- Arvind's Newsletter
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- Arvind's Newsletter
Early warning that this newsletter will become less frequent when I will be travelling for 2-3 weeks from June 14 onwards
1.Uber enters the growing quick commerce market
India’s rapidly growing quick commerce and hyperlocal delivery space just got another player. Recently, a few months after launching in the US, global ride-hailing giant Uber launched its store pick-up service in India.
According to analysts, Uber may be looking at gathering some crucial data by joining the bandwagon as a small participant before it contemplates a full-fledged foray.
To be sure, this is not Uber’s first foray in the non-mobility space in India. It started and ran its food-delivery service, Uber Eats, till early 2020 and exited by selling it to Zomato in an all-stock deal with an aim to cut losses. Interestingly, it made a fivefold return on this investment post Zomato’s IPO in 2021.
In India, Uber also offers a service called Uber Package, which allows customers to send and receive parcels from one place to another. In-store pick-up can be seen as a specialised extension of this offering, targeting retail outlets. This launch aligns with the increasing demand for instant delivery in India, challenging the traditional waiting times of two-three days for e-commerce deliveries.
In India’s competitive quick commerce market, customers are already spoilt for choice, with companies such as Blinkit and Zepto constantly expanding their product range. Besides quick commerce firms, companies like Porter offer on-demand delivery of packages.
2.The rise and fall of Koo, India’s once-thriving Twitter alternative
The microblogging platform — India’s first in over 10 languages — went from booming international expansion to near closure in just four years.
Koo was launched as a homegrown alternative to X (then Twitter), promoted by celebrities and ministers. The company managed to garner investor attention and expand to Nigeria and Brazil. By 2023, Koo was laying off workers. The company is now unable to raise more funds, and has been looking for a partnership that can help it stay afloat.
3.Equity mutual funds see record Rs 34,697-crore inflows in May: AMFI data
Equity mutual fund inflows surged 83.42 percent to a record high of Rs 34,697 crore in May, according to the data released by the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI), the industry trade body for mutual funds, on June 10.
Inflows into open-ended equity funds remained in the positive zone for the 39th month in a row in May. Net inflows into equity mutual funds zoomed past the Rs 30,000 crore level for the first in May 2024, as the previous record for net inflows was Rs 28,463 crore, which was hit in March 2022.
The surge in net investments into open-ended equity funds was fuelled by sectoral and thematic funds, which saw net buying of Rs 19,213.43 crore during May. Notably, HDFC Manufacturing Fund, which was launched during the month, garnered Rs 9,563 crore from investors during its new fund offer (NFO) period
4.Railways, Manufacturing, And Deep Tech To Propel India's Growth, Says Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley
Railways, manufacturing, and deep tech hold significant potential to propel India towards sustained development and prosperity, according to Ridham Desai, managing director of Morgan Stanley India.
The market veteran expressed optimism regarding India's economic trajectory, focusing on these sectors' pivotal roles in driving growth. Improving the efficiency and speed of cargo trains can lower logistics costs and improving overall efficiency," he told NDTV Profit in an interview on Tuesday. He cited ongoing reforms and efficiency improvements as factors contributing to the sector's growth prospects.
The government's focus on infrastructure spending will create new assets and improve existing infrastructure, such as roads, railways, and energy networks, Desai said. "Investments in infrastructure will have multiplier effects on the economy, creating opportunities for businesses and driving economic growth."
The manufacturing sector could gain a larger share of India's GDP over the next decade, according to Desai. He anticipates continued government support for manufacturing through incentives such as rationalising the Goods and Services Tax, infrastructure development, and foreign direct investment.
Desai also emphasised deep tech's transformative impact on sectors like healthcare, finance, and agriculture. "Deep tech innovations have the potential to revolutionise traditional industries, driving innovation and efficiency."
Copyright © NDTV Profit
5.Apple Intelligence' Debuts
Apple kicked off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference yesterday, announcing its generative artificial intelligence strategy, dubbed “Apple Intelligence”.The latest AI features will be integrated into the newer versions of the iPhone, iPad, and other Apple products, enhancing features such as Siri, photos, music, and messaging—including the ability to create custom AI-generated emojis.
The company will partner with OpenAI to power a ChatGPT-like chatbot, focusing on summarisation capabilities. The AI features will utilize both on-device processing and cloud-based computing, which will allow users to control data access. Apple said the new AI capabilities will be optional and emphasised user privacy. Apple also announced updated operating software, enabling satellite messaging when cellular connectivity is unavailable, and a password manager app.
Apple is the third-largest publicly traded US company behind Nvidia and Microsoft and has taken a more cautious approach to integrating AI into its products compared to its competitors.
Apple’s style is to “perfect, rather than pioneer,” the Financial Times writes, and it shouldn’t be counted out of the AI race. “To use a sports analogy, I think we are in the first minute of the first half,” an executive at chipmaker AMD said.
6.MODERNA’S COVID-FLU COMBO SHOT IS OUTPERFORMING IN TRIALS
Moderna said yesterday that its experimental combination vaccines against COVID-19 and the flu produced a higher immune response than existing standalone vaccines in a late-stage trial.
“Combination vaccines have the potential to reduce the burden of respiratory viruses on health systems and pharmacies, as well as offer people more convenient vaccination options that could improve compliance and provide stronger protection from seasonal illnesses,” Moderna’s CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. “Moderna is the only company with a positive Phase 3 flu and COVID combination vaccine.”
The combo shot could also help Moderna offset declining demand for COVID-19 vaccines — but Pfizer and Novovax aren’t far behind, as both are also developing their own combo shots.
7.Call Me By My Name
A study yesterday revealed wild elephants may address , becoming one of only a handful of animals known to use unique sounds to address one another by name.
The study examined 469 low-rumble sounds recorded from female African savanna elephants and their offspring from 1988 to 2022. A machine-learning model analysing the sounds was able to identify the elephant being addressed 27.5% of the time, a much higher rate than when the model was fed random audio. Researchers playing the audio clips in the wild elicited responses from the elephants in question, including movement toward the speaker as well as ear flapping and trunk movements.
It’s not clear which parts of the audio are the "names" or how naming conventions might work. Bottlenose dolphins and orange-fronted parakeets mimic each other's signature noises (w/video) to get each other’s attention, while humans use naming conventions and dogs respond when called.
The US dollar’s dominance is eroding, new data showed.
The currency now accounts for less than 60% of worldwide foreign exchange reserves, down from over 70% in 2000, having been replaced mostly by “nontraditional reserve currencies” such as those of Australia, Canada, and China. Beijing’s yuan in particular has been responsible for about a quarter of the dollar’s replacement, but its internationalisation “shows signs of stalling out,” International Monetary Fund economists said.
China has sought to increase its currency’s prominence — it is playing a far bigger role in trade with Russia, for example — to erode the US’ sway over the global financial system, but a recent survey found that Beijing’s trading partners are unwilling to use the yuan.
