Short Stories

Miss AI Pageant

Zara Shatavari from India made it to the list of 10 finalists in a beauty pageant contest last month. But this is no ordinary pageant. It is a Miss AI where 1,500 AI avatars from all over the world participated. Even the panel of four judges consisted of two AI-generated ones. The inaugural contest from the World AI Creator Awards was organised by Fanvue, a UK-based social media platform, AI avatars were judged on parameters of beauty, tech and social media connect. The winner will get $5,000 in cash and a publicist to expand her outreach.

Adani Ports is No. 1

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone is the world’s largest transport operations and services company in terms of market value. Its m-cap soared to $37 billion, overtaking Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway Co. Adani Ports handled about 27% of India’s total cargo and around 44% of container cargo in the year to March 31.

Nvidia Hits $3-Trn Mark

The chipmaker’s stock market valuation hit the $3-trillion mark briefly overtaking Apple to become the world’s second-most valuable company. A three-day massive sell-off followed. Its share prices have recovered since and is now behind Microsoft and Apple.

Maggi Magic

India has emerged as the largest market for Nestle globally for its instant noodles and soup and the second-largest market for chocolate wafer brand Kit Kat, as per the latest annual report of its local subsidiary. Nestle has sold over six billion units of Maggi during 2023–24.

Prosus Dumps BYJU’S

Dutch tech investment company Prosus has written off its 9.6% stake in the edtech firm BYJU’S. One of BYJU’S largest institutional shareholders, Prosus recorded a fair value loss of $493 million on account of its investment in the company. It said in a statement, “We have written down BYJU’S because we have inadequate information on company’s financial health, liabilities and future outlook.” The investment firm had invested $536 million in the company since 2019.

SEBI Grants Special Rights

SEBI has allowed special rights to IPO-bound PE investors till listing as opposed to filing updated draft red herring prospectus. The investors stand to benefit as they can now enjoy their special rights longer. The special rights include nomination rights, veto rights, information rights, anti-dilution rights, rights of first refusal, tag along and disinvestment rights.

Indians Say ‘No’ to Swiss Banks

The annual data from Switzerland’s central bank shows that funds parked by Indians and firms in the bank fell by 70% in 2023. The dip marks the lowest in four years, to a sum of 1.04 billion Swiss francs (approx Rs 9,771 crore). The decline was driven by a dip in funds held through bonds, securities and other financial institutions besides a dip in the customer deposit accounts and funds held through branches in India.

ICICI Joins $100-Bn League

ICICI Bank became only the sixth Indian company to reach an m-cap of $100 billion as the stock closed at a record high of Rs 1,197.95 on June 25. RIL, TCS, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel are the others on the elite list. Infosys had also touched $100 billion but then slipped.

Google Launches AI Assistant

Google launched a mobile app of its generative AI chat-bot Gemini in India.  Gemini and Gemini Advanced gives users access to Google’s AI models which are available in English and nine other Indian languages. Gemini Advanced will offer new data analysis capabilities, file uploads and the ability to chat with Gemini in Google Messages.

Indian Ads Roar

India fared well with 18 medals in its kitty—two gold, seven silver and nine bronze—at the Cannes Lions 2024. Leo Burnett India won a gold Lion for its Turf Finder campaign for PepsiCo along with two silver and two bronze. McCann Worldgroup India won a gold Lion for Buckaroo’s ‘Fit My Feet’ campaign and a bronze. Ogilvy secured a bronze. Early Man Films, VML, FCB Kinnect and Tgthr were among the others bagged awards this year.