When A Sale ‘Dies’: Did Flipkart’s Dark Humour Go Too Far?

Source: inc42

When A Sale ‘Dies’: Did Flipkart’s Dark Humour Go Too Far?

Business

Flipkart's obituary-style advertisement for its Freedom Sale has sparked significant controversy, dividing opinions on whether the campaign was a clever subversion or insensitive. While the ad successfully grabbed attention by mimicking memorial notices to signal ending deals, critics and brand experts argue that using death-related imagery risks damaging long-term trust. The debate highlights the tension between generating immediate visibility and maintaining brand civility.

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Higgsfield raises $400M Series B, quadrupling its valuation in 8 months to $5.4B

Startups

Higgsfield, an AI image and video creation platform founded by Alex Mashrabov, raised $400 million in a Series B round led by DST Global, reaching a $5.4 billion valuation. With 30 million users and $700 million in annualized revenue, the company serves 390 Fortune 500 firms. The new funding will support hiring, product development, and the high compute costs required to compete with rivals like Runway.

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Reddit begins testing a new audio and video experience, similar to popular TikTok videos

Startups

Reddit is testing a new "video Reddit" experience, allowing users to listen to viral stories via audio and video posts on iOS and Android. Inspired by trends on TikTok and Reels, the limited English-language trial lets users choose between reading or playing content. These formats will complement, not replace, original text posts and comments, aiming to provide a more flexible way for users to consume Reddit content.

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Sound-powered fire protection startup gets $15M to snuff out fires before they turn catastrophic

Startups

Sonic Fire Tech has raised $15 million to develop an acoustic fire suppression system that uses infrasonic waves to extinguish fires without water or chemicals. This technology aims to eliminate collateral damage and reduce restoration costs, particularly in commercial kitchens and homes. The Ohio-based startup is seeking National Fire Protection Association approval and is discussing potential premium discounts with the insurance industry to accelerate adoption.

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YouTube will now count a view as soon as a video starts playing

Startups

"YouTube is updating its view-counting method on August 24, counting a view as soon as a video starts playing. This aligns the platform with rivals TikTok and Instagram. While public view counts may rise, creators can still access 'Engaged views' via Analytics. Additionally, YouTube is raising monetization thresholds for new creators next year, requiring 8,000 watch hours or 20 million Shorts views to begin earning money.".

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Feedly attributes weeklong slowdown to bug, not its AI pivot

Startups

Feedly, the world's largest standalone RSS reader with 15 million users, has faced significant technical issues, including a slow web app and iOS malfunctions. Some paying subscribers report ignored support requests amid the company's pivot toward AI-driven intelligence. CEO Edwin Khodabakchian stated that RSS remains a priority, noting that a fix for the web app's performance bug was released Friday while iOS issues are being investigated.

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Amazon, once an online bookseller, is destroying rare books to train AI models

Startups

Amazon is acquiring rare books and scanning them for AI training, according to a report by 404 Media. The company reportedly cuts off book spines at a Las Vegas facility to digitize content for its large language models. Amazon states these purchases improve its services. Rare, out-of-print texts are highly valuable because they ensure training data is human-authored, helping the company avoid the risk of model collapse.

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Groq raises $350M to fuel its pivot from AI chips to neocloud

Startups

Startup Groq raised $350 million, valuing the company at $3.5 billion as it pivots from an AI chipmaker to a neocloud provider. After losing key talent to Nvidia, Groq shifted from developing its own LPUs to operating Nvidia-powered infrastructure. The company aims to scale its capacity to over 200 megawatts by 2027, focusing on AI inference services for millions of developers and enterprises worldwide.

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PharmEasy Claims To Be Debt Free After Paring More Stake In Thyrocare

Business

API Holdings, the parent company of PharmEasy, has become debt-free after repaying ₹1,050 crore in outstanding debt. This was achieved through internal accruals and the sale of 1.58 million Thyrocare shares by promoter Docon Technologies. Consequently, the pledge on Docon's remaining 51.02% controlling stake in Thyrocare has been fully released. Meanwhile, Thyrocare reported strong Q1 FY27 results, with net profit increasing 34.1% to ₹52.19 crore.

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Nvidia investing $1.5B in SoftBank data center developer behind OpenAI project

Startups

"Nvidia is investing $1.5 billion in SB Energy, a data center venture with SoftBank and OpenAI, securing its role as the sole compute infrastructure supplier for the Ports-Pike facility in Ohio. Nvidia will also provide up to $105 billion in credit. The project includes a $33 billion, 9.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant on former Department of Energy land, amid rising construction costs and potential gas price spikes.".

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Govt Clears 31 More Electronics Manufacturing Projects Worth ₹7.9K Cr

Business

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology approved 31 new projects and a capacity expansion under the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme, totaling ₹7,877 crore. These approvals, which will create 9,588 jobs across ten states, bring the total approved applications to 106. The scheme has now surpassed its targets for approved investments and cumulative production value, aiming to build a $500 billion electronics component industry by FY32.

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Terra Industries closes $52M seed round to build defense infrastructure for the Global South

Startups

African defense tech company Terra Industries announced an additional $18 million in funding, bringing its seed round to $52 million. Investors include 8VC, Silent Ventures, and Nova Global. Terra plans to build.

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WordPress.com targets the next generation of web creators with a free student plan

Startups

"Automattic has launched WordPress.com Education, a free suite for teachers and students designed to integrate website building into the classroom. The program provides students with full domains, plugin support, and 6GB of storage for their first year. By targeting educational institutions, Automattic aims to train future web professionals and reach underfunded schools. A pilot program involving 5,000 students showed significant improvements in employability and entrepreneurial capacity.".

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5 Books that explain why we compare ourselves with others

Startups

Human comparison is a natural psychological habit that often leads to anxiety and diminished self-worth. Five influential books—The Social Animal, The Happiness Trap, The Gifts of Imperfection, Stolen Focus, and Mindset—explore the roots of this behavior. These works analyze social influences, digital pressures, and mindset shifts, offering strategies to move from external competition toward personal growth, authenticity, and a value-driven life.

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Sunil Mittal To Step Down As Airtel Payments Bank Chairman, Shabnam Sinha To Take Over

Business

"Sunil Bharti Mittal will step down as non-executive chairman of Airtel Payments Bank on September 30. Shabnam Sinha, an independent director with over three decades of experience, will succeed him as chairperson on October 1 for a three-year term approved by the RBI. Under Mittal's leadership, the bank grew to 121 million monthly active users. The transition follows strong financial growth, including an 18.4% revenue increase in FY26.".

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Exclusive: Peak XV Alum Saksham Mittal’s Corpus Labs In Talks To Raise Funding From Stellaris

Business

Corpus Labs, a wealthtech startup co-founded by former Peak XV analyst Saksham Mittal, is reportedly seeking pre-seed funding from Stellaris Venture Partners, though its website claims $4.2 million already raised. The read-only platform analyzes mutual fund portfolios for cost differences and asset allocation without executing transactions or recommending funds. Corpus enters a competitive Indian wealthtech market projected to exceed $95 billion by FY30.

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Startup news and updates: daily roundup (August 17, 2026)

Startups

API Holdings became debt-free after repaying Rs 1,050 crore, while QpiAI opened Asia's largest quantum chip foundry in Bengaluru. Swiggy introduced Guru, an AI assistant for restaurants, and Per Annum saw its AUM surge to Rs 1,400 crore. Other highlights include Aum Ventures' DeepSpark 2.0 launch, Cognizant's Talent Accelerator program, and a joint venture between Voltas and Atomberg to manufacture high-efficiency AC compressors in India.

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Indian deeptech investments reach $11.4B: Report

Startups

The Bharat DeepTech Report 2026 reveals that India's deeptech sector secured $11.4 billion in funding from 2015 to mid-2026. AI leads investment, while semiconductors and spacetech show rapid growth. Despite milestones and government support via the RDI Fund, the sector faces a "valley of death" in early-stage research and a Series B/C funding gap. Addressing these hurdles is essential for building globally competitive indigenous innovation.

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Uber adds Zipline drones to its Eats delivery network

Startups

Uber is partnering with and investing in drone delivery startup Zipline to integrate its technology into the Uber Eats platform. The companies aim to achieve one million daily deliveries by 2029, with initial launches starting this year in existing Zipline markets before expanding to dozens of U.S. cities. This move aligns with Uber's broader strategy of partnering with autonomous vehicle providers to drive growth through quick commerce.

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Wispr raises $280M at $2B valuation as it looks beyond dictation

Startups

"Wispr, an AI dictation startup, raised $280 million in Series B funding led by Menlo Ventures, reaching a $2 billion valuation. The company plans to expand into meeting notes and improve speech accuracy with its new Canto model. Wispr is also scaling globally, partnering with hardware makers, and launching Interface Labs to explore human-computer interaction, all while facing increased competition from various AI dictation and note-taking apps.".

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