Exclusive: Top-deck shuffle at Amazon India; social media firms and anti-deepfake tools

Amazon has started significant top-level restructuring of its India management team under vice president and country head Manish Tiwary.

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Amazon India starts top-level rejig under Manish Tiwary

Noor Patel, one of the most senior executives at Amazon India heading category management, moving to US; dual leadership structure under Tiwary, Amit Agarwal likely.

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NPCI eyes big-size spends on RuPay UPI credit cards

Currently users split bills, pay their local vendors, taxi rides and retailers through UPI, the most popular smartphone-based payments mode in the country.

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Indians to gain big from domestic US visa renewal pilot

The pilot will address around 20,000 work visa renewals, or almost a tenth of the estimated 583,420 H1-B visa holders. The programme, which was proposed in February and formally announced in September during prime minister Narendra Modi’s US visit, will commence in December.

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Canada, Google reach deal to keep news in search results

The Canadian government and Google have reached a deal to support the country's media, heading off an imminent threat by the digital giant to block news on its platform, sources said on Wednesday. The amount is less than the government had estimated the compensation should be, but heads off a potential online blackout for news in Canada, where Google and Meta are the dominating platforms.

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P2P companies log revenue jump, thanks to business partnerships

After years of slow growth and a fledgling business model, some P2P platforms have shown a strong uptick in business volumes mainly through their affiliate programmes, but will regulatory action make this short lived?

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Short of skilled hands, companies turn to apprentices

The findings across 700 companies show about 47% of firms intend to have 10% of their total workforce as apprentices in the next 6 months, while a substantial 31% are currently maintaining an apprenticeship share of 5-10% within their organisation.

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Amazon's AWS appeals to corporate customers with new chatbot, AI safety measures

The new chatbot, called Q, is designed to help with productivity by helping workers summarize important documents and support tickets and chat via communication apps such as Slack, the company announced at its annual cloud computing conference Tuesday in Las Vegas.

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US Thanksgiving weekend sales hit record on big discounts, online boost

Online consumer spending jumped 7.8% during Cyber Week, or the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, according to data from Adobe Analytics, outstripping initial expectations for a  5.4% rise.

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RBI, international counterparts discuss CBDCs for cross-border settlements

An internal Reserve Bank of India (RBI) working group has been exploring the best technology path to develop a roadmap for such direct transactions between two countries.

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Premium Indian two-wheeler EV companies eye global foray for growth

The international expansion comes as the industry saw a 25% decrease in subsidies for electric two wheelers impacting sales earlier this year though it eventually recovered.

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VCs double check corporate governance as lapses rise

Multiple top-tier founders and investors said investors are bringing in stricter terms in shareholding agreements as well as term sheets and that's delaying the overall timeline for investments to close by several months in a number of instances.

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Space-tech startup Agnikul to flight test 3D-printed engine by year-end

If successful, the startup incubated on the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras campus, will become India’s second private company to make a small satellite launch vehicle. The first one was Skyroot Aersospace, which launched the Vikram S in November 2022.

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Dealshare founder, president of retail business in race for CEO post

“There is a review going on since Rao stepped down as the CEO. Singh and Medda are the two candidates from the existing management. But the (proceedings) are being run by (a) third-party firm to follow due process,” a person briefed on the matter said.

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Sorin’s Sanjay Nayar teams up with Peak Ventures for cleantech play

Nayar is partnering with Peak Ventures – an early-stage firm focused on cleantech areas such as new energy, food systems, clean water and climate. Under the new arrangement, Nayar would become a general partner at the Mumbai-based firm.

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Elon Musk to meet Israeli leaders on Monday: report

During Musk's visit, before the war, about 200 people protested efforts by Netanyahu's right-wing government to curb the powers of Israeli courts. They gathered outside Tesla's California factory, where the meeting took place.

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Generative AI taking investments to the cloud: Salesforce’s Arundhati Bhattacharya

Salesforce India chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya talks about how generative AI holds a lot of promise but India’s public sector needs to play tech catch-up.

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Gensol Engineering to manufacture electric reverse trike

The vehicles with two wheels in the front and one in the back will be produced at a 30,000-unit-a-year facility at Chakan, Maharashtra

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Pentagon's AI initiatives accelerate hard decisions on lethal autonomous weapons

Pentagon is intent on fielding multiple thousands of relatively inexpensive, expendable AI-enabled autonomous vehicles by 2026 to keep pace with China.

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ETtech Opinion | Catalysing the Indian innovation ecosystem- the RISC-V way

India is at the forefront of enabling a new era of processor innovation with our own indigenous Digital India RISC-V (DIR-V) Program. RISC-V is a free and open Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) which could be used by startups and entrepreneurs across the world to build their own products and devices.

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Ministers group likely to discuss e-gaming on December 15

While the GoM has conducted “a couple of informal meetings” so far, the first official meeting is likely to set the tone for the process of regulating online gaming, with a specific focus on how to effectively tax the sector and avoid “any illegal gambling or betting, especially from off-shore players”.

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Ecommerce companies, brands line up for Black Friday rush

Online and offline markets in India are set to see sales growing by over 70% in the week of Black Friday this year when compared to business as usual (BAU) weeks, according to estimates from market research firm 1Lattice. In the US, Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving. It's the busiest shopping day of the year and marks the start of the Christmas shopping season. The sale typically gets extended to the following Monday, called Cyber Monday.

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Zomato, Swiggy want to clarify stance to DGGI on tax notice

Companies are expected to tell officials that delivery fees are not accounted for as revenue, but passed on to delivery workers and hence cannot be taxed.

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Cert-In investigation into Apple's state-sponsored threat notifications nears conclusion

The probe found that there was “some vulnerability in Apple’s systems for a period during which several threat actors across the world tried to spread some virus on Apple devices”, the official said on condition of anonymity.

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OpenAI spat highlights perils of leaning on a single GenAI tool

The dependence on OpenAI explains why founders hugely invested in businesses dependent on OpenAI’s tech were extremely concerned.

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Broadcom closes $69 billion VMware deal after China approval

The deal, one of the biggest globally when announced in May 2022, was the latest in CEO Hock Tan's efforts to boost the chipmaker's software business. However, the transaction faced tough regulatory scrutiny across the world and the companies had delayed the closing date three times.

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UCL announces scholarship for 100 Indians from 2024-25

University College London has announced a new scholarship scheme to enable 100 of India’s brightest students to study in the UK. The UCL India Excellence Scholarships will support Indian students with an outstanding academic record to pursue full-time master’s degree studies at UCL. According to a UCL statement, 33 scholarships will be available for the 2024-25 academic year, awarded to exceptional students who have, or are on track to achieve, a first-class degree. A further 67 scholarships will be awarded during the following two years.

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Sam Altman, OpenAI board open talks to negotiate his possible return

Discussions are happening between Altman and at least one board member, Adam D’Angelo, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private and they may not come to fruition. The talks also involve some of OpenAI’s investors, who are also pushing for his reinstatement, one of the people said.

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Data will show efforts to fight hate: X CEO Linda Yaccarino tells staff as advertisers flee

X, formerly Twitter, lost several major advertisers including IBM and Comcast, and owner Elon Musk was blasted by the White House after he agreed with a post on the platform Wednesday.

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Amazon business looking to offer multiple licence options at signup

Amazon Business is the B2B offering of Amazon India that provides its business customers with access to products with a GST invoice allowing them to take input tax credit. These customers also get business-exclusive deals and quantity discounts on products, as per its website.

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Sam Altman said to be discussing return to OpenAI with company's board

The discussions follow an outcry after Altman, 38, was ousted from his role as OpenAI's CEO a day earlier. Since then, OpenAI's investors and Altman's supporters have pressured the four board members of the startup to bring Altman back, six people with knowledge of the matter said.

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Campus placements take a hit as IT majors cut back, posing challenges for engineering graduates

Tech majors, once hiring mainstays at engineering campuses, are skipping the exercise this year. ET finds out what this means for the scores of engineers graduating from Indian colleges this year.

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Tech provides the assist to find football’s uncut gems

Reliance Foundation is using ai.io’s talent discovery platform to produce a goal that lets Indian football emerge the winner.

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Meta breaks up its Responsible AI team

Meta Platforms has split its Responsible AI team that worked on understanding and preventing harms associated with the artificial intelligence technology it is developing

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Government to resend advisory on deep fake to intermediaries

The move comes even as PM Modi terms fake content created using technology as a serious threat.

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ChatGPT maker OpenAI's board ousts CEO Sam Altman

OpenAI's chief technology officer Mira Murati will serve as interim CEO, the company said, adding that it will conduct a formal search for a permanent CEO.

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Apple, IBM, Lionsgate suspend ads on X after Elon Musk endorses anti-Semitic post

endorsed an antisemitic post on X that claimed "members of the Jewish community were stoking hatred against white people."​

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'Ridiculous' US lawsuit by Elon Musk's X Corp should be dismissed: hate speech watchdog

The Center for Countering Digital Hate also called the "ridiculous" and "baseless" lawsuit against them an attempt to silence others who say things X may not like. It also denied X's claim that commercial rivals and perhaps even foreign governments were funding its activities.

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Infosys to give 80% variable pay to employees for September quarter

Employees at position level 6 (PL6-manager) and below band – meaning those below manager category barring entry level – are set to receive the variable pay. While the average payout would be at 80%, individual payout will differ based on their performance and contribution for the quarter, as per an official communication by the engineering team HR head at Infosys.

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1mg overtakes PharmEasy in market share in top order change

Tata 1mg had a 31% market share in September 2023 against 19% in October 2022 while PharmEasy slipped to 15% from about 33% during the same period, according to a data analysis by third-party internet market research firm Redseer, which ET has seen.

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PayU eyes B2B pay, credit play under new top brass

From being an early player offering online payments to internet companies back in 2011, to facing severe competition from new-age startups such as Paytm and Razorpay, to a failed attempt to acquire Billdesk and facing a merchant acquisition embargo from the Reserve Bank of India, PayU has had a chequered history in India.

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Microsoft, Google will not challenge EU gatekeeper status

As part of its latest crackdown on Big Tech, the European Union in September picked 22 "gatekeeper" services, run by six of the world's biggest tech companies, to face new rules .

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Meta, Alphabet, ByteDance, Snap must face social media addiction lawsuits

US district judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California ruled against Alphabet, which operates Google and YouTube; Meta Platforms, which operates Facebook; ByteDance, which operates TikTok; and Snap, which operates Snapchat.

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ETtech in-depth | Lacking bite and funding, online meat ecosystem returns to the drawing board

The potential from low online penetration and lack of organisation has seen marquee investors such as Temasek, Prosus, Tiger Global, 3one4 Capital and Amazon pour in over $1 billion in funding into the online meat sector, as per Tracxn.

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Gaming company OnePlay eyes OTT play via telecom plan bundling

OnePlay is developing the OneCloud Network, featuring a decentralised, edge-based internet infrastructure, allowing anyone to host game/VR/ metaverse apps and services on distributed nodes and benefit from improved performance and data privacy.

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Festive season brings cheer to merchants, ecommerce edges past offline traders

According to data from Unicommerce, which helps businesses sell online, order volumes for e-commerce grew about 37% during the festive season sale this year, compared to 2022. In terms of gross merchandise value (GMV), online retail registered a growth of 22%.

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Identify robotics use cases in government departments, PSUs: Nasscom

Nasscom pointed out that while investment in robotics is growing globally, robotics in India suffers from heavy venture capital under-representation.

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SaaS company Whatfix dragged to court by rival WalkMe

WalkMe has alleged that Whatfix, which is backed by SoftBank Vision Fund and Peak XV Partners (earlier Sequoia Capital India), gained unauthorised access to its systems, sought to interfere with its customer relationships, made misleading advertising claims about its products and used its design mark without permission

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China's Singles Day sales festival wraps up with ecommerce giants reporting sales growth

​​Originally a 24-hour online shopping event held on Nov. 11 each year in China, the 'Singles Day' festival - a nod to the digits in the date - has expanded into weeks of promotions across the country's major e-commerce platforms and in brick-and-mortar stores.

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Companies uneasy over consent clause in new data law

Banks, telcos say mandate on seeking consent each time for utilising user info to hurt operations

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Karnataka’s fact-checking unit will need Centre’s assistance: State IT minister Priyank Kharge

State IT minister Priyank Kharge defends the fact-check unit, saying it will help curb fake news

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Fact: check or mate? States embrace fact check units amid freedom of speech concerns

Different state governments are in the process of setting up fact check units to combat misinformation. But, can they be neutral and independent of state control? ET asks career fact checkers for answers!

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15 Days CAT Preparation Strategy for Students

The Indian Institutes of Management will conduct the CAT 2023 exam on November 26. With only 15 days left, it is crucial to focus on revision, take mock tests, and prepare mentally. During this time, students should review weak areas, practice section-wise, and work on time management. Solving previous years' papers and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is also important. Staying calm, positive, and practicing relaxation techniques can help manage stress.

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Fintechs shuffle the pack to come up with aces; and other top tech, startup stories of the week

Even fintech infrastructure provider Perfios has roped in Sumit Nigam as chief technology officer, who was previously the engineering head at BigBasket, and Anu Mathew as its new chief people officer from Pine Labs with an eye on an eventual listing.

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Booking.com to pay 94 million euros to settle Italian tax dispute

Prosecutors in the nortwestern Italian port city launched their investigation in 2018 into Booking.com, which is based in the Netherlands, over the way it handles taxation of properties rented out through its website.

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MIB to bring OTT, digital news under proposed new broadcasting services legislation

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has opened public consultation on the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023, designed to replace the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act of 1995. The proposed legislation aims to streamline regulatory processes, encompassing Over-The-Top (OTT) and digital news platforms, and update definitions and provisions for emerging technologies.

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Companies rush for cyber insurance on data laws, digitisation

Generally higher claims and lack of strong IT systems for SMEs is causing insurers to be wary about offering these products actively.

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EU AI Act to serve as blueprint for global rules: lawmaker Brando Benifei

While several countries have been looking at ways to regulate AI, European lawmakers have taken a lead by drafting AI rules aimed at setting a global standard for a technology key to almost every industry and business. The draft rules could get approved by next month.

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148 vs 133: India beats China in QS university rankings for Asia

India has surpassed China as the most represented higher education system in Asia, with 148 featured universities in the latest QS World University Rankings. IIT-Bombay and IIT-Delhi are among the top 50 universities, and there are five other Indian institutions in the top 100. India also achieves the second-best regional results in papers per faculty among the higher education systems. The increasing visibility of Indian universities in the rankings reflects the dynamic expansion of India's higher education landscape.

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Amazon begins layoffs in music streaming unit

Employees in Latin America, North America and Europe received notices that their jobs had been eliminated Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter.

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EU to ask YouTube, TikTok for details on measures protecting minors

The new EU rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) requires Big Tech to do more to fight harmful and illegal online content, especially content that targets minors.

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Google's open culture collides with the Israel-Hamas war

In the month since Hamas launched an attack inside Israel, and Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign and invasion of the Gaza Strip, discussion of the topic at Google -- for Muslims and Jews -- has sunk into an morass of hostility and intolerance, employees say.

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Uber bets on holiday demand after dull third quarter

Uber is grappling with tough competition from Lyft, which has cut fares to gain customers as sticky inflation sparks worries about ride-share demand.

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US consumer watchdog proposes rules for Big Tech payments, digital wallets

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal would subject companies like Alphabet, Apple and PayPal to bank-like supervision, with CFPB examiners inspecting their privacy protections, executives' conduct, and compliance with laws barring unfair and deceptive practices.

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Nykaa Q2 net profit jumps 50% to Rs 7.8 crore, operational revenue rises 22%

The omnichannel retailer’s beauty and personal care (BPC) unit continued to be the biggest contributor to its revenue from operations, bringing in more than 80% of the total.

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ChatGPT-maker OpenAI hosts first developer conference at DevDay

The San Francisco conference, held in a cavernous former Honda dealership comes a week after President Joe Biden signed an executive order that will set some of the first US guardrails on AI technology.

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Wipro mandates work from office thrice a week for its employees

Wipro, the country's fourth-largest IT firm, said it is implementing a "compulsory hybrid work policy requiring a minimum of three days in the office". The company said this is an "important adjustment to our return-to-office approach".

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For financial services companies, India’s best market for tech talent: Morgan Stanley executive

India is currently the second largest location in terms of tech headcount outside the US for the multinational financial services firms, Michael Pizzi, managing director and head of US banks & technology at Morgan Stanley, told ET.

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Meta now lets creators publish Instant Games directly on Facebook

The company also said that it will change the way games are distributed across our organic discovery experiences.

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Kerala NMMS exam 2023-2024: Registration deadline extended till November 8

To qualify for Kerala NMMS financial aid, applicants must successfully pass an exam. The registration deadline for the Kerala NMMS test has been extended to November 8. Interested class 8 students aiming to apply for the Kerala NMMS scholarship test for the 2023–24 academic year can complete their registration until 5 PM on November 8 via the official website, nmmse.kerala.gov.in.

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BPSC School Teacher Recruitment 2023 for Phase 2 begins at bpsc.bih.nic.in, apply for over 69,000 vacancies

The Biar Public Service Commission (BPSC) has initiated the online registration for Phase 2 of BPSC Teacher Recruitment 2023. The registration window has been postponed to November 5th, with the last date for registration being November 14th. There are a total of 69,692 vacancies for Middle School, Secondary School, and Higher Secondary School teachers. Interested candidates can apply on the official website at bpsc.bih.nic.in.

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Elon Musk teases AI chatbot 'Grok,' with real-time access to X

"Grok" comes from "Stranger in a Strange Land," a 1961 science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein, and means to understand something thoroughly and intuitively.

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Tech-ing Stock: India Mobile Congress 2023 showcases next-gen tech marvels

The India Mobile Congress 2023 saw large telcos and big companies, along with emerging startups, vie for attention with their innovations. ET took a walk across the floor, exploring all that the showcase had to offer and came away impressed at what the future has in store.

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Mamaearth parent Honasa’s IPO at a crossroads; and other top tech, startup stories this week

This week the much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) of omnichannel retailer Honasa Consumer Ltd, the parent of beauty and personal care brands such as Mamaearth and The Derma Co, was launched.

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Nazara eyes tax crisis-hit real money game companies

The RMG industry is facing a tax demand of more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore, after the government decided to levy a 28% GST on deposits made by users to play a game, instead of on the winnings.

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Explained | Sam Bankman-Fried's conviction: what's next?

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan has set Sam Bankman-Fried's sentencing for March 28, 2024. Bankman-Fried could face decades in prison. But what's next?

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Cross-border norms bring ePay companies directly under RBI watch

With regulatory clarity comes an opportunity to attract more venture money to tap into the burgeoning export-import market of a growing economy.

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British PM Rishi Sunak: new AI models to be tested before release

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday said that like-minded governments and artificial intelligence companies had reached agreement on testing new AI models before they were released.

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Local investors spot an opening in fintech infrastructure players

Early-stage startups such as credit card management platform 42 Card Solutions; banking service platform Falcon; and credit management platform Knight Fintech have held talks with investors to raise fresh equity capital, said two industry executives, requesting anonymity.

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Premji Invest saw three long-term partners leaving firm this year

Azim Premji's private investment arm Premji Invest, has seen the exit of three out of its four long-term partners this year, with the most recent being the resignation of Rajesh Ramaiah in August after a thirteen -year long stint with the Bengaluru-based investment firm.

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SAP India leans on AI tools, has mid-market and startups in focus

India has been SAP’s fastest-growing market for the last three years, and this pace is expected to continue, Bawa said, adding India is a ‘rocket ship.’

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Midcaps brave IT winter better than big firms

Despite a few companies like Happiest Minds and Mphasis missing estimates due to wage hikes and sustained pressure on the BFSI segment, analysts see the midcap segment continuing to end the fiscal on a strong note.

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