Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

For Saumya Bhatnagar, being the only woman in a room is far from a novel experience. An engineer by training and currently the co-founder and chief product officer at AI sales rep startup Jeeva, she remembers being the sole girl in her high school's 170-person <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/5-tips-women-career-coding-twilio-2020-8">coding class</a> — and that none of her male peers would sit next to her."I had to make space for myself, and there were plenty of micro and macro aggressions in the grand scheme of things that I had to talk my way through," she told Business Insider. "At the end of the day, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-left-out-of-the-ai-investment-boom-risks-bias-2023-10">it's a man's world</a> in the VC, startups, and AI space."Bhatnagar isn't alone in her journey. Although the number of women-founded startups has increased, less than 3% of venture capital funding went to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/venture-capital-decline-hurts-female-founders-gender-gap-startup-funding-2023-12">female-only founding teams</a> in 2022, according to PitchBook.A handful of women who are well-known as leaders in the AI space — including "Godmother of AI" <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vcs-like-khosla-and-a16z-backing-robotics-that-use-ai-2024-7">Fei Fei Li</a>, Anthropic president and co-founder Daniela Amodei, and OpenAI's former chief technology officer Mira Murati. But others building startups report facing various gender-related obstacles to success, including bias in the fundraising process, limited mentorship opportunities, and difficulty building meaningful business relationships with men.In the AI sector specifically, which has surged in popularity since the release of ChatGPT two years ago, the challenges for female founders are even more pronounced. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-18-women-who-made-partner-vc-firms-in-2023-2023-11">AI continues to attract significant VC interest</a>, but women in the space face additional barriers compared to their male counterparts, starting at the education level.While a degree in engineering or computer science isn't a requirement for launching an AI company, it's often a prerequisite for techies building foundational models to tackle complex machine-learning problems. Women accounted for just 22% of AI and computer science PhD programs in the US in 2019, according to a Deloitte study.Women in 2020 made up an estimated 26% of data and AI positions in the workforce, per a World Economic Forum report. And <a target="_blank" href="https://www.uktech.news/diversity/ai-funding-women-founders-20240319">recent data from the UK </a>shows that only about 4% of AI startups in the country have women founders.Although Bhatnagar is among the small group of women in the space with advanced technical chops, she says she still notices the gender imbalance in the AI world — and that it, at times, has led to her feeling impostor syndrome and burnout.Developing relationships with other women working in the AI space has become a vital lifeline, she said. An active member of online and in-person groups, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.womenandai.com/">Women and AI</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://thewomenweadmire.com/">Women We Admire</a>, Bhatnagar said that she's made connections that support her in navigating difficult business dynamics, connecting with female investors, and finding solace in shared experiences."Women are not comfortable asking for help, and there's this idea that perfectionism needs to be showcased at all times," she said. "Finding a community of women has helped me take risks and realize that I'm actually doing okay," she said.Vivien Ho, a partner at early-stage fund Pear VC, has watched the meteoric rise of buzzy AI startups during the last two years and noticed that many are run by men, she said. But as a longtime community builder in the Bay Area tech scene, this didn't jive with what she was seeing on the ground. There were plenty of women interested in building AI companies, she said. Many just didn't know how to start.This observation was the catalyst for the Female Founder Circles, a community for women engineers interested in building AI startups. Each FFC cycle welcomes a cohort of around 50 women for two months of programming that includes fireside chats with existing female AI founders, company-building workshops with Pear investment partners, and other in-person events designed to help women build meaningful relationships with one another, such as pitch competitions, spa days, and public speaking practice.Demand for FFC has exploded, Ho said, with more than 500 women applying for the most recent cohort that kicked off last month. And the program has already been a success: more than 70% of participants end up incorporating their startups, and at least five women have matched with another female co-founder in their cohort, she said."Three of our FFC founders have already raised Series Bs, which is pretty incredible," Ho told BI. "We first meet them, and they're really shy, and then three years later, they're running a 100-person company and making eight figures. It's incredible to see how we can build a community that makes a difference."As women in AI create opportunities that could help them succeed, their work parallels women in another once-white-hot subsector of the startup world: at the height of the crypto craze, female-led blockchain startups earned about 6.4% of venture dollars in the third quarter of 2022, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bitget.com/blog/articles/bitget-report-the-gender-gap-in-blockchain-startup-funding-press-release">according to data from Bitget</a>.Funding in the space has dropped off dramatically during the last two years, and women continue to struggle when it comes to connecting with investors and closing rounds, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/08/29/what-web3-data-reveals-about-gender-inequality-in-the-crypto-industry/">Forbes recently reported</a>.For Shreya Rajpal, Pear VC's FFC was one of the first times she felt genuine, positive support from the people around her. As a software engineer who cut her teeth in startups and on Apple's machine learning initiatives, she was accustomed to being the only woman whose work was judged with more scrutiny than that of her male coworkers."There are a lot of men who aren't very supportive, and being the only woman on a team means that they're often an undue level of attention on your work, so you stand out, for better or for worse," Rejpal told BI. "Pretty early on, it was obvious that I kind of needed to justify my space in the room a lot more compared to other folks."Fast forward to today, and Rajpal is the CEO and co-founder of Guardrails AI, which builds risk and reliability systems for generative AI programs. As she's progressed in her career, she's made an effort to build community with other women in tech. It's work that takes significant time, but it's been "life changing" in terms of succeeding as a founder and well worth the effort, she said.Guardrails earlier this year raised a $7.5 million seed funding round led by Zetta Venture Partners with participation from Pear, Bloomberg Beta, and GitHub Fund.In addition to participating in bigger groups like FFC, Rajpal has sought out mentorship opportunities with other women in engineering, machine learning, and project management."I became friends with a woman who is five to six years older than me and in the industry for that much longer, doing the things that I wanted to do," she said. "Hearing from her and what worked for her, in terms of changing jobs and talking to her about how she made those decisions, was the stuff that ended up being really impactful for me."Stephanie Guo, a partner at Sapphire Ventures based in San Francisco, is constantly iterating on community events for women interested in AI that strike the right balance between informational – think fireside chats and panel discussions – and informal ways for women to form connections that turn into mentor relationships.These events aren't just for would-be founders: Guo says that while the number of female-funded AI startups can sometimes seem "abysmally small," she's encouraged by the number of women who hold leadership positions at AI startups, funds, and bigger companies."We're creating both the space to have dialogue, but also a networking opportunity," Guo told BI. "These relationships stick, and there are business opportunities that actually form from them."

For women building AI startups, finding community has been the key to success

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Supersonic aviation startup Exosonic shut down in November after five years in business.</li><li>The California-based startup was working on faster-than-sound jets for commercial and military use.</li></ul>A handful of startups are vying to revive supersonic flight, but one contender just dropped out of the race.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/see-the-supersonic-passenger-planes-will-connect-cities-1-hour-2022-7">Exosonic, </a>which had been working for five years to build faster-than-sound jets for commercial and military use, announced its shutdown on Friday, citing a lack of continued funding and low customer interest.The company had two main projects: a quiet passenger plane capable of Mach 1.8 speed and an uncrewed supersonic aircraft for fighter jet target practice. It had backing from private equity investors, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hypersonic-air-force-one-hermeus-mach-5-2020-8">a contract from the US Air Force</a>, and a flying sub-scale prototype.In an interview with Business Insider, Exosonic CEO Norris Tie said the company hoped its Mach-speed airliner would drastically cut travel time between faraway nations.Crucial to the company's promise was work to eliminate the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sonic-boom-explained-2016-1">sonic boom</a> that prevents supersonic planes from flying over land — an issue that severely handicapped the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/concorde-supersonic-jet-history-2018-10">legendary Concorde</a> when it pioneered supersonic passenger travel in 1976."The goal was that by the time we were ready to hammer out the commercial design, all the regulatory framework for the boom would have more or less been established," Tie said. "Then we could go back to designing the airliner after what we hypothesized would have been a successful UAS (uncrewed aircraft systems) business at that point."<div type="image" title="A photo of Exosonic CEO Norris Tie standing to the right of another Exosonic employee examining an aircraft wing." height="1080" width="1920" msid="115266488" hostid="261" sizebytes="70466"></div>Since 2020, the company had raised about $4 million in funding, according to PitchBook estimates. Its closure leaves fewer players working to achieve the faster-than-sound dream."As history shows, in many areas with new technology, there are often many more players initially than the market can support," University of Illinois aerospace engineering professor Michael Bragg told BI. "It was inevitable that there would be a downselect of supersonic aircraft makers. Let's hope someone is successful before they are all gone."<h2 id="edb327cf-4cd9-4561-b931-8796991c5f4c">A new Mach-speed passenger jet would be too expensive and time-intensive</h2>Supersonic travel was already achieved nearly decades ago with the Concorde, which could cross the Atlantic in as little as three hours and operated commercially for about 30 years.But it was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/concorde-supersonic-plane-tour-photos-2024-10">extremely costly and ended in disaster,</a> stoking concerns that largely convinced the industry to end flights."Some investors said the timeline for a supersonic commercial aviation product was too long and capital intensive," he said, adding passenger Mach flight was the company's main focus for the first two years.Tie said with full capital, meaning billions more dollars, it could take 10-15 years to build, certify, and deliver a new supersonic plane. And that's if the supply chain, potential design setbacks, and other factors <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-777x-why-so-important-delays-future-airlines-2024-7">don't add abnormal expenses.</a>Tie also said engine manufacturers aren't investing in supersonic flight — hindering one of the industry's most vital components: power.<div type="image" title="Boom Supersonic." height="1406" width="2500" msid="115266487" hostid="261" sizebytes="78552"></div><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/supersonic-jet-boom-overture-costs-technology-experts-skeptical-2024-4">Boom Supersonic</a>, another faster-than-sound startup, has been forced to build its own engine after failing to make a deal with major engine manufacturers, who remain focused on conventional jet engines. The company has been in business for about a decade and has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/see-boom-jet-used-test-worlds-next-supersonic-airliner-2024-3">developed a sub-scale prototype</a>."Boom has said it would cost up to $8 billion to build its supersonic plane, and that's a low number," Tie said. "The company has only publicly <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://boomsupersonic.com/newsroom/fact-sheet">funded</a> less than $1 billion. It's a long road, and I don't know how it's going to get done."Boom has announced <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-overture-the-boom-supersonic-aircraft-that-united-just-ordered-2021-6">billions of dollars worth of orders from American Airlines</a> and United Airlines for its supersonic Overture jet, which is planned to fly as soon as 2029.American has agreed to purchase up to 20 with options for another 40, while United has ordered 15 with options for 35 more.<h2 id="ac0faea2-919d-4208-94b1-f52c80a4c14a">The US Air Force changed its mind about Exosonic's training drones</h2>Investors pushed Exosonic to focus on military contracts instead of a commercial airliner, Tie said. This was the smallest product the company could develop while still generating some revenue — until the Air Force changed its mind."They didn't want fighter jet drones focused on training; they wanted one focused on combat, which has been a priority for the past two or three years," he said. "That's what took away all of the funding that we were going after, and we couldn't recover."<div type="image" title="A rendering of three Exosonic's supersonic Revenant military drones flying." height="1080" width="1920" msid="115266490" hostid="261" sizebytes="71432"></div>He said commercial air combat companies' interest in Exosonic hinged on the USAF. Once the Air Force's interest faded, so did the interest of any potential commercial players, like Drakken International, who could have used the uncrewed drones for training or other military needs.Without a defense arm of the business, Tie said the commercial side didn't have a chance.<h2 id="04b7056c-e60d-4441-a240-6d64e9c0d514">Tie said hypersonic travel is a more likely commercial option</h2>Tie said part of the problem with getting supersonic funding is because it isn't a shiny new concept. Humans have been doing it <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/70-years-since-chuck-yeager-broke-the-sound-barrier-what-it-was-like-2017-10">since the 1940s,</a> and there isn't any "terribly new technology to develop there."He said a better approach for Exosonic would have been to focus on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/see-the-supersonic-passenger-planes-will-connect-cities-1-hour-2022-7">hypersonic travel.</a> <div type="image" title="Rendering of Venus Aerospace's Stargazer in flight." height="543" width="1024" msid="115266491" hostid="261" sizebytes="37582"></div>A handful of hypersonic startups, including Venus Aerospace, Hermeus, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/see-hypersonic-jet-will-fly-new-york-paris-90-minutes-2023-6">Destinus</a>, and Spectre Aerospace, plan to build ultrafast jetliners. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.venusaero.com/venus-aerospace-inaugural-supersonic-drone-flight/">Venus</a> is testing its high-Mach-speed advanced propulsion system and has achieved supersonic flight with a drone using a rocket engine.Tie believes SpaceX's Starship could be one of the likeliest contenders. Elon Musk's project is set to transport satellites and astronauts to space but could also shoot into orbit and back to connect nearly any two cities in an hour or less."Hypersonic is certainly in vogue, and so that makes sense to go in that direction," he said. "Supersonic is unfortunately not in vogue."

CEO of failed supersonic plane startup on what went wrong — and how other companies might find success 

<div type="image" title="Founder Mode is the new buzzword in town" msid="113456356" hostid="261"></div> Silicon Valley is usually buzzing with new catchphrases every now and then. Earlier this year, the phrase “unbossing” captured corporate America’s imagination. The trend seems to be spreading in India as well with a few examples of companies firing middle managers. You can read more about the ‘unbossing’ trend in India here: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/article/whats-with-all-unbossing-talks-are-indian-companies-also-embracing-this-global-trend/articleshow/113395706.cms">What’s with all “Unbossing” talks?</a> Now, lo and behold, we've got a new trend straight from the minds of Silicon Valley's finest: <keyword id="23219793" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="founder-mode" source="Orion">Founder Mode</keyword>. It's like a superhero cape for CEOs but without the spandex. <keyword id="20064348" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Y-Combinator" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Y Combinator" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Y Combinator">Y Combinator</keyword> co-founder <keyword id="20555672" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paul-Graham" source="keywords">Paul Graham</keyword>, inspired by Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s talk at an event, penned a blog post about Founder Mode and it got the entire startup world talking. According to Graham, when Chesky scaled Airbnb, he initially followed the widely accepted strategy: hiring skilled professionals and giving them autonomy. However, this approach felt like running a marathon in flip-flops, it simply didn’t yield the desired results. So, he decided to go full-blown "Founder Mode," which is basically being the CEO, the janitor, and the motivational speaker all at once. <div type="image" title="Paul Graham’s blog post went viral" msid="113456577" hostid="261"></div> Graham’s post points out that this experience is not unique to Chesky — many other founders have faced similar challenges and come to similar conclusions. The result is a growing recognition of ‘Founder Mode’. <h2><keyword id="23219794" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="what-is-founder-mode" source="Orion">What is Founder Mode</keyword>?</h2>Founder mode is a mindset that allows entrepreneurs to remain deeply involved in their companies’ day-to-day operations, even as they scale. As we have seen in many Hollywood movies and real-world examples like Jobs, Musks, Zuckerbergs, and Murthys, founders operate (a bit too) differently from trained executives and managers. They're like the kids who built their own fort and refuse to let anyone else touch it. On a serious note, anecdotal evidence does support that founders focus on the vision, processes, and details of the business in ways that managers typically do not. Graham's post suggests that it’s a different way of running a company — one that involves a hands-on approach to leadership, where founders engage with more than just their direct reports. <div type="image" title="Founders are different from managers" msid="113456522" hostid="261"></div> Unlike traditional corporate structures, where the top management is expected to delegate and step back, Founder Mode requires more personal involvement. Basically, when the CEO of a company is in Founder Mode, where founders bypass layers of management to interact directly with lower-level employees, they can just walk over to a junior employee and ask “What’s up?”, something that <keyword id="19903807" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Elon-Musk" source="keywords">Elon Musk</keyword> reportedly has been doing for a while. One of the core aspects of Founder Mode, according to Graham, is that founders can make decisions with a level of intuition and insight that professional managers often lack. This is largely because they’ve built the company from the ground up and have an intimate understanding of its operations, culture, and customers. In contrast, professional managers are typically brought in to optimise and scale systems that are already in place, which might often lead to decisions that feel disconnected from the original vision of the company. <h2>Steve Jobs and Apple: The classic example of Founder Mode</h2> <div type="image" title="Many experts agree that Steve Jobs is a peak example of Founder Mode" msid="113456730" hostid="261"></div> A key example that Graham used is Steve Jobs, who famously ran Apple with an almost obsessive focus on product and design. Jobs didn’t simply delegate these responsibilities to his team; he was known for being involved in the minutiae, often directly challenging decisions and leading initiatives that others might consider too detailed for a CEO. Graham drew a parallel between this approach and what Chesky realised at Airbnb — that stepping back too much can actually harm the company. Founders, Graham wrote, are often “gaslit” into believing that they should adopt a more hands-off style, only to see their businesses suffer as a result. However, many experts also believe that Founder Mode is often disastrous for companies, except for rare examples, and a balance between founder and manager modes is necessary. <h2>Founder Mode VS Manager Mode: Experts weigh in on the debate</h2> <div type="image" title="Debates around Founder Mode have been rampant across social media since the beginning of this month" msid="113456800" hostid="261"></div> Debates around Founder Mode have been rampant across social media since the beginning of this month when Graham’s blog post came out. The philosophical divide between Founder Mode and Manager Mode often compels people to choose sides, while industry veterans and experts say that it’s important to understand both approaches and companies must try to achieve a balance between them. Sonica Aron, Founder of HR advisory firm Marching Sheep, recognises the importance of managers and says that it is important to have good people in the team and empower them. Talking to Business Insider India, she says, “As a founder, I find myself to be very purpose driven and passionate about my firm. As a result, sometimes decisions tend to get driven by the heart rather than the mind. Therefore it is essential to have bright and committed people in your team, empower them, involve them in decision making. Also, as the founder, I am responsible not just for the health of my business but overall well being of my team. If they do well, we all do well.” On the other hand, Mr. Srinivasa Addepalli, founder and CEO of GlobalGyan Leadership Academy, feels that the debate of Founder Mode vs Manager mode shouldn’t exist in the first place. He told Business Insider India that according to him, “all good leaders, whether startup founders or corporate executives, must be capable of both modes and switch between them depending on the context.” He added, “The Founder Mode leader tackles problems with passion and ownership, without concern for hierarchy, precedents, or due process. However, founders must remain humble about their fragility. To ensure sustainability, the Manager Mode—focused on developing others, building structures, and codifying knowledge—becomes essential, even as it requires them to relinquish some control and accept inefficiency. For instance, Steve Jobs’ decision to set up Apple University was a classic Manager Mode action by one of the best-known founders.” Ayush Singh, Founder of MaplePods, a smart-technology business, says, “Founder Mode may inspire new entrepreneurs, but seasoned founders know building something meaningful and scalable requires more than motivation—it's about solving problems, staying resilient, and seeking real support along the journey.” <h2>The downsides of Founder Mode</h2>While there are many people who believe that entering Founder Mode is healthy, some experts argue otherwise. They say that since founders are deeply connected to their vision, staying too hands-on can lead to micromanagement and hinder the growth of a leadership team. This creates a culture of dependency and can cause chaos when a founder steps into too many areas, leading to inefficiency and fear among employees. Mr. Ankit Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Unstop, told Business Insider India, “While Founder Mode can foster an entrepreneurial culture and drive rapid growth, it comes with significant challenges related to scalability, accountability, and founder burnout. As companies scale, Founder Mode can lead to bottlenecks, as founders may find it difficult to delegate. This limits the development of a strong leadership team and may stifle creativity from other employees.” Further, he adds that intense involvement can lead to founder burnout, negatively affecting both the individual and the company. “In the long run, while Founder Mode may work for early-stage <keyword id="6362513" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups" source="Orion">startups</keyword>, founders must recognise when to step back and 'devolve'. Devolving to allow the company to grow through more traditional structures, without succumbing to excess hierarchy. Balancing innovation with scalability is key to long-term success, allowing founders to focus on strategy while empowering their teams.” Meanwhile, Aleksandr Yampolskiy, cofounder and CEO of SecurityScorecard, said in a LinkedIn article that the Founder Mode has both pros and cons. He highlighted the value of founder mode in providing visionary leadership and empowering CEOs to challenge their teams and boards when necessary. However, Yampolskiy also wrote that overstepping and micromanaging can create chaos and a culture of fear. He said that founders must learn to evolve with the company’s growth, delegating and making themselves dispensable over time. <h2> Why are people talking about Founder Mode now?</h2> <div type="image" title="Why are people talking about Founder Mode?" msid="113456851" hostid="261"></div> So, why did Graham’s blog post go viral and why are people talking about Founder mode? Discussions around Founder Mode vs Manager Mode might have been around for a long time, but Graham’s post helped a great deal in popularising the confusion that millions of founders go through. Risa Mish, a management professor at Cornell University’s Johnson College of Business, told Observer that it is “no surprise that Graham’s message has resonated with founders for whom the conventional wisdom hasn’t worked.” “It comes down to something very basic, which is that one size never fits all.” Do you have insights or personal experience to share on start-ups or latest corporate buzzwords? Contact us at businessinsider@timesinternet.in.

SIMPLY PUT: Founder Mode — the secret sauce to startup success or fancy term for hustle and micromanagement?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ukraine's drone units are operating more like scrappy startups than traditional military units.</li><li>The Wall Street Journal visited a battalion that was formed by unpaid civilians but has evolved.</li></ul>Some of Ukraine's drone units are operating more like edgy tech start-ups than military units, as they continue to play an oversized role in the country's military defenses.According to a report by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/ukraine-gamers-drone-pilots-russia-85a1af3b?mod=hp_lead_pos82&amp;mod=hp_lead_pos8">The Wall Street Journal</a>, drone pilots are now the deadliest soldiers on the modern battlefield. And the way they operated is far from traditional military approaches.The Journal met with Clear Eyes, a drone battalion that started out as unpaid civilian enthusiasts relying on commercial drones to track Russian military movements.The battalion's headquarters now has workshops for engineers, a pilot-training school, as well as a ping-pong table.Meanwhile, the group uses houses in eastern Ukraine as bomb factories and tech hubs to modify Soviet-era rocket-propelled grenades and upgrade Russian glide bombs to create larger munitions for their drones.Heorhiy Volkov, 37, the owner of a marketing agency who leads the battalion, sometimes gives the impression of heading a startup rather than a military unit, according to the Journal.Volkov said the key to success is innovation, logistics, and communications, as well as solid military tactics."One good pilot doesn't change anything," he said, adding: "We are a team of civilians who want to kill Russians with our cleverness and technology."The Journal reported that the majority of personnel in Ukrainian drone units never served in the military before, and largely ignore aspects of ranks, including saluting and waiting for orders.Since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has turned to drones to try to give it an edge against Russia's larger military.Ukraine has used drones to conduct strikes on Russian <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-air-defenses-cant-stop-ukraine-from-striking-deep-intel-2024-9">ammunition depots</a>, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-attacks-russian-energy-infrastructure-small-cheap-drones-2024-1">gas</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/one-drone-liutyi-behind-majority-ukraine-attacks-russia-oil-facilities-2024-5">oil</a> facilities deep inside Russia, eroding Russia's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-strikes-ammo-depots-impacting-russia-weaponry-advantage-experts-2024-10">artillery advantage</a>.Earlier this year it used unconventional strategies and innovative naval technologies, including <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-says-sea-baby-drones-hit-russia-ships-anywhere-black-sea-2024-7">sea drones</a>, to go after Russia's Black Sea Fleet, forcing it to relocate away from its Crimea headquarters.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-ukraine-night-attack-russia-position-flaming-dragon-drone-2024-9">In September, nighttime</a> <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-ukrainian-dragon-drone-appears-destroy-russian-tank-2024-10">footage</a> released by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-fiery-dragon-drones-aim-strike-terror-russia-soldiers-experts-2024-9">Ukraine</a> showed "dragon drones" dropping molten material on Russian positions, likely as part of efforts to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-fiery-dragon-drones-aim-strike-terror-russia-soldiers-experts-2024-9">instill fear</a> in Russian troops.The Journal also interviewed Oleksandr Dakhno, a 29-year-old former director of a coworking space.Dakhno is now a drone pilot who claims to have killed about 300 Russian soldiers in a year and a half, and to have once flown a drone with a 9-pound bomb into a school auditorium where Russian soldiers were sheltering.In October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country can now produce 4 million drones a year, and is ramping up production."In extremely difficult conditions of the full-scale war under constant Russian strikes, Ukrainians were able to build a virtually new defense industry," he added.

Ukraine's drone teams are operating more like tech startups than military units

Artificial intelligence is the buzzword in today's times and more and more companies are investing in the AI space. While there are big players like Nvidia, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Meta and Apple, other companies are also hopping on the bandwagon. <keyword id="20128940" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Salesforce" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Salesforce" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Salesforce">Salesforce</keyword>, the cloud-based software giant, is also a part of the <keyword id="21041186" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-race" source="keywords">AI race</keyword>. According to a report in Reuters, the company recently announced its plans to <keyword id="20312439" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="acquire" source="keywords">acquire</keyword> <keyword id="23031429" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tenyx" source="keywords">Tenyx</keyword>, a <keyword id="19913824" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="startup" source="keywords">startup</keyword> that specialises in artificial intelligence-powered voice agents. The acquisition, for which the financial terms have not been disclosed, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. Upon completion, Tenyx’s co-founders, Chief Executive Officer Itamar Arel and Chief Technology Officer Adam Earle, along with their team, will be integrated into Salesforce. Founded in 2022 and based in California, Tenyx has carved a niche for itself by providing AI voice solutions across various industries, including e-commerce, healthcare, hospitality, and travel. The startup’s innovative approach has made it a valuable asset for Salesforce as the company seeks to strengthen its AI-driven offerings. This acquisition represents a significant step in Salesforce’s broader strategy to enhance its technological capabilities and reignite revenue growth. The move comes after a period of scrutiny from activist investors, which led Salesforce to announce last year its intention to double share buybacks and step back from its aggressive acquisition strategy. At that time, Salesforce had even disbanded its mergers and acquisitions committee, signalling a shift in focus. However, the acquisition of Tenyx indicates that Salesforce is now revisiting strategic acquisitions as a means to accelerate growth. The acquisition also mirrors recent moves by other major technology companies as they compete for AI talent and tools. Earlier this year, Microsoft acquired the AI startup Inflection for $650 million, while <keyword id="19904608" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amazon" source="keywords">Amazon</keyword> bolstered its AI capabilities by hiring co-founders and key employees from another AI startup, Adept, in June. These deals underscore the intensifying competition within the tech industry to secure a foothold in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence. Salesforce’s decision to pursue this acquisition comes on the heels of a strong financial performance in the second quarter, where the company surpassed Wall Street’s expectations for both revenue and profit. The growth was primarily driven by increased expenditure on Salesforce’s enterprise cloud products, highlighting the ongoing demand for robust cloud solutions. As Salesforce integrates Tenyx into its operations, the company is likely to leverage Tenyx’s expertise to further refine its AI-driven services, potentially leading to new product developments and enhanced customer experiences. The acquisition also signals Salesforce’s recognition of the growing importance of AI in the future of enterprise technology. With AI increasingly becoming a cornerstone of business operations across industries, Salesforce’s investment in Tenyx positions it well to remain competitive in a market where innovation and advanced technological capabilities are key to long-term success.

Salesforce joins the AI race, announces plans to acquire AI startup Tenyx

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Adam Neumann is launching a WeWork rival called Workflow.</li><li>Workflow has a different business strategy than Neumann's previous company, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-02/adam-neumann-s-latest-project-is-a-wework-competitor">Bloomberg reports</a>.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-ceo-adam-neumann-bio-life-career-2019-8">Adam Neumann</a> isn't done with shared workspaces — and this time the founder of WeWork suggested he's learned his lesson.Just months after he was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-rejects-adam-neumanns-acquisition-bid-unveils-restructuring-2024-4">cut out of buying back WeWork</a>, Neumann is now launching a rival flexible office service with a tweaked business model, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-02/adam-neumann-s-latest-project-is-a-wework-competitor">according to Bloomberg</a>.Neumann's new coworking venture, called Workflow, will operate under Flow, the residential real estate company that he started in 2022, the outlet reported.And much like WeWork's stated focus on community-building, Flow's website <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.flow.life/mission-and-values">describes its mission</a> as "oneness," or "connection with ourselves, our neighbors, and the natural world."<div type="image" title="The co-working space at Society Las Olas." height="3024" width="4032" msid="113918534" hostid="261" sizebytes="617740"></div>"The lack of community and the disconnection that people feel is even more relevant today" than in the days of WeWork, Neumann told Bloomberg of Workflow.<h2 id="965a3b94-0cc1-4f4a-81c0-8710da332fa2">Workflow's new take on coworking spaces</h2>Workflow will rent office space to both Flow residents and outside companies, but will focus on a different business model than WeWork to avoid repeating <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/weworks-nightmare-ipo">the startup's now-infamous struggles</a>, Bloomberg reported.Whereas WeWork signed long-term leases and rented out office space in the short term, Workflow will lease out space in residential buildings that Flow already owns, and manage other spaces in partnership with landlords, according to Bloomberg.<div type="image" title="The pool at Society Las Olas, next to the Fort Lauderdale canals." height="3024" width="4032" msid="113918533" hostid="261" sizebytes="1317166"></div>Flow owns four apartment buildings in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Atlanta, and has minority investments in two Nashville buildings, according to Bloomberg. The company has also expanded into Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, where it will own and manage three apartment buildings in partnership with local investors, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-19/neumann-s-flow-pushes-into-saudi-arabia-in-first-global-move">Bloomberg also reported</a>.A rep for Flow told BI that Neumann has previously discussed getting Flow involved in the shared workspaces world, but did not respond to Business Insider's request for more information about Workflow's strategy.That model of renting out spaces in buildings it already owns could help Workflow avoid the vulnerabilities that contributed to the downfall of its predecessor.WeWork — which by June 2023 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1813756/000181375623000061/wework2023q2pressrelease.htm">had 777 locations across 39 countries</a> — typically signed 15-year leases on its buildings, yet the short-term renters who took up space in those buildings could move out in as little as a month, Business Insider previously reported.The disparity between how much WeWork spent on long-term leases of its massive buildings and the return it got from its short-term renters was, at its peak, enormous.At one point, WeWork was committed to $47 billion in future lease payments on its buildings, while it only had $4 billion of committed revenue locked in, BI previously reported. And the company was spending two dollars for every dollar it made.WeWork<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-bankruptcy-giant-luxurious-office-spaces-facilities-unsustainable-rival-says-2023-11#:~:text=WeWork%20filed%20for%20bankruptcy%20on,locations%20as%20of%20June%2030."> was also criticized</a> for the sheer size of the large buildings it rented.<div type="image" title="WeWork" height="1504" width="2500" msid="113918538" hostid="261" sizebytes="478438"></div>In 2019, Neumann parted ways with WeWork after <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-cofounder-adam-neumann-on-its-collapse-bankruptcy-2023-11">the company's planned IPO fell apart</a>, and by late 2023, the company had <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-files-for-bankruptcy-chapter-11-commercial-real-estate-reckoning-2023-11">filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy</a>."It has been challenging for me to watch from the sidelines since 2019 as WeWork has failed to take advantage of a product that is more relevant today than ever before," Neumann <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-cofounder-adam-neumann-on-its-collapse-bankruptcy-2023-11">said in a statement</a> following WeWork's bankruptcy announcement in 2023."I believe that, with the right strategy and team, a reorganization will enable WeWork to emerge successfully," he added.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adam-neumann-buy-wework-more-than-500-million-report-2024-3">Neumann had submitted a bid earlier this year to buy WeWork back</a>, in partnership with Flow Global and other financing partners. He <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adam-neumann-opens-up-about-his-startup-transform-apartment-living-2024-4">told BI at the time</a> that "the future of living has working integrated into it."But in April, WeWork announced a restructuring plan that cut out Neumann, and by May, Neumann had backed down from his bid — though he said the company's plan without him was "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adam-neumann-gives-up-plan-buy-back-wework-2024-5">unrealistic and unlikely to succeed</a>."<h2 id="653eefdf-e2ef-44be-bc16-ebc979e3cd2a">Neumann says he's learned his lesson</h2>Critics didn't just zero in on WeWork's business model but also on Neumann's management. In 2019, a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/this-is-not-the-way-everybody-behaves-how-adam-neumanns-over-the-top-style-built-wework-11568823827?mod=hp_lead_pos5">Wall Street Journal report</a> detailed allegations of Neumann partying hard and taking drugs, while investors worried about possible conflicts of interest that emerged in WeWork's S-1 filing before its failed attempt to go public.But Neumann told Bloomberg that he's ready to slow it down, and that investors Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen, the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, will help Flow stay disciplined."I know my priorities because of what I went through," Neumann told the outlet. "It taught me so many things. But one of them was 'Slow down.' The other one was 'Listen,' and not just listen to what you want to hear — listen to what you don't want to hear."Neumann also said to Bloomberg that "the lesson was learned" after Andreessen once told him the company couldn't make plans based on assumptions.<div type="image" title="image of neumann sitting down" height="2003" width="3000" msid="113918537" hostid="261" sizebytes="108564"></div>Neumann added that he's approaching his new venture with humility, according to the outlet."The common theme for the whole story is we're learning. We're really not sure that we know the answer, therefore we're taking our time," Neumann told Bloomberg. "We're not rushing."

Adam Neumann's new startup is reworking WeWork's old business model

<keyword id="22948419" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reflect-Orbital" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Reflect Orbital" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Reflect Orbital">Reflect Orbital</keyword>, a California-based startup, has set its sights on a futuristic goal: providing "<keyword id="22948420" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="sunlight-on-demand" source="keywords">sunlight on demand</keyword>" using orbiting mirrors in space. The company's vision is to address one of the biggest challenges in <keyword id="19915217" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="solar-energy" source="keywords">solar energy</keyword> — the inability to generate power after sunset or during cloudy days — by using a fleet of <keyword id="20279522" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="small-satellites" source="keywords">small satellites</keyword> equipped with highly reflective <keyword id="22948421" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mylar-mirrors" source="keywords">Mylar mirrors</keyword>. <h3 style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:14pt;margin-bottom:4pt;">How the technology works</h3>Reflect Orbital plans to deploy 57 small satellites into low-Earth orbit. Each satellite will be outfitted with a 33-square-foot reflective Mylar mirror. These mirrors are designed to reflect sunlight down to Earth, targeting <keyword id="20658734" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="solar-farms" source="keywords">solar farms</keyword> and extending their operational hours by providing an extra 30 minutes of sunlight after sunset or before sunrise. The mirrors will focus sunlight into a concentrated beam, directed by solar farm operators using a simple interface, where users can log in, provide GPS coordinates, and request sunlight. <div type="twitter" handle="bennbuilds" handlename="bennbuilds" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="1826682383514697993"></div>The idea is to make solar energy more available when it’s most needed — not just during daylight hours, but also in the early morning and evening when electricity demand is typically higher. This could potentially increase the efficiency and profitability of <keyword id="20423867" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="solar-power-generation" source="keywords">solar power generation</keyword>, as energy produced during these periods can be sold at higher rates. <h3 style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:14pt;margin-bottom:4pt;">Potential challenges</h3>Despite the excitement around this technology, there are several challenges that Reflect Orbital will need to overcome. Weather conditions such as thick clouds or storms could obstruct the reflected sunlight, limiting its effectiveness. Seasonal changes that affect the angle and duration of sunlight might also present difficulties. Additionally, the potential environmental impact, including light pollution and interference with astronomical observations, has raised concerns among scientists and environmentalists. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112805908" title="How will Sunita Williams’ body have changed when she returns from space in February 2025?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Reflect Orbital is aware of these challenges and has designed the mirrors to minimise light pollution. The company has also tested its technology using a hot air balloon, which successfully simulated the satellite mirrors' effect by reflecting sunlight down to a solar farm. According to co-founder <keyword id="22948422" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ben-nowack" source="keywords">Ben Nowack</keyword>, the company was able to generate "500 watts of energy per square metre" of solar panel, which is about "half the brightness of the sun." <div type="twitter" handle="bennbuilds" handlename="bennbuilds" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="1767961251186163857"></div>Reflect Orbital is still in the early stages, with plans to launch its first test satellite in 2025. Interest in the project has been strong, with over 30,000 applications already submitted by individuals and organisations eager to participate in the initial offering of "sunlight on demand." This ambitious project could mark a significant step forward in renewable energy technology if successful, providing a novel solution to the intermittent nature of solar power and helping to accelerate the transition to <keyword id="21313059" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sustainable-energy-sources" source="keywords">sustainable energy sources</keyword>.

Space startup Reflect Orbital plans to sell "sunlight on demand" — how will it work?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some expat Indians are moving back home to launch companies of their own.</li><li>India's booming market size, internet growth, and post-pandemic spending is driving their decision.</li></ul>Nithin Hassan, 41, has always been fascinated with building something of his own.As a child in India, he would get in trouble for dismantling electronics around the house just so he could peek inside.In college, in true <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-to-bet-your-career-on-in-2024-2024-2">startup</a> fashion, he started working on a small business out of his parent's garage in Bengaluru, assembling computers for friends and family.It was the early 2000s and the internet was not the trove of knowledge it is today — Hassan was relying on books to learn. Finding mentorship and the right guidance was a challenge, too.Everyone around Hassan told him that going to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/resume-tips-google-software-engineer-skills-experience-careers-software-tech-2024-3">US for a master's degree</a> was the next big opportunity. So he did.Over the next 16 years, he put his startup plans on hold and worked at some of the world's biggest companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta.<div type="image" title="Nithin Hassan" height="2450" width="3266" msid="113831978" hostid="261" sizebytes="215682"></div>But the pandemic felt like a turning point. And its aftermath made India look like a lab-designed business environment: It had just become the world's most populous country, the pandemic had created <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/private-consumption-continues-to-be-supported-by-pent-up-demand-finance-ministry/articleshow/99069973.cms?from=mdr">pent-up demand</a> for consumer products, and growing internet adoption made commerce more scalable, he said.So Hassan left behind about $500,000 in annual pay at Meta to move back to Bengaluru in December 2023 with his wife and two children. He has since launched two startups.Hassan is part of a group of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-moved-back-to-india-after-living-abroad-for-decade-2024-9">expat Indians moving back</a> home to venture out on their own. As such, he's also part of a decades-long trend of reverse migration back to India.The trend began in the 1990s and picked up at the turn of the century, driven by the economic collapse in 2008, said Binod Khadria, the president of Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism. Many of those who returned to India for work were largely working for multinational companies.Today, the impetus for the move often looks a bit different: It's driven by factors like unstable visa policies and economic recessions, which lead to uncertainty when it comes to jobs and duration of stay in these destinations.Many returnees find work in tech, but the finance, retail, and climate sectors also absorb a large number of expat Indians, Khadia said. And some of the returnees are heading back to India to start companies of their own.India is undergoing a startup explosion. The country reported over<a target="_blank" href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2043805"> 140,800 recognized startups</a> at the end of June — nearly 50,000 more than last year — and credited them with creating 1.6 million direct jobs.To be sure, not all of these companies will make it big — and some do still stumble, like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://inc42.com/features/what-are-the-current-problems-being-faced-by-oyo/">Oyo </a>and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackrock-hsbc-funds-byjus-startup-valuation-zero-edtech-india-raveendran-2024-6">Byju's</a>. But the chaos, where even established startups are trying and failing, makes India a fair playing field for new entrants, Hassan said.Business Insider spoke to six <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-vc-wants-see-5-traits-new-founders-fundraising-antler-2024-8">first-time founders </a>about why they have recently returned to India after spending several years, or even an adult life, abroad.<h2 id="0e4a3c47-ba19-4690-8b52-c6bfece1c81d">Fastest-growing economy</h2>The health of the economy and interest from investors are fueling the entrepreneurship boom.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-billionaire-karan-adani-plans-challenge-china-dominance-seaports-2024-8">India's economic growth</a> in 2023 — 8.2% — was the fastest of all large economies worldwide. That's led to greater purchasing power, which lets companies, including startups, sell more.India's inflation rate of about 3.5% is well below its annual wage growth of 9.6%. This makes inflation less of a challenge than it is for slower-growing peers, where consumer-focused businesses have been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/economy-jobs-report-sentiment-consumers-elections-recession-inflation-mortgage-rates-2024-9">hurt by high prices</a>.Investors are getting in on the action.From 2015 to 2021, the number of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sequoia-capital-vc-firm-split-china-india-2023-6">unique investors in India</a> nearly quadrupled, though the number is tracking much lower this year, per PitchBook."Other than a slight downturn in 2022 and 2023 due to global macroeconomic factors, VC funding has been consistently growing in India," said Ben Mathias, a managing partner at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia &amp; India.Besides funding, domestic developments have encouraged founders and VCs too, Mathias said.The Indian government's Universal Payment Interface system has spurred consumers and businesses to pay online, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bcg.com/press/2june2022-digital-payments-in-india-projected-to-reach-10-trillion-by-2026">40% of all digital payments</a> globally happen in India today, the partner said.Programs like Startup India, which provides founders benefits like tax exemption, easier compliance, and funding support, have made creating a company smoother.Devyani Parameshwar worked in the microfinance and fintech space in India in the 2010s before heading to the UK and Africa. She returned to India in 2022 to launch a financial management venture."It's changed dramatically. I remember standing in line at various ministries in Delhi trying to get meetings and then trying to get answers and it wasn't easy in the past," she said of her memories of India.Now, she can use an online platform to ask the country's central bank and banking regulator questions.It's easier than ever for foreign companies to invest in India, which means startups have a clearer exit path through acquisition — something VCs think hard about before entering new markets or writing checks.<h2 id="e5dd7b6f-a09f-4ff2-84c1-5907de96dc5e">Market ripe for the taking</h2>For Rohan Bhide, who spent most of his college and professional life <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worked-in-big-tech-before-launching-my-own-startup-engineer-2024-9">preparing to launch something of his own</a>, a trip home in 2017 while he was studying in the US was a turning point.Indian telecom giant Reliance had recently launched a cheap unlimited data plan, which spiked Indian internet adoption. India was charting among the countries with the highest online transactions."That really, really drew my attention," said Bhide, who worked at Meta after graduation. "It was my dream come true — a huge market, a huge user base, and at the same time, the ability to adopt technology was incredible."Bhide returned to India in January, leaving behind about $580,000 in total compensation at ticketing platform StubHub. He and a cofounder are working on launching a consumer tech product later this year.<div type="image" title="Rohan Bhide" height="2304" width="3072" msid="113831979" hostid="261" sizebytes="218468"></div>Most Indians grew up wanting to work at a multinational company — but that's changing, Bhide said.Freelancing, running your own business, or working for a startup is much more socially acceptable now, because people see the success of other Indian startups. The country has the third-largest number of "unicorns" — companies worth $1 billion or more — with 64, per PitchBook.<h2 id="7f423804-745b-4e04-a250-839e01663f09">Boom in entrepreneurship culture</h2>A lot has changed since Hassan first wanted to launch his hardware startup in the early 2000s.Tech hot spots like Bengaluru and Gurugram have seen a boom in entrepreneurship culture in the last few years, with meet-ups, networking mixers, and even morning walks with like-minded builders.<div type="image" title="man standing in front of mountains in USA" height="2268" width="3024" msid="113831980" hostid="261" sizebytes="141132"></div>Dhruv Anand, who left Google in the US to move back to India in 2021 to launch an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-startups-most-promising-2024-9">AI startup</a>, said that there were lots of other founders and mentors to help guide him."If you want to figure out who's the right chartered accountant to talk to, who's the right lawyer to help you draft agreements, all of that stuff is very easy," Anand said."It's been a really, really supportive community," Bhide said. There are people "telling you about their entire lives just because they want to help you and they're hoping that you pass the favor onto the next person who moves to India and wants to start their own company."<h2 id="3c8bff36-e855-4530-9b44-bcc7f36b0825">Not everything is perfect</h2>Although these founders made the decision to return to India, that doesn't mean they no longer see the benefits of operating in the US.Ruchit Garg founded an agriculture startup in Silicon Valley in 2016, with a focus on supporting farmers around the globe. In 2019, he returned to India, where his late grandfather worked as a farmer.Garg has been building in India ever since, but he says its startup ecosystem cannot yet compete with the Valley's decades of experience."The overall ecosystem was more mature back in Silicon Valley. It's still one of the best places for entrepreneurs. India isn't there yet, although it's growing pretty drastically," he said.Despite efforts to digitalize key processes, many bureaucratic challenges persist.For most founders, after living in US cities where populations are a fraction of those in Mumbai and Bangalore, congested roads and poorer air quality are also everyday annoyances.But India provides some big perks, including affordable domestic help and the appeal of building solutions for problems they witness firsthand."It's a different joy to be able to build for problems that you feel for very personally," Parameshwar, the fintech founder, said. When she worked in Africa, she needed translators. Now, she can speak with her users herself.Bhide said the general sentiment among local founders is shifting from "Build from India" to "Build for India."For some founders, being surrounded by family and the culture they grew up in was another selling point.Niranjan Vemulkar moved back to India in 2015 and later founded a digital legacy planning platform.He said that he never fully felt at home in the US, where he lived for over a decade."For us, it was the fact that we wanted to raise a family in an environment where the children would have access to the grandparents and Indian culture," Vemulkar said. "The fact that you could come back to India, start something of your own and figure things out in an ecosystem which was potentially booming for startups, was just a cherry on the cake."Are you in India and have a story to share about the tech and entrepreneurship landscape? Please reach out at shubhangigoel@insider.com

Some techies are leaving cushy Silicon Valley jobs to launch startups at home in India

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Adtech startups face leadership changes as investors demand growth and profitability.</li><li>Private-equity firms are looking for adtech startups to achieve scale.</li></ul>Close observers of the adtech industry will have noticed there's been a heap of change in the upper ranks of the sector's startups in recent months — especially those <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/private-equity-firms-investing-in-advertising-and-marketing-companies-2024-3">financed by private equity</a>.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.xr.global/press-releases/xr-announces-strategic-leadership-changes-to-accelerate-growth">Louisa Wong stepped down</a> as chief executive of Gamut Capital-owned XR Xtreme Reach in August. She was replaced in the interim by Chandler Bigelow, the company's chief financial officer. Doug Knopper, an investor in the company, was appointed executive chairman, while adtech veteran Jo Kinsella was promoted to global president and chief operating officer.In July, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.adexchanger.com/online-advertising/triplelift-ceo-dave-clark-abruptly-exits-after-setting-the-ssp-on-a-new-trajectory/">Dave Clark left his role as chief executive of Triplelift</a>. His responsibilities were split among an "office of the CEO," led by Eric Roza, a managing director at its lead investor, Vista Equity.At the turn of the year, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/media-deals/2024/01/04/videoamp-ceo-out-layoffs">VideoAmp CEO Ross McCray exited</a>, passing the reins to board member and investor Peter Liguori, now executive chairman. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/10/01/videoamp-media-measrement-nielsen-sale">Axios reported this month, citing multiple sources, that the company is now pursuing a sale</a>, with its investor Vista Credit Partners reportedly leading some of those discussions.Each of the changes comes with its own company-specific nuance, but experts said there are broader industry trends that link them. Those experts — bankers, adtech executives, and consultants — told Business Insider that the revolving door is likely to continue over the next six months as investors press adtech companies for growth.It marks the next stage of evolution for the adtech industry. With the digital ad market largely dominated by tech giants Google, Amazon, and Meta, independent adtech companies are forced to find new ways to compete over the remaining scraps. The small and medium-sized startups still duking it out are now entering their operator era."Automation, AI, and the optimization of corporate structures will mean that only the lean, mean companies are going to end up gaining market share and be in a position to win," said Chris Karl, chief business development officer at the M&amp;A advisory firm JEGI Clarity.<h2 id="fd8233e1-0d16-4bc2-8b40-8db1559a0af4">Adtech valuations have come back down to earth, but PE investors still want scale</h2>Private-equity firms such as Vista, GTCR, and Blackstone have been increasingly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/private-equity-firms-investing-in-advertising-and-marketing-companies-2024-3">active investors in the adtech space</a>, leading a flurry of deals between 2021 and 2022.There were 784 PE or PE-sponsored transactions in the media and marketing space in 2021, up 96% from the prior year, according to the advisory firm Ciesco. That number rose to 874 in 2022 and lowered slightly to 786 in 2023, per Ciesco.Now, a few years have passed, and leadership changes are to be expected, given historic PE investment cycles, said Mark Wright, a veteran tech investor and executive, who now leads the M&amp;A strategic advisory practice at Prohaska Consulting. Founding teams make way for more experienced operators who can take the company to the next level, he said."Although there are exceptions to the rule, there are very few founding teams that are marvelous at groundbreaking innovation that can successfully make the transition to managing and operating at scale," Wright said.Public and private valuations of adtech companies have dropped dramatically since 2021, the height of the zero-interest-rate period when there was a rise in digital ad spending and a slew of adtech IPOs. Tougher macroeconomic conditions in the years since put a strain on consumer spending and marketing budgets, cooling the markets and M&amp;A activity."Some of the changes you're seeing are indicative of a two-year cycle post-COVID where things are back to normal, or the new normal," Karl of JEGI Clarity said. "Where company performance could be tied to events that were out of their control a couple of years ago, that excuse no longer suffices. Investors want growth."Meeting growth expectations has been a challenge for some companies. JEGI Clarity, which, alongside CIL Management Consultants, conducted a survey of 25 marketing services agency leaders this summer, heard from multiple CEOs who said 2022 and 2023 were some of the most difficult operating environments of their careers.Those surveyed said they were more optimistic about 2024 now that rates have stabilized and clients are less risk-averse with their marketing budgets. Almost three-quarters (70%) of respondents in the study said that their margins had remained stable or increased this year.<h2 id="7a33b071-67d8-4249-828a-d18e4d17a037">CTV is adtech's bright spot – but it's complicated</h2>Despite a rising global advertising market that is expected to surpass $1 trillion in spending next year, not all adtech vendors are positioned to reap the rewards.Take the connected TV space. It's one of the fastest-growing ad channels in the US, with spending expected to grow 13.3% and cross $30 billion in 2025, according to Emarketer. The change in viewing patterns and forecast ad spend attracted investor interest in adtech companies that had a strong position in CTV.<div type="image" title="Emarketer US TV CTV ad spend chart" height="1466" width="1410" msid="114016955" hostid="261" sizebytes="114730"></div>However, much of the recent growth in CTV advertising is being driven by platforms like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video — so-called walled gardens that don't integrate third-party adtech vendors such as buying platforms and exchanges.CTV is also a lower-margin channel for adtech vendors than traditional online display, where up to half of every dollar spent on ads gets gobbled up by vendors like demand-side platforms, ad exchanges, ad servers, measurement vendors, and data brokers."In network TV, those supply chain costs are in the 15% level — you have to take 50% and squeeze it down to 15%," Prohaska's Wright said. "It's going to put a real emphasis on operating at scale and put a pressure on margins."As TV viewing grew fragmented, several adtech companies that took on investment in recent years positioned themselves as rivals to ratings giant Nielsen. These firms are jockeying to become the go-to companies for tracking audiences or to become the universal <a target="_blank" href="https://www.adexchanger.com/adexplainer/adexplainer-tv-measurement-vs-tv-currency/">currency</a> used to buy TV and video ads.But Nielsen still hasn't been unseated. And Walmart's acquisition of TV manufacturer Vizio — from which many adtech vendors license viewing data derived from its tens of millions of TV sets — could signal further trouble ahead if the grocery giant doesn't renew those contracts when they expire.With the Walmart-Vizio deal front of mind, adtech companies and investors are likely to turn their attention to retail media, where ads are placed on e-commerce sites. Retail media is also growing at a clip, with almost every retailer and app owner now also operating an ad business.The increasing complexity for advertisers offers opportunities for adtech companies to innovate. Though, while around $1 in every $7 US ad dollars is expected to go to the space this year, according to Emarketer, retail media is largely dominated by Amazon.There's also some executive shuffling happening in the retail media ranks: Megan Clarken, who leads the publicly traded adtech company <a target="_blank" href="https://digiday.com/media-buying/criteo-seeks-new-chief-executive-after-megan-clarken-announces-pending-exit/">Criteo</a>, said she plans to step down within the next year once her successor is found.Many industry observers expect more adtech management upheaval ahead, as well as a further consolidation of the sector once the intense fourth-quarter holiday period is over."You will see more heavy-handed PE involvement primarily because the M&amp;A market hasn't been great and people sat on the sidelines," said Domenic Venuto, COO of investment bank Progress Partners and soon-to-be chief of product and data at media agency Horizon Media."The market can only sustain so many of these companies that have grown to be quite sizable but are now hitting their upper limits," he said.

Adtech is undergoing an exec shake-up as investors seize control and startups enter a new era

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.</li></ul>Welcome back, and happy birthday to Insider Today 2.0! Today marks one year since we relaunched. Whether you've been here from the beginning or joined along the way, we appreciate the support. OK, that's enough self-congratulating.In today's big story, why LinkedIn's #opentowork banner <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-open-to-work-banner-badge-job-pros-cons-2024-9">is so controversial</a>.What's on deck:<ul><li>Markets: He used to be one of Tesla's biggest fans. Now, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-stock-crash-tsla-price-outlook-ross-gerber-2024-8">he's a huge critic</a>.</li><li>Tech: Nvidia's <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-may-lose-ai-inference-market-groq-cerebras-2024-8">biggest blind spot</a>.</li><li>Business: How people are making the most of their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-card-rewards-points-amex-millennial-gen-z-luxury-lifestyle-2024-8">credit card rewards</a>.</li></ul>But first, I'm low-key looking for a job.If this was forwarded to you, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today">sign up here.</a><h3 id="7fa5f018-5b05-4a37-a8dc-d3f89138bcb3">The big story</h3><h2 id="5fd547b9-ec52-41fc-8e08-4f4b27dd8097">Not open to being open</h2><div type="image" title="A figure hiding shamefully from pointer cursors" height="1500" width="2000" msid="113031425" hostid="261" sizebytes="113168"></div>One of the biggest debates on the internet has nothing to do with politics, the market, or sports. Instead, it's about your LinkedIn profile picture.The argument focuses on the benefits or downsides of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-open-to-work-banner-badge-job-pros-cons-2024-9">using the Open to Work banner on LinkedIn after losing your job</a>.That last sentence alone might have elicited an internal reaction from some of you. Like it or not, the banner is viewed by some as "the digital-age equivalent of standing on the sidewalk wearing a sandwich board that reads Job Wanted," writes Business Insider's Aki Ito.And besides the shame job seekers might feel, some people believe the banner comes with a risk. Touting that you are #opentowork could actually discourage recruiters from reaching out, so the thinking goes. Welcome to the internet in 2024.The result is a "bizarre" environment: One where job seekers worry that showing you're looking for work will actually make it harder to get a job, a source told Aki."Saying 'we can't hire you because you said you want a job' is like saying 'we can't feed you because you said you're hungry.'"<div type="image" title="A ball and chain with an open cuff labeled &quot;#openforwork&quot;" height="1500" width="2000" msid="113031419" hostid="261" sizebytes="125414"></div>Not everyone is scared of the banner.About 40 million users signaled they were #opentowork in July. And for good reason.Only one of the eight recruiters Aki spoke to said the banner would give them pause when looking at a candidate. Several even said they actively seek out candidates who publicize that they're open to work.But the #opentowork hesitation could be more about our personal biases than what recruiters might think. The negative reaction to the banner, while not fair, is understandable.For many, #opentowork represents our corporate mortality. A little ugly reminder that we could be next on the chopping block.None of that, however, should stop someone from using every tool in their arsenal to get a job.And even if you still feel embarrassed about using the banner, rest assured there's plenty of stuff people should be hesitant to post.LinkedIn has gotten incredibly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-linkedin-got-weird-work-life-blurred-lines-of-oversharing-2023-9">weird since the pandemic</a>. People are comfortable oversharing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-cringe-how-to-post-new-job-hiring-resume-2024-3">intimate details on what's meant to be a professional network</a>. In some cases, they've even <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-is-a-dating-app-remote-work-online-romance-2024-1">used it as a place to find a date</a>.<h3 id="77f31a4c-8462-4e3d-a71f-838cb79493fb">News brief</h3><h2 id="1fcd294b-3f53-425f-9f20-4093e8623b59">Top headlines</h2><ul><li>Hewlett Packard confirms it will continue to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hp-confirmed-will-continue-sue-mike-lynch-family-2024-9">sue Mike Lynch's family for $4 billion</a> after he died in a tragic yacht sinking.</li><li>Elon Musk thinks he knows <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-x-feed-more-toxic-forward-posts-puppies-2024-9">why your X feed might be getting more toxic</a>.</li><li>Chip companies like Nvidia and Intel are facing a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chip-companies-nvidia-intel-gender-gap-ai-boom-2024-8">major gender gap amid the AI boom</a>.</li><li>Why everyone in tech is talking about '<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-everyone-in-tech-talking-founder-mode-paul-graham-chesky-2024-9">founder mode</a>.'</li><li>A grocery tycoon turned Walmart robotics supplier is one of this year's biggest wealth losers after <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-robotics-grocery-rick-cohen-symbotic-wealth-billionaires-walmart-stock-2024-9">$9 billion wipeout</a>.</li></ul><h2 id="8120060b-ae66-48dc-b149-f0489a30ffa2">3 things in markets</h2><div type="image" title="A price tag with the American flag on it" height="1000" width="2000" msid="113031418" hostid="261" sizebytes="69334"></div><ol><li>The stock-half-full view. Americans who own stocks generally <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-outlook-impact-economic-sentiment-spread-owners-non-owners-2024-9">feel much better about the economy</a> than Americans who don't. The gap between the top one-third of stock owners and those who don't own any stocks has never been wider, and those who feel good have reason to — the S&amp;P 500 has soared nearly 50% in the past two years.</li><li>Blackstone's using generative AI to supercharge an internal search tool. The PE giant's DocAI acts like an internal ChatGPT thanks to the trove of documents uploaded by workers. The tool, which will be fully rolled out this fall, is designed to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackstone-employee-productivity-generative-ai-2024-8">help workers search and summarize more efficiently</a>.</li><li>How one of Tesla's biggest bulls turned bearish. Ross Gerber, a longtime supporter of Elon Musk, has shed around half of his fund's stake in Tesla since November 2023. He spoke to BI about <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-stock-crash-tsla-price-outlook-ross-gerber-2024-8">why he's done a 180 on the EV maker and its polarizing CEO</a>.</li></ol><h2 id="f4b54806-7f81-450c-ba32-92560d4fae9b">3 things in tech</h2><div type="image" title="Sam Altman is surrounded by logos of competing AI companies." height="900" width="1800" msid="113031421" hostid="261" sizebytes="200156"></div><ol><li>It's getting harder to make big leaps at the frontier of AI. There are a lot of capable AI models now, and they're all pretty similar to each other, which has pushed costs down. Now that the AI frontier has become "a commodity," as one startup CEO put it, there will be <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-frontier-crowded-winners-losers-2024-8">huge winners and losers in the space</a>.</li><li>Nvidia's got some competition. The chip giant's dominance isn't certain in one particular area of AI computing: inference. Demand for inference chips will only increase as AI matures, and the field is growing <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-may-lose-ai-inference-market-groq-cerebras-2024-8">crowded with formidable competitors</a>, like the ex-Googler-founded Groq and the California powerhouse Cerebras.</li><li>Supersized seed rounds shake up VC. The earliest stage of the startup market is getting out of control. As investors rush to fund the next big startup, the amount they're willing to pledge upfront has ballooned in the past three years. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/seed-stage-investing-funding-venture-capital-getting-wild-2024-8">$5 million-plus seed round</a> might be the new normal.</li></ol><h2 id="9260fa45-d397-4b3c-b4f8-4bb193976216">3 things in business</h2><div type="image" title="Photo illustration of a credit card." height="1500" width="2000" msid="113031426" hostid="261" sizebytes="76120"></div><ol><li>Welcome to credit card points mania. Credit card rewards are having a moment thanks to great perks, points, and cashback deals. Gen Zers explained the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-card-rewards-points-amex-millennial-gen-z-luxury-lifestyle-2024-8">mix of cards they use</a> to level up their rewards and live a life of more luxury. (Rule number one: Stay out of debt.)</li><li>Meet the quiet luxury millionaires. Not all millionaires have flashy homes and cars. Six wealthy-on-the-DL people told BI their strategies for growing and keeping wealth that are at odds with a loud-luxury lifestyle. Here's how they <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millionaire-investing-saving-spending-financial-independence-retire-early-fire-2024-9">build wealth modestly</a> without sacrificing comfort.</li><li>The most promising healthcare AI startups, according to VCs. AI is dominating healthcare investments this year as VC funding picks back up after a slump. BI spoke to leading VCs to identify <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/22-most-promising-healthcare-ai-startups-2024-8">22 companies using AI</a> to improve cardiovascular care, insurance payments, and more.</li></ol><h2 id="1ad7b482-3f4b-44b4-81b6-a864aa386478">In other news</h2><ul><li>Take a look inside the LA home Elon Musk is foreclosing on, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-los-angeles-home-elon-musk-foreclosing-gene-wilder-belair-2024-8">which once belonged to Hollywood royalty</a>.</li><li>Mercer advises institutions with more than $16 trillion in assets. Here's what its top investment strategist is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mercer-advice-institutional-clients-invest-private-credit-2024-8">telling the world's biggest investors</a>.</li><li>These 2024 status symbols show that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/status-symbol-item-sales-show-quiet-luxury-changing-americana-corporate-2024-9">it's not all about quiet luxury anymore</a>.</li><li>Investors are headed into the worst time of year for stocks. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-outlook-september-season-fed-cuts-election-investing-2024-8">Here's why September is brutal for the market</a>.</li><li>A US Army vet moved to Japan with his wife and bought an abandoned house for $35,000. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-veteran-moved-japan-abandoned-house-akiya-foreigner-renovation-2024-9">They have no plans to leave</a>.</li><li>Wasteful consumerism has a new worst enemy: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-alphas-new-obsession-decluttering-2024-9">Gen Alpha tweens</a>.</li></ul><h2 id="9f5d80ac-3466-429f-a50a-2ffbb70c65ff">What's happening today</h2><ul><li>Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's memoir is released.</li><li>Russian president Vladimir Putin visits Mongolia.</li></ul>The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, associate editor, in Chicago. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.

You Searched For "startup success" and got 10 results

For women building AI startups, finding community has been the key to success

Samantha Stokes

CEO of failed supersonic plane startup on what went wrong — and how other companies might find success

Taylor Rains,Benjamin Zhang

SIMPLY PUT: Founder Mode — the secret sauce to startup success or fancy term for hustle and micromanagement?

Divyanshi Sharma

Ukraine's drone teams are operating more like tech startups than military units

Thibault Spirlet

Salesforce joins the AI race, announces plans to acquire AI startup Tenyx

Divyanshi Sharma

Adam Neumann's new startup is reworking WeWork's old business model

Grace Eliza Goodwin,Geoff Wei…

Space startup Reflect Orbital plans to sell "sunlight on demand" — how will it work?

Ankush Banerjee

Some techies are leaving cushy Silicon Valley jobs to launch startups at home in India

Shubhangi Goel,Charissa Cheong

Adtech is undergoing an exec shake-up as investors seize control and startups enter a new era

Lara O'Reilly

Linkedin's job-seeking solution comes with both success and shame

Dan DeFrancesco

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides

You Searched For "startup success" and got 10 results

For women building AI startups, finding community has been the key to success

Samantha Stokes

CEO of failed supersonic plane startup on what went wrong — and how other companies might find success

Taylor Rains,Benjamin Zhang

SIMPLY PUT: Founder Mode — the secret sauce to startup success or fancy term for hustle and micromanagement?

Divyanshi Sharma

Ukraine's drone teams are operating more like tech startups than military units

Thibault Spirlet

Salesforce joins the AI race, announces plans to acquire AI startup Tenyx

Divyanshi Sharma

Adam Neumann's new startup is reworking WeWork's old business model

Grace Eliza Goodwin,Geoff Wei…

Space startup Reflect Orbital plans to sell "sunlight on demand" — how will it work?

Ankush Banerjee

Some techies are leaving cushy Silicon Valley jobs to launch startups at home in India

Shubhangi Goel,Charissa Cheong

Adtech is undergoing an exec shake-up as investors seize control and startups enter a new era

Lara O&apos;Reilly

Linkedin's job-seeking solution comes with both success and shame

Dan DeFrancesco

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides

Lara O'Reilly