‘Odyssey’ director Christopher Nolan calls AI an obvious ‘Trojan horse’

Startups • Anthony Ha

"Director Christopher Nolan describes AI as a 'transparent Trojan horse,' praising the public's deep skepticism toward the technology, particularly among young people. The 'techno-skeptic' filmmaker argues that questioning both the tools and the motives of their creators is essential for progress. While embracing certain innovations, Nolan remains committed to traditional film, emphasizing that new technology should not replace viable existing systems in the creative process.".

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Startups • Your story

The Marico Innovation Foundation has opened applications for the 2027 edition of Indian Innovation Icons. This biennial program identifies hidden, high-impact innovators in the business and social sectors. Selected winners receive mentorship from Harsh Mariwala and senior leadership, access to venture capital, and national visibility. Eligible organizations must offer unique, scalable, and sustainable solutions. Interested applicants must submit their entries by July 22, 2026, to gain critical support.

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Business • Shrishti Bisht

Bengaluru-based quick medicine delivery startup Plazza has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Accel, Elevation Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners. Founded by former Zomato executive Aman Priyadarshi, the company utilizes AI-powered inventory systems to offer rapid 15-to-30-minute deliveries. Plazza plans to use the funding to enhance its technology and expand its pharmacy network beyond its current two stores in Bengaluru.

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Startups • Your story

India is constructing the 508 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor with Japanese technical assistance. Designed for 320 kmph, the project will reduce travel time to two hours. While Gujarat's sections are well-advanced, Maharashtra's tunnels, including an undersea passage, are underway. The revised cost is approximately ₹1.98 lakh crore. The Surat-Bilimora section opens in 2027, with full completion targeted for 2029, fostering critical national technology transfer.

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Business • Shraddha Goled

NVIDIA has launched a global revenue-sharing financing model to help AI cloud providers, including those in India, overcome capital constraints when procuring GPU infrastructure. By combining credit support with revenue sharing, NVIDIA enables smaller "neoclouds" to expand their compute capacity. While this reduces financial risk for providers, critics warn it increases NVIDIA's control over the AI ecosystem and may create unfair priority access to chips.

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Startups • Your story

"Bengaluru-based healthtech startup Plazza has raised $15 million in Series A funding co-led by Accel, Elevation Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners. The company utilizes AI-driven inventory intelligence to solve medicine availability issues in India, increasing store stock and fulfillment rates. Plazza plans to use the capital to enhance its technology platform and expand its pharmacy network, offering rapid medicine delivery within 15 to 30 minutes.".

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Business • Team Inc42

(Other sections like Fino Payments Bank, Snapdeal, Turtlemint, Meesho, ZeroDrag are secondary/separate news snippets in a newsletter format. The prompt asks to summarize "the news article content", but the primary lead story is Skyroot. Usually, in these types of prompts, the main story is the focus, but I should check if I need to summarize the whole newsletter. However, the Skyroot story is the most substantial. Let's see if I can integrate the others or focus on the lead. Given the "news article" phrasing, it's likely the lead story, but the provided text is a newsletter. I will focus on the primary achievement of Skyroot as the central theme, as it's the "historic" event.).

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Startups • Your story

The EU has banned large companies from destroying unsold clothing and footwear to reduce waste. In space, researchers found an atmosphere on rocky planet LHS 1140b, while Buzz Aldrin's moon pen sold for $850,000. Biotech firms are testing weight-loss drugs for cats. Meanwhile, Indian AI startups saw a surge in VC funding, and Meta experienced outages. Finally, SBI Funds Management prepares for its listing amid upcoming corporate earnings.

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Business • Gargi Sarkar

India's largest stockbroker, Groww, is diversifying beyond brokerage to become a full-stack financial services company. To counter slowing customer growth and regulatory shifts, Groww is expanding into wealth management, asset management, lending, and US stocks. The company is leveraging AI to scale these verticals efficiently. In Q1 FY27, Groww reported a 94.3% jump in net profit to ₹735 crore, signaling strong financial momentum during this transition.

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Startups • Anthony Ha

"Netflix recently disclosed paying $587 million in cash to acquire InterPositive, an AI startup co-founded by Ben Affleck. The company's tools assist filmmakers with post-production challenges, including lighting and background replacements. As part of the deal, the InterPositive team joined Netflix, with Affleck serving as a senior advisor. This move aligns with Netflix's growing use of generative AI, which has already been integrated into approximately 300 titles.".

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Startups • Kate Park

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited Tokyo to forge strategic partnerships aimed at advancing "physical AI" in Japan's industrial sector. Key initiatives include Noetra, a sovereign AI factory powered by Nvidia chips, and collaborations with robotics giants like Fanuc and Toyota. Japan aims to deploy 10 million AI-equipped robots by 2040, leveraging Nvidia's hardware to reduce foreign dependence and capture a significant share of the global robotics market.

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Startups • Anthony Ha

"Apple has filed a trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging a pattern of misconduct to obtain confidential information from former Apple employees. OpenAI denies the claims, but the legal battle could disrupt its plans to launch hardware products and pursue an initial public offering. With over 400 former Apple staff now at OpenAI, the case may cause development delays and impact investor confidence ahead of the company's IPO.".

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Startups • Kirsten Korosec

Uber and Waymo are clashing over a proposed Washington, D.C. bill regarding autonomous vehicle operations, with Uber arguing the legislation would grant Waymo a monopoly. Meanwhile, Uber is expanding its global delivery reach through a $14.8 billion acquisition of Germany's Delivery Hero. Other industry updates include funding rounds for Senra and Self Inspection, Lucid Motors denying bankruptcy rumors, and SpaceX aborting a Starship rocket launch.

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Startups • Kate Park

Current AI, a nonprofit funded with $400 million, is developing open-source AI infrastructure to provide a public alternative to private tech giants. By partnering with governments and organizations, it launched Suno Sutra, an offline device supporting 22 Indian languages. The organization also provides grants for community-led AI projects in Africa and South America, focusing on data sovereignty and the preservation of endangered languages and cultures.

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Business • Gargi Sarkar

Tata-backed BigBasket is shifting its strategy to prioritize sustainable profitability over rapid expansion. Facing intense competition from quick commerce rivals like Blinkit and Zepto, the company is reportedly reducing its operational footprint to focus on high-density urban markets. Under new CEO Amit Nanda, BigBasket aims to improve operational efficiency and leverage private labels to offset significant losses and compete in a crowded delivery market.

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Startups • Your story

General Fusion debuted on the Nasdaq, aiming for fusion power plants by 2035 to meet AI energy demands. Meanwhile, Google employees are seeking layoff protections as AI shifts the tech landscape. In India, Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched the Vikram-1 orbital rocket, and Shunya Labs is developing multilingual voice AI. Additionally, US protesters oppose data center expansion, while Meta explores leasing computing capacity to AI startup Anthropic.

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Startups • Your story

"The Art Bengaluru Collective is hosting its 11th annual exhibition, ABC Chitra-Colors 2026, at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. Featuring 300 works from over 45 artists, the show includes mixed media, acrylics, and charcoal art. Founded by Rasheed Kappan and Ranji David, the collective aims to democratize art access and support creators by charging no commission on sales, fostering a vibrant, inclusive cultural community in Bengaluru.".

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Startups • Your story

"YourStory’s 241st edition of Lateral Sparks highlights five entrepreneurial solutions to real-world problems. Elevate Education addresses educational relevance through industry-aligned training, while Saregama Carvaan provides a retro music player for older users. The Sweet Change offers natural sweeteners for diabetics, MetaGO provides a metabolic health platform for obesity, and Gabit introduces a smart ring for comfortable health tracking, showcasing diverse innovations across various sectors.".

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Startups • Anthony Ha

"Waymo has temporarily paused its robotaxi service and disabled freeway routes in San Francisco following a power outage affecting approximately 7,000 customers. This incident follows previous service disruptions caused by blackouts in December and July. Consequently, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is calling for stricter state regulations to ensure autonomous vehicles can operate safely and effectively during major planned or unplanned city-wide incidents.".

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Startups • Anthony Ha

Moonshot AI has released Kimi K3, an open-source model demonstrating performance competitive with leading proprietary AI. The announcement triggered a dip in chip stocks and reignited debates over the US-China AI race. While some critics warn of "AI communism" and the risks of distillation, others argue that US regulatory hurdles hinder progress. The release highlights ongoing tensions regarding national security and the future of open-weight models.

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Categories

‘Odyssey’ director Christopher Nolan calls AI an obvious ‘Trojan horse’

Are you India's next big thing? Apply for Marico Innovation Foundation's Indian Innovation Icons 2027 to find out

Plazza Bags $15 Mn To Expand Quick Medicine Delivery Business

Inside India's bullet train: 357 km built, first ride in 2027

NVIDIA Wants To Solve India’s GPU Compute Problem, But At What Cost?

Plazza raises $15M Series A to expand pharmacy network

Skyroot Scripts History, Weekly Funding Rundown & More

Making India ‘food wise’; AI lifts VC inflow in startup ecosystem

Why Groww Wants To Be Everything At Once

Netflix paid $587M for Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup

What to watch for after Jensen Huang’s Japan visit

Can an Apple lawsuit derail OpenAI’s hardware plans?

TechCrunch Mobility: The battle over robotaxi rules

Nonprofit Current AI is racing to build the World Wide Web of AI, free for all

BigBasket’s Retreat

Liftoff for Skyroot’s Vikram-1; Building AI voice infra for Indian languages

Art Bengaluru Collective kicks off its 11th annual art exhibition

Education, AI, health: test your business creativity with Edition 241 of our weekly quiz!

Waymo appears to pause San Francisco service amidst power outage

Kimi: Threat or menace?