One important thing: Great news for Bengaluru residents! Say goodbye to frustrating traffic jams as the city gears up to provide metro access within a mere 1-2 km from your home or workplace by 2032. This ambitious plan is part of the state government's roadmap to transform Karnataka into a $1 trillion economy by 2032.

• The government has proposed two new routes and two extensions as part of Phase 3 of the Namma Metro project, which will cost Rs 27,000 crore

In today’s newsletter:

• Meta mulls a decentralised Twitter rival
• Highway restrooms get a smart makeover  
• Indian SaaS firms pull out funds from Silicon Valley Bank

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With chaos reigning at Elon Musk's Twitter that has led to several glitches and outages in recent months, rivals are sensing an opportunity to build competing platforms to attract users. The latest to join the fray is the biggest player in the space.

Facebook parent Meta is exploring a standalone Instagram-branded decentralised app for users to share text updates. 

• Codenamed P92, the app will allow users to register/log in to the app through their Instagram credentials. It is, however, in a nascent stage with no specific information on the launch 

The app will support ActivityPub, the decentralised social networking protocol powering Twitter rival Mastodon and other federated apps, people familiar with the matter told us.

• Due to its decentralised nature, users will be able to broadcast posts to people on other servers. It may or may not enable people to follow and view the content of people on other servers, a source told us

Sources tell us that the P92 team wants to use data of all Instagram users, regardless of their participation on the new platform "as freely as possible for purposes of analytics, product improvement, and ranking."

• Meta aims to offer the app under its existing privacy policy, with a supplemental privacy policy and terms of service specific to the app that will call out the cross-app data sharing, according to an internal product brief reviewed by us

While decentralised social networks are lately witnessing traction, it is yet to have a breakthrough moment. With Meta's global scale, we wonder if that time is near.

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India's space program has made significant progress in recent years, but the country still faces challenges in providing basic amenities such as public toilets.  

It is a well-known fact that there are very few restroom facilities along highways in the country, and one does not need extensive knowledge like Seinfeld's George Costanza to recognise this issue.

A group of startups are hoping to make a difference with their latest venture. Sanitation startups Lavato, Travlounge, Lootel, and Eloo are setting up smart toilets along highways. Some of these toilets are even equipped with sleeping pods and charging stations for EVs.

• Unlike traditional stinky brick-and-mortar toilets, these sanitation startups' smart toilets are a refreshing change

These startups provide a range of facilities for travellers, including sleeping pods, electric vehicle charging stations, free Wi-Fi, shower rooms, convenience stores, workstations, and parking areas.

• Some are even using IoT-based toilet trackers to provide data on water level, humidity, ammonia concentration (detects urine smell), and the number of users, among other things.

Can startups make a difference where government agencies have failed to provide clean toilets for travellers, particularly women?

Find out more

The Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) crisis is kind of turning into a vicious cycle! How, you ask? 

So, Silicon Valley Bank's parent SVB Financial Group informed the market that it sold about $21 billion of securities from its portfolio, resulting in an after-tax loss of $1.8 billion in the first quarter. The bank also reassured investors saying, "No need to panic."

However, startups and the market panicked, causing an even greater dent.

On the advice of venture capital investors, many Indian Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies based in the US are now withdrawing funds and transferring them to other global banks and neobanks.

Following the SVB announcement, neobanks such as Truly Financial have seen increased demand.

“Our team has been working around the clock. Many top Indian startup founders in SaaS and other sectors have called us and we are working on several millions of transfers now,” said Kanchan Kumar, co-founder and chief executive officer of Truly Financial.

While SVB remains a trusted bank for many startup founders and investors, there is widespread concern about funds being frozen.

• Startups use these funds for day-to-day working capital payments such as employee salaries and subscriptions; if the funds are frozen, it could disrupt the company's cash flow

• In addition, startups are withdrawing some of their deposits and opening a secondary bank account to be safe in case things go south

Not yet! Many SaaS firms are just creating a contingency plan to stay cushioned in case things go wrong, and many say they still hold some money as deposits in SVB. 

"While there is nothing to panic about, the only risk now is short term. If there is more than $500,000 stuck in the bank, try and transfer to other banks so it is covered for the short term," said a top SaaS and fintech investor in a note to his portfolio companies. 

The art world is no stranger to innovation, and as technology advances, artificial intelligence (AI) is now poised to make a significant impact on the creative sphere.

For the longest time, art was regarded as the exclusive domain of humans. We often associate art with the remarkable talents and thoughts of gifted individuals. But with the emergence of AI-generated systems like DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney, even those who lack natural artistic talent can create stunning works of art with the click of a button.

But not everyone is on board with this new wave of art. Some traditionalists argue that art generated by machines cannot truly be considered art, while others worry that it undermines the skills and craftsmanship of traditional artists.

Although there are concerns about the role of AI in art, these fears may prove to be overblown. As AI-generated art becomes more widespread, people may begin to yearn for the physical and unique qualities found in traditional art forms. This pattern resembles the rise and fall of NFTs. Moreover, AI can be considered as a tool for exploring new creative avenues and expanding the possibilities of self-expression.

Take, for example, artist Claire Silver, who incorporates AI into her work. Her upcoming solo exhibition, "Can I Tell You a Secret," at the Louvre Museum in Paris, is a testament to the possibilities of combining AI and art.

Rather than seeing AI as a threat, we should embrace it as a tool for expanding our creative horizons. As technology continues to evolve, the art world will undoubtedly continue to evolve with it, pushing the boundaries of what is possible and expanding the definition of what art can be. (Picture credit: DALL-E)

More from the world of AI:

• Top generative AI startups in gaming (2023)
  
  
• China’s ChatGPT black market is thriving
  
  
• Don’t fear an AI-induced jobs apocalypse just yet

• It’s been a complete sell-off in the Crypto market. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, Tron declined 7-10%. This year started strongly for many cryptocurrencies but the beginning of March has led to a sharp sell-off.  We break down the key reasons behind the crypto sell-off.
  
  
• President Joe Biden's budget proposal, which aims to curtail mining activity, could eventually subject crypto miners in the US to a 30% tax on electricity costs.

As the weekend approaches, it's time to gather your loved ones and cosy up on the couch for some binge-watching. And what better way to spend quality time with your family than with the hilarious and heartwarming series, Happy Family: Conditions Apply.

Starring Raj Babbar and Ratna Pathak Shah, this captivating comedy series follows the daily lives of a tight-knit Gujarati family. Watch it on Amazon Prime Video

But if you're in the mood for something more gripping, look no further than MH370: The Plane That Disappeared, a compelling Netflix docuseries that delves into one of the most perplexing aviation mysteries of our time.

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