Breaking: Auto Rickshaw Drivers Union opens up on rift with Namma Yatri. Meanwhile, Karnataka govt to launch Ola-Uber-like app by February

One quick thing: Amazon India has been pulled up by a government body for 'dark' practices related to Prime membership sign-ups. 

In today’s newsletter: 

• Rajeev Chandrasekhar's missive on deep fakes
• It's raining funding
• Why founders are becoming influencers

P.S.: Find out what India ordered on Swiggy this year. Scroll down for deets!

Event alert: CNBC TV18 & Moneycontrol will be hosting the most definitive summit on Artificial Intelligence with top global and Indian voices on December 16th in Bengaluru. Click here to register and get access to the 'Palo Alto Networks presents CNBC-TV18 & Moneycontrol Global AI Conclave'.

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With the clock ticking down to the CNBC-TV18 & Moneycontrol Global AI Conclave, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, gave a sense of what is on the government's mind regarding everything AI–from regulating models, fighting deep fakes to getting chips for Indian startups.

In an interview with us, Chandrasekhar laid out the government's two-pronged approach to AI: crackdown on its potential pitfalls while simultaneously fuelling innovation.

• The minister also said that any effort to regulate AI has to be global or near-global 

Deep fakes, algorithmic bias, and the erosion of privacy – these are the spectres haunting the AI landscape, and Chandrasekhar wants to fix them.

Here are the key quotes from the interview:

• "If you haven't taken my consent to do a deepfake of me, irrespective of whether it is a satire or harmless, I can be aggrieved."
  
  
• "You cannot scrape the Indian internet if you are a model sitting in a country that has animosity towards India."

• "We don't intend to make life tough for social media platforms, but create ease of living for our citizens."

• "If I am Swiggy, Zomato or Flipkart, I can only take consent for data that is needed to deliver you the product or service. I can't use all your data for my AI model."

• "Shortage of GPU capacity is very short-term. This domination by NVIDIA is short-term because Intel and AMD are going to catch up very soon."

Curious to hear more from Rajeev Chandrasekhar on the pressing issues surrounding deepfakes and the broader landscape of AI? The stage is set, and the minister will be sharing his insights at the Global AI Conclave on December 16 in Bengaluru. Don't miss this chance to be part of the conversation shaping the future of AI!

Check out the full interview

The holiday rush is upon us, and everyone's scrambling to finish up before the Christmas and New Year break – even startup investors.

Udaan, the B2B e-commerce player, announced today that it has secured a substantial $340 million(around Rs 2,800 crore) funding round.

• The round is a mix of debt and equity 

• UK-based M&G Catalyst, Lightspeed, and DST Global participated in the round

While Udaan hasn't disclosed the valuation, multiple reports suggest a significant drop from its previous peak of $3.2 billion to below $2 billion.

• This fresh capital infusion comes on top of over $300 million already loaned by investors in 2022, according to Tracxn data, taking Udaan’s total fundraise to around $1.8 billion

Besides Udaan, full-stack EV company Exponent Energy and housing finance company Sitara also secured significant funding today.

• Exponent raised $26.4 million (around Rs. 216 crore) from Lightspeed, 3one4 Capital, the Pawan Munjal family office, and others

• Sitara secured Rs 120 crore in debt financing from the UK's development finance institution, British International Investment (BII)

The latest round suggests BII is actively bolstering its investments in India, following its Rs 310 crore backing of Aye Finance yesterday.

• In case you missed it, yesterday's edition covered how startups raised over Rs 900 crore in 24 hours

We have seen the rise of influencers as entrepreneurs. Now, it is the turn of founders to take centre stage in the creator economy.

Breaking through the digital noise, a fresh category of content creators has emerged - founders turned influencers. These savvy entrepreneurs are captivating audiences and attracting brands through their compelling content.

• Audiences flock to these founders for their unique blend of expertise and passion, eager to learn from their company-building journeys

• Brands actively seek out these founder-influencers, recognizing them as key opinion leaders (KOLs) with significant influence

This category already rivals Bollywood and sports celebrities in terms of social media following, firmly placing them among the mega-influencer ranks

• What sets them apart is the exceptional engagement and reach of their content

Founders of new-age companies have particularly jumped onto the bandwagon and are now developing a personal brand. 

• Nikhil Kamath, Ritesh Agarwal, Kunal Shah, Mukesh Bansal, and Shantanu Deshpande are among those who have begun creating content

Brands are taking notice of this emerging category, seeking collaborations with founder-influencers for their authentic voices.

“Founders today understand that having their own brand presence and personality, separate from the enterprise they lead, is crucial,” said Ramya Ramachandran, Founder and CEO of influencer marketing firm Whoppl.

Find out more

• Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok, initially exclusive to X subscribers in the US, expands globally, reaching 47 countries including India, Australia, and Canada.

• Microsoft, facing surging power demands from AI and supercomputing, sees nuclear power as a potential solution to its massive electricity needs.

Any guesses on what was the most ordered dish on Swiggy this year? 

• Biryani (for the eighth year in a row)

India ordered 2.5 biryanis per second in 2023, according to Swiggy. For every 5.5 chicken biryanis, there was one veg biryani ordered (yes! that exists!)

Also, did you know, a Mumbai resident ordered food items worth Rs 42.3 lakh on Swiggy

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