Daily Strategic Briefing

Hacked Ford screens put anti-RTO slogan above CEO’s face

Carmaker confirms screen hijack, says probe underway Conference-room screens at Ford's Dearborn HQ were briefly hijacked on Thursday to display a protest image in an apparent swipe at the carmaker's return-to-office policy.…

India's tech talent pipeline is sputtering

AI and new wave of offshoring mean graduates can't get gigs Feature  Shubh Kumar graduated from IIT Patna, one of India's famed Institutes of Technology – universities that attract millions of applicants but admit only 18,000 undergraduates.…

ICE plans to scour Facebook, TikTok, X, and even defunct Google+ for illegal immigration leads

Draft solicitation calls for nearly 30 contractors to mine social media and other open-source data US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking contractors to trawl social media and other open-source data for potential immigration enforcement leads, assuming public posts can yield actionable intelligence.…

Bezos plan for solar powered datacenters is out of this world… literally

Aspiring Bond villain believes the best place to train our AI overlords is in orbit Amazon founder and executive chair Jeff Bezos says that, within two decades, gigawatt-scale datacenters powered by a continuous stream of photons from the sun will fill Earth's orbit.…

No suds for you! Asahi brewery attack leaves Japanese drinkers dry

One week after the blitz, beer biz is still stymied Ransomware has left Japan's biggest brewer struggling to ship beer, with Asahi warning domestic customers to brace for patchy supplies while its core systems stay offline.…

If you’re not an AI startup, good luck raising money from VCs

Summary:

New PitchBook data illustrates how dramatically AI is dominating startup investment, with 2025 on-track to become the first year when AI accounts for more than half of all VC money invested.

Instacrops will demo its water-saving, crop-boosting AI at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

Summary:

Agriculture consumes a vast amount of water, and some countries are under more stress than others. Instacrops pivoted to AI to help farmers cut water use by 30%.

Sam Altman says Sora will add ‘granular,’ opt-in copyright controls

Summary:

OpenAI may be reversing course on how it approaches copyright and intellectual property in its new video app Sora.

With its latest acqui-hire, OpenAI is doubling down on personalized consumer AI 

Summary:

OpenAI is acquiring the CEO of Roi, an AI financial companion. Roi will sunset its service as its talent heads to OpenAI, ostensibly to help boost revenue in consumer apps.

Sources: Naveen Rao’s new AI hardware startup targets $5B valuation with backing from a16z 

Summary:

Former Databricks AI chief is raising $1 billion to build an Nvidia rival through a novel approach.

Kapiva raises $60M in Series D round led by 360 ONE Asset and Vertex Growth

Kapiva, a healthcare brand focused on Ayurveda-based products, has raised $60 million in a Series D funding round. The round included $28 million in primary capital and was led by 360 ONE Asset and Vertex Growth, with participation from existing investors Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India an

Omnichannel watch retailer Art of Time secures Rs 175 Cr in Series B funding

The funding will primarily be used for offline expansion, especially for the launch of CIRCA, a discovery-led, contemporary retail offering.

Good Capital raises $30M in final close of second fund to back AI-driven startups

The firm will look to write cheques to new-age and technology-first startups with a focus on artificial intelligence-driven firms.

Hyderabad-based fintech Zaggle to raise nearly Rs 60 Cr through warrants

Enterprise fintech company Zaggle had raised Rs 595 crore through a QIP in December 2024, with the state-owned Bank of India emerging as the largest buyer.

Hocco secures Rs 115 Cr in funding at Rs 2,000 Cr valuation led by Sauce.VC

Since its launch less than two years ago, Hocco has expanded quickly, gaining traction through product innovation, quality, and a modern approach to distribution.

Q2 Results, IPOs, Gold to Steer Markets

Key triggers for Indian markets this week include Q2 results, IPOs, FOMC minutes, US govt shutdown, and gold prices. Metal stocks like Tata Steel, Hindalco, and PSU banks drove gains; TCS to announce Q2 results on Oct 9. Source: Livemint

FMCG Giants' D2C Bets Grow Revenue, Struggle with Losses

D2C startups acquired by FMCG giants like HUL, ITC, Marico, and Emami saw revenue growth but continued to report losses. Acquisitions enabled brands to scale distribution and gain metro market share, but high customer acquisition costs remain a challenge. Source: The Economic Times

Indian IPOs to Hit $5B in Oct; 2023's Largest Listing Next Week

Indian IPO market set for record $5B in October with major listings. Two $1B+ IPOs, including 2023's largest, to open next week. Source: Business Standard

NALCO Breaks Trendline, Volumes Surge

National Aluminium breaks descending trendline, retests support with rising volumes. Source: ScoutQuest

RBI ECL Move Hits MFI Banks, Kotak Hard

RBI's ECL model shift will heavily impact MFI-focused banks like Bandhan Bank, IndusInd Bank, and AU Small Finance Bank. SBI's provision needs reduced to below ₹20,000 Cr; Kotak Mahindra Bank to face significant impact, Axis Bank mild. Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Agricultural Commodities Updates: Wool Soars by 7.71%

Country: Commodity, Description: Top commodity gainers are Wool (7.71%), Coffee (2.28%) and Rubber (1.67%). Biggest losers are Cocoa (-4.84%) and Canola (-1.33%).

Metals Commodities Updates: Platinum Rises by 2.97%

Country: Commodity, Description: Top commodity gainers are Platinum (2.97%), Copper (2.51%), Silver (2.08%) and Gold (0.77%).

Energy Commodities Updates: Natural gas Falls by 3.08%

Country: Commodity, Description: Top commodity losers are Natural gas (-3.08%) and Ethanol (-0.65%). Gains are led by Natural Gas UK GBP (2.19%), Natural Gas EU Dutch TTF (1.92%), Brent Crude Oil (0.37%) and Crude Oil WTI (0.35%).

FX Updates: Swedish Krona Rises by 0.35%

Country: Currency, Description: Top currency gainers are Swedish Krona (0.35%), Swiss Franc (0.32%), British Pound (0.30%) and Euro (0.22%). Biggest losers are Turkish Lira (-0.28%), Japanese Yen (-0.11%) and Dollar Index (-0.13%).

Ibovespa Rebounds at Week's End

Country: Brazil, Description: The Ibovespa rose 0.2% to close at 144,201 on Friday on positive company news and strength among commodity producers even as a sharp contraction in private sector activity pushed expectations for a dovish Central Bank. Embraer gained 1.9% after reporting 62 aircraft deliveries in the third quarter, up from 59 a year earlier, with commercial plane deliveries up 25% to their strongest third-quarter level in eight years. WEG advanced 0.9% as it accelerates expansion into Europe’s EV charging market and expects local battery charger sales early next year. Suzano Papel e Celulose, Raia Drogasil and TOTVS also outperformed, adding 1.1%, 3.8% and 1.9% respectively. S&P Global’s composite PMI for Brazil fell to 46.0 in September from 48.8 in August, the fastest deterioration in nearly four and a half years, underscoring a broad slowdown in new orders, output and services activity and reinforcing bets on easier policy.

Vietnam posts 8.22% growth despite US tariffs, typhoons

Summary: The third-quarter expansion marks the country's highest quarterly growth since 2011, excluding the post-COVID recovery surge in 2022., Description: Vietnam's economy posted robust third-quarter growth of 8.22% despite facing headwinds from new US tariffs and destructive typhoons, marking the country's highest quarterly expansion since 2011 excluding the post-COVID recovery surge in 2022. The acceleration from 7.96% in the second quarter exceeded most international forecasts and demonstrated remarkable resilience amid challenging conditions.

Astronomers find evidence for possible planet beyond Neptune

Summary: Unusual orbital patterns of 50 distant Kuiper Belt objects suggest an undiscovered world smaller than Earth may be lurking in the outer solar system., Description: Astronomers have discovered compelling evidence suggesting an undiscovered world may be lurking in the outer reaches of our solar system. A new study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society introduces what researchers call "Planet Y," a hypothetical planet inferred from unusual orbital patterns of distant objects in the Kuiper Belt. The research, led by Amir Siraj, a...

Living brain cells power new biocomputers

Summary: Lab-grown human neurons consume up to 10,000 times less energy than traditional processors, offering breakthrough efficiency for AI computing., Description: Scientists are pushing the boundaries of computing with breakthroughs in biocomputing that utilize living human brain cells to create "wetware" computers, representing a dramatic shift from traditional silicon-based processing. These biological computers, powered by lab-grown human neurons called organoids, promise to revolutionize artificial intelligence and computing efficiency in ways that...

Trump to federalize 300 Illinois National Guard troops, Pritzker says

Summary: Governor Pritzker opposes the move as the administration escalates military deployments in Democratic-led cities amid immigration enforcement operations., Description: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced Saturday that President Donald Trump will soon federalize 300 National Guard troops in his state, despite the governor's strong opposition, as the administration escalates its use of military forces in Democratic-led cities across the nation. "This morning, the Trump Administration's Department of Defense gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we...

Analysts warn AI bubble dwarfs dotcom crash

Summary: Goldman Sachs CEO predicts market downturn within two years as tech companies commit $320 billion to AI infrastructure this year., Description: Financial analysts and technology leaders have issued stark warnings about an artificial intelligence investment bubble that they claim now dwarfs previous market manias, with some experts arguing it poses greater systemic risks than both the dotcom crash and the 2008 subprime crisis. Julien Garran, an analyst at MacroStrategy Partnership who previously led UBS's commodities strategy team,...