Arvind’s Newsletter-weekend edition

After today’s edition, this newsletter will be on Summer Break for a couple weeks.

1.LIC plans to buy a private health insurance company

Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC) is planning to acquire one of India's five private standalone health insurance companies to secure a beachhead in the country's growing health insurance market, two LIC executives said.

“For LIC, this makes sense. The work is on internally. The composite licence may take about 2–3 months and then, LIC may consider acquiring an established health insurance company and grow the business from thereon," one of the two executives cited above said.

LIC submitted its health insurance plans to IRDA recently, but it does not involve any proposal for a merger with state-run general insurer, the people cited above said.

2.Mumbai’s booming real estate market

Mumbai’s zooming luxury real estate prices have outpaced many international cities. It has recorded the third highest year-on-year price rise among 44 cities in the world in the quarter ending in March, according to the Knight Frank’s Prime Global Cities Index. The city recorded 11.5% annual price growth propelling it from its 5th position from a year ago. Mumbai’s high value apartments have been seeing a steep uptick in demand with scores of multi-crore purchases.

3.Vodafone Idea to offer Rs 2,458 crore equity stake to equipment suppliers Nokia and Ericsson in lieu of payment

Vodafone Idea (Vi) has decided to offer a Rs 2,458 crore stake in the financially beleaguered telecommunications (telecom) operator to long-term vendors Nokia and Ericsson in a bid to partially clear outstanding dues.

The company’s board has approved the preferential issue of equity shares to Ericsson, Vi said in a regulatory filing.

4.McKinsey boss’s next big consulting project: Radical overhaul of his own firm

Bob Sternfels would have you believe that McKinsey is undergoing a radical overhaul. The chief of the consulting major is overseeing a leadership shake-up, change in fee structures, a “partnership modernization task force”, and “communities” dedicated to sectors such as infrastructure. One of the changes includes separating the firm’s senior partners from the board, effective July 1.

5.The secret to living beyond 120 years old: nanobots

"The 2030s will usher in the third phase of life extension, which will be to use nanotechnology to overcome the limitations of our biological organs altogether. As we enter this phase, we’ll greatly extend our lives, allowing people to far transcend the normal human limit of 120 years." Ray Kurzweil in Wired on how nanorobots will enter our lives and our bodies and change how long we live.

6.Men eat meat more than women, and the difference is starkest in rich countries with greater gender equality, a new study found.

Researchers testing gender differences in meat consumption of about 28,000 people in 23 countries found that the trend held everywhere except China, India, and Indonesia.

Despite having greater food freedom in wealthier countries, women still chose to eat less meat, suggesting that meat consumption may be more to do with gender norms than food availability.

The researchers hoped the findings could help efforts to reduce diet-related greenhouse gas as emissions, a massive contributor to climate change. “Anything that one could do to reduce meat consumption in men would have a greater impact, on average than among women,” a researcher observed.

8.Coming next Ozempic for dogs and cats

While humans continue to grapple with shortages of weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, their furry friends may soon be in luck: Drug manufacturers are now working to develop comparable GLP-1 drugs for pets.

Okava Pharmaceuticals, a company that specializes in adapting human medication for pets, recently published the results of a pilot study testing their weight-loss drug, OKV-119, on domestic cats.

“More than half of all dogs and cats worldwide are classified as overweight or obese and can suffer from the same weight-related health complications as humans – including arthritis, diabetes, and high blood pressure,” a BetterChoice press release read.

9.Apple isn't even paying OpenAI to put ChatGPT on iPhones, report says

At its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, Apple announced it is putting OpenAI’s latest version of ChatGPT into the iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating systems. However, Apple doesn’t plan to pay OpenAI for the chatbot, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Neither Apple nor OpenAI are due to generate any meaningful revenue from the partnership for now, people said.

The iPhone-maker reportedly thinks exposing OpenAI’s technology through its products is equal to, or even greater than, monetary value, people told Bloomberg

10.OpenAI's revenue is skyrocketing. The AI startup's annualised revenue has more than tripled from the summer of 2023

OpenAI’s annualized revenue was around $1 billion last summer, $1.6 billion in late 2023, and has now reached $3.4 billion.

OpenAI is the most valuable AI startup in the world. Its $80 billion valuation is far ahead of rivals such as Anthropic and Mistral AI. The company’s warp-speed growth is another sign of its AI products’ popularity.

11. Hyundai’s Indian entity to list in India

    Hyundai Motor India Pvt. is set to file draft papers for its initial public offering on Friday, according to people in the know, setting the stage for the first carmaker to list in India in more than two decades. On offer in the Hyundai India IPO are 142 million shares, equivalent to a 17.5% stake, the above mentioned people told NDTV Profit.

    On offer in the Hyundai India IPO are 142 million shares equivalent to 17.5% stake. The roadshows will begin in August.
    
    Read more at: https://www.ndtvprofit.com/ipos/hyundai-to-file-draft-papers-for-india-ipo-today
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