Zomato in a bigger soup with restaurants

Hello,

Well, we can safely say the call for a six-month 'AI pause' has definitely been ignored.

OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot, raised $300 million at a valuation between $27 billion and $29 billion. VC firms including Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive, and K2 Global have picked up new shares.

Even Italy has reversed its ban on the generative AI tool and restored access to the ChatGPT chatbot after OpenAI addressed all privacy concerns.

Back home, Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said the company has already created pilots to explore the potential of AI and machine learning. The company is changing all the systems to be ChatGPT generated for a subsidiary.

Meanwhile, BYJU'S is in trouble with the authorities.

The Enforcement Directorate searched the Bengaluru office of edtech major BYJU'S, as well as the residential premises of its CEO and Co-founder Byju Raveendran. The probe agency carried out searches under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and alleged that the registered company—Think and Learn Pvt Ltd—had not prepared its financial statements since the 2020-21 fiscal year.

Talking of probes, market regulator SEBI has asked for a six-month extension to complete its investigation into possible lapses by Adani Group as alleged by Hindenburg Research earlier this year. It is investigating alleged breach of related party transaction rules, public shareholding rules, and share price manipulation.

ICYMI: An Indian jewellery company broke the Guinness World Records title for the most diamonds set in one ring. It studded 50,907 diamonds into the ring, which is worth more than Rs 6 crore.

Now that diamond will be forever!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Zomato in a bigger soup with restaurants
• The Story of Tata
• Future of Indian cuisine

Here’s your trivia for today: What was Bram Stoker’s original name for Dracula?

Foodtech

Zomato in a bigger soup with restaurants

Zomato’s restaurant partners in Mumbai are complaining about reduced delivery radius, attributed to the shortage of delivery executives in the city. This coincides with the food delivery unicorn’s decision to increase the commission on the average order value. Here’s what happened.

In the soup:

• “Zomato has been trying to reach out to us for the last one-and-a-half months to increase the commissions on average order value. When I refused, they gave an indication that our visibility could be impacted,” a restaurant owner said. 
• Earlier in March, YourStory reported that besides increasing commissions on food-delivery orders, Zomato was pushing restaurants to spend more on advertising on the platform. 
• Bansi Kotecha, Co-founder of cloud kitchen startup Kytchens, has been asked to increase the commission by 25%, and he is still renegotiating the terms of the contract and commissions. 

Interview

Future of Indian cuisine

French chef Alexandre Kerbouz’s journey in the world of cuisine spans around two decades. During these years, he worked with several Michelin-starred restaurants—Orient Express (Paris), La Maison du Saké (Paris), Bristol (Paris), and Lord of the Manor (Gloucestershire)—besides launching a catering business in Japan. 

He spoke with YS Life about his experiences as a chef at restaurants in Europe and what he thinks of Indian consumers and the cuisine.

Bon appetite:

• Kerbouz quit school and obtained a professional certification in cooking from École de Paris des Métiers de la Table, an educational institution in Paris that offers apprenticeships in hospitality services.
• He came to India right before the pandemic at the insistence of a friend who lived in Mumbai. Together, the duo started Souffle S'il Vous Plaît, a bistro in Mumbai, which has been temporarily shut. 
• What’s Kerbouz’s take on Indian food? The diversity in Indian cuisine enthrals him and he has a soft spot for vada pav and butter chicken from Mumbai.

YS Reviews

The Story of Tata

Founded a century and a half ago, the globally renowned legacy was the birthchild of Jamsetji Tata, who built a business empire that mirrors the evolution of India’s bustling economy and helped develop the country's national wealth. 

However, when the late Cyrus Mistry was dismissed in October 2016 from the post of Chairman at Tata Sons, controversies dogged the conglomerate with the issue dragging to the NCLT—and all the way to the Supreme Court.

Legacy:

• Peter Casey’s book, The Story of Tata: 1868 to 2021, features conversations with Noel Tata, group insiders N Chandrasekaran, and Ratan Tata himself. 
• It brings an intimate side of Ratan Tata, the reclusive industrialist and innovator. Interviewing Tata and talking to those who know him well builds the portrait of a dedicated man with a vision beyond wealth creation. 
• The book tells Tata’s side of everything that went wrong with the Mistry episode. It stands out in its offering of a holistic understanding of ethics and values that drive Tata Sons, a global company not owned by a single family. 

News & updates

• Founder talks: Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey issued his sharpest criticism yet of Elon Musk’s leadership of Twitter, saying Musk has not proved to be the platform’s ideal steward—and should have walked away from buying the site. The criticisms came in a series of reply posts Friday night on the fledgling social network Bluesky.
• Bids await: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has asked banks, including JPMorgan Chase and PNC Financial Services Group, to submit final bids for First Republic Bank by Sunday after gauging initial interest earlier in the week, Bloomberg reported.
• Record profit: Sony posted record annual operating revenue, helped by its chip division and sales of its flagship PlayStation 5 gaming console, which hit a record for the financial year. It sold 19.1 million PlayStation 5 consoles in the financial year, beating its own forecast of 18 million.

What was Bram Stoker’s original name for Dracula?

Answer: Count Wampyr. Stoker stumbled upon the name Dracula in his research on Romanian history.

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