deeper

Picture credit: Microsoft Copilot

As deepfakes become a growing concern in the country, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is working on developing AI tools to detect such content.

The IT Ministry, through the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, is developing a desktop-based application to detect deepfakes. 

• A preliminary version of the application has already been shared with law enforcement agencies, and further improvements are underway

Beyond deepfake detection, MeitY is exploring the potential of AI to address a wide range of societal issues. In partnership with various Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the ministry is developing AI-based solutions for:

• GST Tax Evasion: A deep learning tool is being developed to identify fake invoice traders and malicious GST dealers
  
  
• Tuberculosis and Silicosis: AI tools are being created to analyse patient responses to treatments and automate chest radiographs for these diseases
  
  
• Smart farming: Tools are being developed to classify soil types, enabling better water and soil management in agriculture

These initiatives come amidst growing concerns about the potential misuse of AI. 

• The government had faced criticism for its earlier recommendation requiring the industry to seek permission for new AI models

This advisory was later retracted in response to concerns about stifling innovation and hindering AI advancements.

Dig deeper

Picture credit: Microsoft Copilot

The rising tensions between India and Canada are casting a shadow over Indian students who are looking to enroll in foreign universities, with the North American nation being a popular destination.

• Education firms like Leverage Edu have stopped all new applications to Canada until further clarity on the issue

Canada has already reduced international student permits by 35% which will go down further by 10% in 2025.

• Canada's loss is other destinations' gains with education firms suggesting students redirect their plans to the US and UK

Find out more

• India has a great advantage in building new AI applications on top of LLMs, says Accel partner Shekhar Kirani.
  
  
• Alibaba’s international arm launched an updated version of its AI-powered translation tool that, it says, is better than products offered by Google, DeepL and ChatGPT.

Who says astronauts can't have style?

Prada, the Italian luxury label, in partnership with Axiom Space, unveiled a spacesuit designed for NASA's upcoming Artemis 3 mission to the moon.

Talk about a fashion statement!  

• The suit can withstand extreme temperatures and endure the coldest temperatures in the permanently shadowed regions for at least two hours 

Artemis 3, planned as the first astronaut moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972, is currently scheduled for 2026. Find out more

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