One quick thing: IBM to pause hiring, 7,800 jobs could be replaced by AI

In today’s newsletter:

• ONDC crosses the 10,000 daily orders milestone
• Byju's' ED searches trigger investor caution
• IAMAI assures members after 'pro-Big Tech' charges

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India’s interoperable e-commerce network is taking off! 

The government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) clocked more than 10,000 food and grocery orders last Sunday, jumping two-fold over the previous weekend

• This growth is happening on the back of a Rs 50 per order discount, influencer marketing campaigns, and an increased pace of seller onboarding to the network

We wrote in our newsletter on April 26 that ONDC had seen a 25X increase in growth in two months. However, this latest development means we must revise that number to 50X after the growth in the last week of April.

Around 40% of the orders are from Bengaluru, and an additional 40% are from cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Hyderabad, sources told us.

• The remaining orders are coming from over 200 other cities where the network has launched pilots

• The number of merchants on the ONDC has increased to 35,000 since the launch of an incentive program for seller-side apps to enroll merchants

In addition to retail products, mobility has also taken off on the network. The Namma Yatri app is seeing over 25,000 rides booked per day and has onboarded around 58,000 mobility service providers like cabs and autos.

Byju's has been making headlines for years with its impressive fundraises, massive valuations, and significant acquisitions, creating numerous employment opportunities in the process. 

However, recent issues have caused concern among investors who once considered Byju's a big success story. 

The startup, once seen as a beacon for India's potential market, is now a cause for concern. The latest blow comes from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which conducted searches at Byju's offices.

The ED searches on the offices of Byju's have left private equity and venture capital investors in a "wait and watch mode," as they are concerned about the long-term repercussions for India's startup ecosystem.

Some investors believe that startups with a similar structure to Byju's may face greater scrutiny in the future, while others remain divided on the immediate impact these searches will have on the ecosystem.

"I'm not sure if this will have a cascading effect on the ecosystem. Byju's has had a unique set of issues for a while now, so it's possible that the impact will be limited to the company itself," said an investor. 

The timing couldn't be worse for Byju's, which is currently renegotiating the terms of a $1.2 billion loan and seeking new funding. If anything criminal or sinister emerges from the ED searches, it could spook investors, according to a source.

• However, a source close to Byju's said that the company's fundraise is still "on track" 

A day after being accused of being pro-Big Tech, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) assured its 500-plus members in an e-mail that it was acting without "fear or favour."

• A controversy erupted after a leaked draft document showed that the IAMAI opposed the idea of a separate competition law for the digital sector

IAMAI clarified today in an e-mail that an overwhelming majority of its members were opposed to such a law.

“One of the key features of the proposed new competition law is likely to be ex-ante regulations. This means even before you have become large or dominant, your company would be subject to the new provisions,” IAMAI President Subho Ray said.

In the leaked draft document, IAMAI claimed that a new competition law would stifle innovation, harm startups, raise regulatory costs, and so on.

• Indian entrepreneurs have been quick to point out that the current chairperson and vice chairperson of IAMAI work for Big Tech firms

• Startups are also calling for changes to be made in the working of IAMAI

Imagine Twitter built on an open protocol, where users have more control over their social media experience. That's Bluesky for you. 

This service has been in the works for several years. When Jack Dorsey was still running Twitter, he funded an independent team to develop an "open and decentralised" social media standard in 2019, with the eventual goal of making Twitter a client of this standard.

However, things have changed since then. Elon Musk entered the picture with his own ideas for the social media platform, which only he knows (or at least, we hope he does!)

Bluesky, which was spun off from Twitter much earlier in 2022, has recently grown in popularity, with people scrambling to get an invite to join the service.

Why is everyone flocking to this Twitter clone, and what distinguishes it from the current crop of social media companies? Find out in our explainer.

On May 2, 1983, Microsoft made an announcement about the release of its two-button Microsoft Mouse, which was created to be used with the newly launched Microsoft Word processor. 

The device was called the "green-eyed mouse" because of its two green buttons. Initially, Microsoft produced about 100,000 units of the mouse, but only 5,000 units were sold.

• A proposed class-action lawsuit claims that Coinbase violated Illinois biometric privacy laws by collecting and storing customer fingerprints and facial templates.

• Sotheby's has announced the addition of a new on-chain marketplace for digital art collectors to purchase secondary NFTs.

The fashion industry’s biggest night out, The Met Gala, has taken the world by storm once again. While fashion enthusiasts eagerly awaited the arrival of their favourite stars, a tiny, uninvited guest stole the show.

A fearless cockroach!

The creepy-crawly made an unexpected appearance on the red carpet, causing a stir among the attendees and spectators alike.  Watch the video

Also, American rapper Doja Cat embraced her feline look, both in her appearance and in an interview with Vogue's Emma Chamberlain. Watch the video.

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