Eclipse Hires Uniswap and dYdX Executive Vijay Chetty as Chief Business Officer

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, July 11, 2023 — Eclipse, a leader in customizable blockchain solutions, today announced the appointment of Vijay Chetty as their new Chief Business Officer. Chetty was formerly Head of Business Development at decentralized finance (DeFi) powerhouses Uniswap and dYdX. In this new role, Chetty will leverage his extensive knowledge and experience to propel Eclipse’s growth and market penetration.

Chetty is widely recognized in the DeFi sector for his leadership roles at Uniswap and dYdX, where he drove substantial growth and development for both platforms. He has been pivotal in navigating the intricate DeFi landscape, establishing valuable partnerships, and driving broader liquidity and adoption.

“We’re beyond excited to welcome Vijay to the Eclipse team,” said the Eclipse CEO, Neel Somani. “Given Vijay’s proven track record launching and scaling dYdX and Uniswap, he navigated the exact challenges that Eclipse solves. This marks the expansion of Eclipse’s DeFi offering in addition to the suite of growing use cases powered by our cross-ecosystem infrastructure.”

Eclipse enables highly scalable, customizable solutions for applications across multiple ecosystems. Eclipse’s technology provides optimized, modular blockchains called “rollups” for applications with unique infrastructure needs, including those in DeFi, gaming, decentralized physical infrastructure networks, and social.

Chetty shared, “I am incredibly excited to join the Eclipse team. The work they’re doing to enhance Ethereum scalability is groundbreaking. I look forward to contributing to the growth of Eclipse’s modular infrastructure, and to shaping the future of decentralized finance.”

Chetty’s leadership will play a critical role in driving the adoption of rollup technology in the wider crypto and blockchain ecosystem.

Eclipse’s mainnet is targeted for the second half of 2023 and is currently onboarding multiple cohorts of projects including Polygon, React Network, Injective, Zebec, Worlds, and more. To learn more about Eclipse’s customizable rollup solutions and deploy an optimized appchain, contact team@eclipse.builders.

Millennial Urban Comfort – ‘Real’ Value in a Changing World

– By Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande Spaces

India has been witnessing a consistent rise in urbanization over the years. A survey by the United Nations projects that by 2030, over 40.76% of India’s population will live in urban regions. World Bank statistics from 2017 add weight to this estimate – in that year, about 34% of the country’s population already lived in cities.

India’s urbanization trend will continue, and by 2050, India will be among the leaders in global urbanization, along with China, Indonesia, Nigeria, and the United States. And India’s urban ethos is driven by young people – dual-income nuclear families and up-and-coming single professionals.

Data from Statistica, which shows the age distribution of India between 2011 and 2021, lean towards 67.51% in the 15-64 age group. In 2022, the median age of an Indian was 28.7 years, as opposed to 38.4 in China and 48.6 in Japan.

Simultaneously, the nuclear family is quickly taking over as the majority of Indian families today have broken away from their once-joint origins and are now defined by five or fewer individuals.

Nuclear Family – The Urban Phenomenon

Today’s millennials aspire to live lifestyles based on modern options. They want to be financially independent, select their life partners without being influenced by the older generation, raise their own kids in modern, urban settings, and send them to reputable schools and colleges.

The success of a modern nuclear family depends on maintaining a laser-like focus on earning power, job advancement, and savvy investments. As a reward for this focus, modern young Indians expect to live in security and comfort and look for homes that can deliver this comfort.

The Millennial Comfort Revamp

While the pursuit of comfort hasn’t changed over the generations, its definition certainly has. For India’s young urbanites today, a comfortable home is defined by adequate size, the right location, smart home features, and top-grade amenities and facilities.

Where their parents may have been happy to live in smaller homes near the city’s traditional office hubs, stretching their budgets to buy such homes, subjecting the family to chaotic, cramped inner-city living, a massive number of Indian millennials grew up in such limited environments and are determined to live better lives.

This orientation has, in recent years, caused developers to shift their focus from compact housing projects near the core areas to spacious townships and gated communities in the suburbs. These projects have everything that the previously popular ones lacked – greenery, sustainability features, technology-driven comfort and convenience, high-level security, and, most of all, enough space for the family to grow.

The always-crucial factor of location has also undergone a sea change. The inner city has fallen out of vogue. The preference of young Indian urbanites has gone from ‘central’ to ‘well-connected’. The metro system and ring roads have caused our cities to expand hugely in scope, making less expensive outlying areas even more desirable than the congested city centers.

Various reports by leading real estate consultants highlight the increased demand for bigger homes made affordable by their non-central locations and reliable by their developers’ reputation for quality.

Townships – New Urban Comfort Standard

With ultra-modern townships now being developed in non-central locations, high-grade comfortable living standards have become a very approachable goal. The previous mold has been broken, and an entirely new standard of urban comfort has been set. These projects have everything it takes to live spaciously.

Young Indians are buying into projects that support their desire for space, convenience, and safety both inside their homes and within the projects. Unlike in previous years, there is now a huge demand for on-site amenities that improve the quality of life. It’s no longer just about four walls but an integrated lifestyle.

The best-selling townships today feature spacious and well-designed living spaces, incorporating modern architectural and interior design principles. They prioritize functionality, aesthetics, and the efficient utilization of space, enhancing residents’ overall quality of life.

They also have advanced security systems, such as CCTV cameras, access control mechanisms, and security personnel, which create a safer living environment. Unlike the housing projects of yesteryears, these townships have highly efficient facilities management systems that tackle waste management, maintenance, repairs, and utility upkeep.

They have well-designed community spaces and recreational facilities such as parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, gyms, and community centers. These promote an active and healthy lifestyle, encourage social interaction among residents, and provide spaces for relaxation and leisure activities.

Tech-savvy millennials also expect technology that enhances their living experience. Smart home systems, such as automated lighting, temperature control, visitor monitoring, and appliance control, have increasingly become must-haves in the new urban comfort sphere.

Comfort with a Conscience

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Indian millennial’s concept of urban comfort also includes having an easier conscience. They expect sustainability features that address the mounting environmental concerns that are constantly in the news now.

Sustainable and energy-efficient features such as solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, rainwater harvesting systems, and green spaces reduce the project’s carbon footprint, lower utility bills, and result in a more environmentally friendly community.

Indeed, the concept of urban comfort has come a long way over the years. And indeed, it is a constantly evolving theme that will see rapid and regular changes in the years to come. Indian homebuyers expect a lot more from their homes than their parents did – and developers have little choice but to deliver ‘real’ value in a changing world.

Japan Career Promotion Forum INDIA 2023

It is a webinar focused on Indian students aiming to build their careers in Japanese companies in Japan or India.

The webinar will introduced various career opportunities and working environment in Japan, business scenario and the trend of global talent acquisition. It also featured presentations from companies that are utilizing Indian talents for their international business, Bilateral Relations between India and Japan, and Japan’s Immigration Policy, Voices of Indian professionals living in Japan and JETRO’s support for international talent (“Open For Professionals”)

Date:

Date: Wednesday, 28th June 2023, Time: 16:00-17:10 (IST), Online

Participants and Supporting Organizations

This initiative had 7400 students registering for the event.And around 4500 viewers. We also reached out to more than 45 universities across India to encourage and inform students about this exciting opportunity. And it supported by Embassy of Japan, Embassy of India, Japan Foundation, JICA, AOTS, Japan National Tourism Organization.

Additionally, the Ambassador of India to Japan Ambassador Sibi George and the Ambassador of Japan to India, Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki, and Chief Director General, JETRO New Delhi, Mr.Takashi SUZUKI also participated.

 

 Ambassador of Japan to India, Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki

Our countries are bonded by special partnership which is both global and strategic. Prime Minister Kishida visited New Delhi in March and PM Modi visited Hiroshima for G7 Summit in both these meetings, the two leaders confirmed, that it is critically important to strengthen people to people exchange. Since India and Japan are like brother countries, I would like see talented Indian people to go to Japan and work there and Japanese professionals to come to India and work.

Ambassador of India to Japan Ambassador Sibi George 

In India’s highly skilled and educated youth provides a ready and capable work force to engage in highly technical jobs at R&D. Partnership of human resource is welcome under the ongoing India-Japan digital partnership. It will also help in enhancing the digital economy through promotion of joint projects for digital transformation and to provide opportunities for Indian IT professionals to work in Japan and Japanese companies and collaborations in the area of IOT, AI and other emerging technologies.

Talk session with Indian Professionals working in Japan 

The session was moderated by Swastik Kulkarni from JETRO, Headquarters, Tokyo. During the sessions the professionals talked about the challenges they face in their daily lives and how they overcome the challenges, also their inclination towards learning the language and reasons to move to Japan, etc. One of the participants said that he can’t speak Japanese but is still able to survive in Japan, however, other participants said that it helps if you learn the language as Indians, in general, have a linguistic learning mindset. 

Chief Director General, JETRO New Delhi, Mr.Takashi SUZUKI

He gave a brief presentation about India -Japan economic relations. He started the speech by saying that he loves India. Also briefly explained current Japanese businesses in India and Japanese investment in India. He said that the average amount of Japanese investment in India, for ten years is 2.4 billion US $ Per year. He also mentioned that the Japanese companies in India have the world’s no.1 appetite for business expansion. Also, he gave some very interesting insights on seizing Japan’s unique opportunities and navigating a unique landscape. This session included Japan’s technologies and innovations, Japanese SMEs, and start-ups. How to build and utilize professional networks in Japan by attending networking events by industry associations and how to embrace Japanese culture by attending various local events and interacting with local people in Japan can help in surviving in Japan. Also to try Japanese content like anime and manga and lastly if anyone is going to Tokyo to work in Japan, please go visit JETRO, headquarters in Japan. 

Femtech Company, Sonio, Raises $14 Million to Improve the Health of Pregnant People and Children Across the World

Paris, France – (July 11, 2023) – Sonio, a French medtech specializing in pregnant people and children’s health, is today finalizing a series A fundraising of $14 million following the initial commitment of the EIC Fund (European Innovation Council) last December.

This round is led by Cross Border Impact Ventures, a North American impact fund dedicated to the health of women and children, and the Elaia funds, French Tech Seed managed on behalf of the State by Bpifrance in the framework of France 2030, OneRagtime, as well as business angels very active in the health field, including Dominique Gaillard (former president of France Invest), Alain Decombe (Dechert) and Yann Fleureau (founder of Cardiologs), who renew their trust.

True to its mission to improve access to quality pregnancy monitoring for all, Sonio will use this fundraising to continue to improve its SaaS solution, initiate its commercial development in the United States, and adapt its technology for the use of portable ultrasound scanners.

“Sonio has created an innovative platform that empowers fetal ultrasound technology, enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of fetal medicine specialists. Additionally, it aims to bridge the increasing shortage of specialized healthcare workers worldwide. We take pride in leading this significant round of financing, as it contributes to the early growth of this venture.” Says Annie Thériault, Managing Partner at Cross-Border Impact Ventures.

The Company has developed the first SaaS, agnostic and interoperable, to automate ultrasound reporting, while providing image quality control and detection of potential anomalies using AI. Sonio will continue to enrich its artificial intelligence for image recognition in order to extend the number of automatically recognized images, to be able to check their quality, and to help detect anomalies, and will integrate data into its multimodal platform imaging and genomics.

Sonio has always had the ambition to offer quality care to all pregnant people and all children, including in the poorest regions, particularly affected by maternal mortality. Of the 287,000 women who died in such circumstances in 2020, 70% were recorded in sub-Saharan Africa. Sonio’s technology, made available to manufacturers of portable ultrasound scanners, will enable healthcare personnel to carry out ultrasounds all over the world to high and verified quality standards. Sonio has identified the mission of meeting the specific needs of these new equipment manufacturers both to equip new non-expert practitioners in developed countries (emergency physicians, general practitioners/midwives in medical deserts) and in developing countries. development.

Cécile Brosset, CEO and co-founder of Sonio states: “This lifting is a pivotal step in the development of Sonio. By supporting our technological and commercial growth, it makes it possible to achieve our mission. I am fortunate to be surrounded by a team of deeply committed experts, and I would like to thank them. Our board of directors is today in the image of Sonio, inscribed in the diversity of men and women, international, and in search of a model of both impact and growth. In a financing universe largely dominated by men, I am delighted to have found partners so aligned with our ambitions and who understood and valued Sonio’s mission as well as its strategy and rapid execution capacity.”

About Sonio:

Sonio is an Artificial Intelligence solution for prenatal screening and diagnosis with over five years of research and collaborations between leading experts in fetal medicine and artificial intelligence. Sonio’s goal is to support the analysis of practitioners in prenatal screening and diagnosis by assuring the completeness of their examination and increasing the accuracy of their patient scan results.

To learn more about Sonio, visit our website https://sonio.ai/us/

Bengaluru Finds Mysterious Download, Unlock, and Search Buttons amidst Public Garbage Dumps: Is the IT City Redefining Digital Innovation

Bengaluru, the IT capital of India, has always been at the forefront of technological advancements and innovation. However, today morning, the city woke up to something interesting when huge, discarded buttons of ‘Download’, ‘Unlock’, and ‘Search’ were found in several public garbage dumps at places like Jyoti Nivas College, Cubbon Park, Lal Bagh and Church Street among others.

Residents of Bengaluru are intrigued and filled with anticipation by the juxtaposition of these buttons against the backdrop of garbage dumps. Social media platforms are buzzing with debates as individuals exchange ideas and speculations regarding the importance and meaning of these peculiar buttons. It is worth mentioning that terms such as ‘download’, ‘unlock’ and ‘search’ are quite integral in the world of internet and mobile technology.

As citizens eagerly await the mystery to unfold, the city of Bengaluru continues to capture the imagination of the nation with its relentless pursuit of technological excellence. Whether this unconventional placement of buttons signifies a novel approach to digital detox or heralds an upcoming breakthrough in digital innovation, Bengaluru has once again positioned itself as a hub of curiosity, inspiring discussions and speculation about the future of technology in the city and the country at large.

500,000 MPH UK Space Rocket Hotter than the Sun

A.I. Sparks Nuclear Fusion Rocket Breakthrough

UK aerospace company Pulsar Fusion has started constructing the largest practical nuclear fusion rocket engine ever built.

The 8-metre fusion chamber is being assembled in Bletchley, England and when fired in 2027, will temporarily become the hottest place in the solar system creating exhaust speeds of over 500,000 MPH.

Researchers at Pulsar Fusion hope to reach several hundred- million degrees when the final plasma shot is fired in the chamber, creating temperatures hotter than the Sun.

Dr James Lambert, CFO of Pulsar Fusion said: “The difficulty is learning how to hold and confine the super-hot plasma within an electromagnetic field.

“The plasma behaves like a weather system in terms of being incredibly hard to predict using conventional techniques.

“Scientists have not been able to control the turbulent plasma as it is heated to hundreds of millions of degrees and the reaction simply stops.

“This unpredictability is attributed to the science Magneto-Hydro Dynamics (MHD) and Gyrokinetics, the state of the plasma is changing all the time.

“Scientists can get to fusion temperatures, as recently demonstrated at the Lawrence Livermore laboratory in 2022, and this will be achieved again more often going forward, but small improvements can dramatically improve the results in our favour.”

Crucially, very recent advances in machine learning techniques may have changed the playing field in favour of scientists.

Pulsar have teamed up with Princeton Satellite Systems to take the data from the World record holding PFRC-2 reactor, feed it into supercomputer simulations to better predict how super-hot plasma behaves under electromagnetic confinement and thus, guide and improve the design of the rocket engine prototype.

Pulsar’s CEO Richard Dinan said “Our current satellite engines we make today at Pulsar, produce up to 25 miles per second in exhaust speeds. We hope to achieve over 10 times that with fusion.

“If the Pulsar rocket test can achieve fusion temperatures at its demonstration to Aerospace partners in 2027, then the technology has the potential to half mission times to Mars, reduce flight time to Saturn from 8 years to 2 and ultimately empower humanity to leave our solar system.

“We will be keeping our existing partners up to date at every step even as we begin early firings in 2025, we will be able to know if we are on the right track.

“Pulsar would then need to conduct a test firing in orbit. To the fusion community, AI truly does have the potential to allow us to achieve engines capable of interstellar space travel.”

Shemaroo Entertainment appoints Saurabh Srivastava as Chief Operating Officer – Digital Business

Mumbai, 10th July 2023: Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., one of the leading players in the Indian media and entertainment industry, has announced the appointment of Saurabh Srivastava as the Chief Operating Officer – Digital Business. This strategic move underscores the company’s commitment to maintaining a competitive edge in the dynamic digital landscape. Saurabh will be responsible for driving digital growth, revenue strategy, and operational excellence, ensuring continued success in the evolving digital ecosystem.

With a distinguished career spanning 17+ years across diverse industries, Saurabh has held key positions at Disney Star India, Marico and Coca Cola India, and was also the co-founder of Studio Samsara. In his previous role at Disney Star India, he demonstrated exceptional leadership as the Head of Product & Revenue Strategy for the Hindi Entertainment Network, driving ad-sales revenue on linear successfully. At Marico, Srivastava demonstrated his strategic acumen by spearheading the complete P&L responsibility of the South East Asia business and effectively establishing operations in the region. He had co-founded Studio Samsara in Malaysia, where he established an omnichannel model and developed a robust digital marketing strategy, exemplifying his expertise beyond his corporate roles.

Hiren Gada, CEO – Shemaroo, commented, “We are delighted to welcome Saurabh Srivastava as our Chief Operating Officer – Digital Business. Saurabh’s extensive and highly successful stints across multiple business functions and geographies at global organisations like Disney, Marico and Coca Cola will play a pivotal role in accelerating our digital expansion. This appointment reinforces our commitment to strengthen the leadership at Shemaroo as we continue on the path of disruptive growth in the rapidly evolving world of media and entertainment.”

Arghya Chakravarty, COO – Shemaroo, added, “Saurabh’s extensive leadership and proven track record in driving monetisation across platforms basis not just vanilla pricing growth but also multiple industry first innovations on linear as well as digital, make him an invaluable addition to our digital transformation journey. His experience at Disney Star and Marico will be instrumental in driving growth across our digital video, music and OTT businesses in the fast-evolving digital landscape. His strategic leadership and expertise will enable us to take the next leap towards our B2C agenda at Shemaroo.”

In this role, Srivastava will report to Arghya Chakravarty and will be a part of the Shemaroo Executive Committee.

Saurabh is an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur and holds a Chemical engineering degree from IIT Delhi. His appointment highlights Shemaroo’s commitment to embracing industry changes and seizing new opportunities in the digital realm.

PepsiCo India introduces Pepsi® Black™ bottles made from 100% recycled plastic

India, 10th July 2023: PepsiCo India, a leading global consumer packaged goods company, reinforced its commitment towards sustainability and plastic circularity by introducing India’s first 100% rPET (recycled plastic) bottles* in the Carbonated Beverage category with Pepsi® Black™. This launch is part of PepsiCo India’s mission to build a positive value chain through a circular, inclusive economy where packaging never becomes waste.

George Kovoor, Senior Vice President, Beverages and Sustainability, PepsiCo India said, “We are encouraged by the measures taken by the Government to promote a circular economy in India. We are proud to launch the 100% rPET bottles of Pepsi Black. This an important milestone in our sustainability journey, backed by our intent to create a positive value chain and this launch is yet another step in that direction. We shall learn and evolve as we continue our endeavors to build a robust ecosystem while expanding the use of recycled content in our packaging.”

The Pepsi Black rPET bottles* are made from 100% recycled plastic and are manufactured in India in partnership with Srichakra Polyplast (India) Private Limited with the bottling partner, Varun Beverages.

Driven by its ‘Winning with pep+’ philosophy, the company recognizes the importance of taking comprehensive efforts to reduce, recycle and re-invent its packaging. PepsiCo India is dedicated to developing innovative solutions, reducing its carbon footprint, and embracing sustainable practices like reuse and refill, that will inspire consumers, aligning with its long-term commitments to protect the environment.

*Excluding Label and cap