Business

New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) Elon Musk on Friday criticised Microsoft for making profits via OpenAI, a non-profit organisation created by him.

The AI chatbot ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI which is now a Microsoft company, has become a rage and the tech giant is infusing $10 billion into it to make it more useful for across industries.

Musk said that OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it "Open" AI), a non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google.

"But now it has become a closed-source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft. Not what I intended at all," the Twitter CEO posted.

He responded to a follower who said: "Elon Musk says that AI is 'one of the biggest risks' to civilisation and needs to be regulated. He co-founded OpenAI."

ChatGPT is an advanced form of AI that is powered by the GPT-3 large language model. It is programmed to recognise human language and generate responses based on massive amounts of data.

According to Musk, "ChatGPT has illustrated to people just how advanced AI has become. AI has been advanced for a while. It just didn't have a user interface that was accessible to most people".

Musk stepped down from OpenAI's board of directors in 2018 and no longer owns a stake in the company.

"Initially, it was created as an open-source nonprofit. Now it is closed-source and for-profit. I don't have an open stake in OpenAI, nor am I on the board, nor do I control it in any way," he mentioned.

As part of his decision to create OpenAI, Musk stated that Google wasn't paying enough attention to AI safety.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) Twitter has shut down two of its three India offices and directed its employees to work from home, as part of Elon Musk's mission to cut costs and turn the struggling social media service profitable, the media reported.

Twitter closed its offices in the country's capital New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai, and continued to operate an office in the southern tech hub of Bengaluru, reports Bloomberg, citing sources.

In November last year, Musk fired more than 90 per cent of its staff in India, around 200-plus.

Globally, Twitter has laid off more than 50 per cent of its staff.

Last month, Musk, who failed to pay the rent for Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, asked its remaining staff in Singapore to stop coming to the office and work remotely as the company has reportedly failed to pay the monthly rent.

According to reports, Twitter employees were informed about the decision via email, instructing them to leave the CapitaGreen building and work from home.

Casey Newton of Platformer said in a tweet, "Twitter employees were just walked out of its Singapore office - its Asia-Pacific headquarters - over nonpayment of rent".

In the US, Twitter has been sued as it failed to pay $1,36,250 rent for its office space in San Francisco.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Feb 17 (IANS) The Godrej Properties Ltd has acquired the iconic bungalow of the great showman, Raj Kapoor in Chembur - almost four years after it had bought the famed RK Studios, the company officials said here on Friday.

The Raj Kapoor bungalow would be developed as a premium residential project - on the lines of the high-end mixed-use Godrej RKS, which is likely to be delivered this year.

The RK Studios was taken over by Godrej Properties in May 2019, and the Raj Kapoor bungalow is located on the Deonar Farm Road, adjacent to the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), in Chembur, a north-eastern Mumbai suburb.

"We are grateful to the Kapoor family for entrusting us with this opportunity and pleased to add this iconic project to our portfolio. This project will allow us to further strengthen our presence in Chembur," said Godrej Properties Ltd. Managing Director & CEO Gaurav Pandey on the latest acquisition.

The company has purchased the landmark properties from the Kapoor clan and legal heirs of Raj Kapoor - the legendary actor, producer, director who died in June 1988, aged 64, in New Delhi.

"This residential property in Chembur has been of great emotional and historical significance to our family. We are happy to once again associate with Godrej Properties to take forward this rich legacy for the next phase of development of this location," said Bollywood veteran actor Randhir Kapoor.

Randhir Kapoor is the eldest and sole surviving son of Raj Kapoor - with two younger brothers Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor passing away in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Pandey added that the demand for premium developments has been strong for the past few years and the company would aim to build an outstanding residential community that creates long-term value for its residents and celebrate the legacy of the site.

Raj Kapoor had founded the RK Studios on 2.2 acres in Chembur in 1948 and after buying it over, the Godrej RKS said it would develop 33,000 sq. metres of modern residential apartments of various configurations and a luxury retail experience.

Chembur, once reputed as a 'gas chamber', is now a swank residential location with well-developed infrastructure and connectivity to all parts of Mumbai besides the MMRDA region.

--IANS
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San Francisco, Feb 17 (IANS) US-based e-signature software company DocuSign has announced that it plans to lay off around 10 per cent of its workforce as part of the restructuring plan.

The company said the latest cuts will impact about 700 employees, reports CNBC.

DocuSign stated that it announced layoffs in order to support the company's growth, scale, and profitability goals.

The layoffs will result in an impairment charge of approximately $25 million to $35 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, according to the report.

"The restructuring mainly impacts our worldwide field organisation. This action allows us to reshape the company to more effectively position us for profitable growth, while freeing up resources for investments," a DocuSign spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Moreover, the company mentioned that the restructuring plan will likely be complete by the end of the second quarter.

With this, DocuSign becomes another tech company to lay off employees as rising interest rates and slowing consumer demand have fueled fears of a recession and prompted companies to cut costs.

Meanwhile, US-based software company Sprinklr has laid off about 4 per cent of its global workforce -- or more than 100 employees -- amid the ongoing economic slowdown.

The company started the layoff drive last week and is cutting its workforce in India, the US and other regions, reports TechCrunch, citing sources.

--IANS
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San Francisco, Feb 17 (IANS) Tesla will update its driver assist software called Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta over "crash risks" in nearly 363,000 vehicles.

Tesla will deploy an over-the-air (OTA) software update at no cost to the customer in the coming weeks that will improve how FSD Beta negotiates certain driving manoeuvres.

The vehicles to be "recalled" as per a directive by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model Y series that have installed or are pending installation of a software release that contains the Full Self-Driving Beta or FSD Beta.

Elon Musk tweeted about his disdain for the word "recall," saying Tesla is not recalling any cars.

"The word 'recall' for an over-the-air software update is anachronistic and just flat wrong," he posted.

Tesla will simply push out an OTA software update to fix the problems identified in NHTSA's request.

NHTSA has been investigating Tesla's driver-assist technology for several years.

FSD Beta is a driver support feature that can provide steering and braking/acceleration support to the driver under certain operating limitations.

With FSD Beta, the driver is responsible for operation of the vehicle whenever the feature is engaged and must constantly supervise the feature and intervene (steer, brake or accelerate) as needed to maintain safe operation of the vehicle.

On February 7, Tesla decided to administer a voluntary "recall" out of an abundance of caution.

As of February 14, Tesla has identified 18 warranty claims, received between May 8, 2019, and September 12, 2022.

Tesla said it is not aware of any injuries or deaths that may be related to FSD Beta.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) Global technology company Lenovo Group on Friday reported revenue of $15.3 billion and net income of $437 million in the third quarter (Q3) of FY22-23, signalling strong momentum for its services and solutions business.

With total revenue of over $400 million across all Lenovo portfolios in India in Q3, the company continues to see good growth in the country.

"We are committed to investing in capability building to deliver for our customers beyond end-point devices and achieve our service-led transformation objectives with a broad suite of pocket-to-cloud offerings," said Shailendra Katyal, Managing Director, Lenovo India.

"With the help of new IT solutions, we are on our journey to becoming an end-to-end technology partner that enables intelligent transformation for our customers," Katyal added.

The global revenue from non-PC businesses reached a high of 41 per cent while its diversified growth engines of Solutions and Services Group (SSG) and Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) grew revenue to record highs of $1.8 billion and $2.9 billion, respectively, up 23 per cent and 48 per cent year-on-year.

"Our diversified growth engines of non-PC business now account for over 40 per cent of our group revenue and are driving solid profitability. Despite the complex macro environment, we retained our market leadership in PCs," said Yuanqing Yang, Chairman and CEO.

While the industry faces significant macroeconomic pressures, Lenovo sees long-term opportunities ahead as the global trends of digitalisation and intelligent transformation continue to accelerate and IT spending is expected to recover to a moderate growth rate in the mid-to-long term.

The company expects year-on-year growth to resume in the second half of the calendar year with end-user demand to be higher than pre-Covid levels.


--IANS
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New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) Indian-American Neal Mohan will be the new YouTube CEO, as current head Susan Wojcicki has announced to step down after 25 years at the Google-owned company.

Currently chief product officer, Mohan became part of Google, the parent company of YouTube, in 2008. He is a Stanford graduate and earlier worked with Microsoft.

Mohan and Wojcicki have worked together for nearly 15 years. He became YouTube's chief product officer in 2015.

"Today, after nearly 25 years here, I've decided to step back from my role as the head of YouTube and start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I'm passionate about," Wojcicki said in a blog post late on Thursday.

She has agreed with Sundar Pichai to take on an advisory role across Google and Alphabet.A

"This will allow me to call on my different experiences over the years to offer counsel and guidance across Google and the portfolio of Alphabet companies," she added.

Wojcicki managed marketing, co-created Google Image Search, led Google's first Video and Book search, as well as early parts of AdSense's creation, worked on the YouTube and DoubleClick acquisitions, served as SVP of Ads, and for the last nine years, was the CEO of YouTube.A

"I took on each challenge that came my way because it had a mission that benefited so many people's lives around the world: finding information, telling stories and supporting creators, artists, and small businesses," she noted.

"Mohan will be the SVP and new head of YouTube. I've spent nearly 15 years of my career working with Mohan, first when he came over to Google with the DoubleClick acquisition in 2007 and as his role grew to become SVP of Display and Video Ads," said Wojcicki.

He has set up a top-notch product and UX team, played pivotal roles in the launch of some of the biggest products, including YouTube TV, YouTube Music and Premium and Shorts, and has led the Trust and Safety team.

Mohan ensured that "YouTube lives up to its responsibility as a global platform".A

"With all we're doing across Shorts, streaming, and subscriptions, together with the promises of AI, YouTube's most exciting opportunities are ahead, and Mohan is the right person to lead us,a said Wojcicki.

--IANS
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By IANSlife
New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANSlife) Current trends in the alcohol, beverage industry and data points that the Whiskey segment is only getting stronger. Aspri Spirits, a premium liquor importer driving a lifestyle trend in the alco-bev industry of India, puts the spotlight on Scottish Leader, one of their distinguished brands. Scottish Leader is a modern brand, the connects diverse perspectives to deliver a characterful drinking experience.


In a candid interaction with IANS, Guirec Danno, MD Aisa Pacific, Distell International details key insights about the whisky market in India, including the trends that are dominating the segment.

Read Excerpts:

The whisky market is being driven by millennials today. What are your views?

Guirec Danno: There are a few reasons why millennials are driving the whisky market in India. The middle class in the country is expanding rapidly with over 150 million people entering the middle class every year. They have a significant disposable income, are experimental, and curious.

These millennials are contributing to the growth of the whisky segment in India and have made it the largest whisky market in the world. While scotch comprises only 3 percent of the 220 million standard whisky cases consumed annually in the country, more millennial consumers are getting into this segment with each passing day.

What according to you will be the market trend for the whisky segment in the year 2023?

Guirec Danno: Numerous trends are taking place in India with premiumisation being one of them. Owing to additional disposable income, young consumers today are looking for better quality products and this trend is rising rapidly in the country.

Another trend that we are witnessing is that female consumption of whisky is picking up. While 10-15 years ago, the consumers of whisky were primarily men, it is not the case today as about 25 per cent of conversations around it are happening among women. Today women are looking at different mixes and cocktails which was not the case two decades back.

Also, consumers today want to educate themselves on finer details like the composition of the product. In cities like Bengaluru, we are witnessing that consumers are walking in stores and experiencing the product.

How do you believe that your brand stands amongst its peers and what is the unique point of appreciation that can be attributed to it?

Guirec Danno: The liquid quality of Scottish Leader and its packaging is far superior to a lot of brands that are available in the market today. Our claim of higher quality is backed by several awards that we have bagged in India and across the globe.

What was your marketing strategy regarding the packaging?

Guirec Danno: Scottish Leader as a brand is only 50 years old and is comparatively young since scotch whisky has been around for a few 100 years. We are looking at it from a very modern perspective. Our packaging is very simple, straightforward, and striking and our master blender, Julieann Fernandez is the youngest in the world. She is a talented, young professional who operates with a team of 15 people and has been recognised as the best master blender last year.

However, the real challenge for us is the promotion of the product as unlike other product segments, the advertisement of liquor is not allowed in the country. To overcome this challenge, we studied each market and witnessed that there was a different market leader for the scotch whisky category in every market. Citing this, we framed our strategies in line with the market leader in every market.

We extensively focussed on millennials and made them experience our product and that's how we started promoting the brand. We also focus more on the expertise of the individuals while onboarding them as brand ambassadors because they know why we want to promote the product in such a way.

Why has the Indian market become so important for international brands?

Guirec Danno: I believe three reasons make India stand out in the scotch whisky market. The first one is, of course, the economic growth, as about 150 million people in India have the means and the aspirations to experience whiskey.

Secondly, India is the largest whisky market with an annual sale of 220 million cases of standard whisky. Adding to that, the scotch whisky segment has been rising at a CAGR of 20 per cent and is expected to continue growing in the coming years.

The third element involves young consumers including females and millennials that are entering the whisky category. They are trying new cocktails and sharing their experience on social media.

What will be your marketing strategy for 2023?

Guirec Danno: We incepted our operations with a focus on the distribution of the brand and have marked our presence in the top 15 markets, with the help of our partner Aspri Spirits. In 2023, we will continue to focus on enhancing our distribution in more cities and towns and strengthening awareness about our brand.

At the same time, we are significantly focusing on the opportunities of PR, Digital promotion, Print, etc., and have also participated in several cocktail events in cities like Delhi, Gurgaon, and Mumbai.

Scottish Leader has touched a CAGR of more than 70 per cent and the growth of scotch whiskey in India is expected to be above 20 per cent in the year 2023.

What about targeting Generation Z with social media or influencer marketing?

Guirec Danno: Since the promotion of liquor is prohibited in India, it happens at a more personalised level where somebody who can relate to the brand, and experience the brand says I like it, and then we move forward with that.

We also conducted a campaign last month which was an initiative for the southern markets. As a part of that, we picked up about 15 influencers in three cities and sent them whisky hampers.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

--IANS
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New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANS) Zomato-owned quick grocery delivery platform Blinkit has launched Brand Stores, where companies can showcase their products in a way that is tailored to their style.

At Brand Stores, companies also have the avenue to create custom pages or flows on the page that allow them to highlight different products or engage with customers if they want to deliver a message about the brand.

More than 20 brands are now part of the initiative, according to Blinkit.

"At this point, we are operational in over 500 localities giving access to our customers of over 13,000 unique items," said the company.

Once set up, brands can also look at real-time analytics around performance of their pages, what is working and what is not.

Brands can create different kinds of content and sections according to what they feel is more relevant to their presence on the platform, or what their customers might like, said Blinkit.

"Brands can also utilise their own design language and design assets to make the brand store experience more immersive for their new or loyal customers," it added.

The quick commerce platform reported Q3 FY23 losses at Rs 288.5 crore, according to Zomato's quarterly results.

Blinkit managed to narrow its adjusted EBITDA to Rs 227 crore from Rs 259 crore on a sequential basis.

The instant delivery platform recorded 31 lakh transacting customers in Q3, up from 26 lakh in the previous quarter.

Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa had said these macro slowdowns are not likely to have a large-scale impact on the company's growth metrics.

--IANS
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San Francisco, Feb 16 (IANS) World's largest crypto exchange Binance is likely to pay "monetary penalties" to settle investigations into its business in the US, the media reported.

Binance chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann told the Wall Street Journal that the exchanges' executives were "unfamiliar with laws and rules written surrounding bribery, corruption and money laundering".

"Binance is working with regulators to figure out what are the remediations we have to go through now to make amends for that," he was quoted as saying in the report.

The outcome could range from "like a fine" to "could be more", Hillmann said.

Binance is reportedly facing a probe by the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has also reportedly sent at least two trading firms subpoenas in recent months, requesting records of their past dealings with Binance US.

Hillman did not estimate the size of the fines or a timeline for when the investigation might be settled, according to the report.

He said he was "highly confident and feeling really good about where those discussions are going".

The regulatory scrutiny on Binance has increased after the collapse of FTX last November.

Since the bankruptcy of FTX, Binance has been seeking to prove it has all of its customers' reserves.

In December, customers withdrew $1.14 billion in just 12 hours from Binance.

According to its CEO Changpeng Zhao, the massive withdrawals were "handled with ease" and "things seem to have stabilised".

--IANS
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