Hello,

An AI apocalypse is in the making. 

According to Prof Geoffrey Hinton, who this year was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for his work in AI, there’s a 10%-20% chance of AI leading to human extinction within the next three decades.

Often touted as a “godfather” of AI, the British-Canadian computer scientist shortened the odds of AI wiping out humanity, warning the pace of change in the technology is “much faster” than expected.

Nonetheless, the advancements continue. 

After focusing on renewable energy for years, major tech companies, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, are turning to nuclear power for its ability to provide massive energy more efficiently and sustainably to keep up with the energy demands of their data centres and AI models.

Did you know?: Data centres powering AI and cloud computing could soon grow so large that they could use more electricity than entire cities!

Amidst this growing AI competition, Sundar Pichai has a message for his employees: Stakes are high in 2025! Here’s all that he said.

ICYMI: The global economy outlook for 2025 in charts. 

Lastly, Squid Game 2 is out on Netflix, and it opened to mixed reviews. With Season 3 coming out next year, here’s what critics had to say!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• A year of reckoning for fintechs
• Cultural events of 2025
• Inside Manam Theatre Festival

Here’s your trivia for today: How much confetti drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve?

Yearender

A year of reckoning for fintechs

The Indian fintech space has grown into one of the world’s largest ecosystems, bringing numerous innovations that have made payments and financial services accessible to millions. However, these advancements come with considerable challenges.

The RBI’s supervisory returns reveal a staggering 29,082 instances of credit/debit card and internet-based fraud in FY23-24—an alarming 334% increase compared to the previous fiscal year, which reported 6,699 such instances. Measures to address these issues are a work in progress.

Measured approach:

• In January, Paytm Payments Bank faced significant regulatory action when it was barred from onboarding new customers and forced to halt all banking services due to non-compliance with KYC norms. Paytm’s stock plummeted immediately and bottomed out at nearly Rs 317 per share over the following months.
• The RBI revised its framework for NBFCs facilitating peer-to-peer lending to curb malpractice and enhance transparency in the sector. The updated regulations prohibit NBFC-P2Ps from assuming any credit risk, either directly or indirectly.
• In October, the RBI took action against DMI Finance and Navi Finserv due to concerns over their pricing policies. Sources indicate that Navi’s interest rates, which were as high as 35%, were a key point of contention.

Yearender

Cultural events of 2025

While religious festivals serve as a window to many Indian communities, they barely scratch the surface of what lies beneath. A slew of art and cultural immersions offer a sneak peek into the region’s art and craft, music, dance, and cuisine.

Wondering where to head in 2025? Bookmark these cultural festivals across India. From Gujarat’s Rann Utsav to Shillong’s Cherry Blossom Festival, and everything in between—a world awaits you!

Key gateways:

• Kala Ghoda Arts Festival has become a popular open-air art gallery to spotlight street art, installations, theatre, and concerts. From heritage walks in south Mumbai to literature events in the iconic David Sassoon Library, besides food walks and stalls, there’s much to explore at Kala Ghoda.
• Rajasthan’s theatrics get amplified during the Maru Mahotsav, a three-day cultural festival held in February. Located in the Sam Sand Dunes, 42 km from Jaisalmer, the event is a primer to the state’s unique culture.
• The Chandrabhaga beach, in close proximity to the ancient sun temple of Konark, transforms into a playground every December for artists across the world to showcase their creativity using sand as a medium. That’s what the International Sand Art Festival is all about.

Art and Culture

Inside Manam Theatre Festival

An exploration of identity across different segments of society marked the second edition of the month-long Manam Theatre Festival in Hyderabad. Through solo performances, mythology plays, and children’s theatre, the festival explored the central theme of identity, based on gender, sexuality, age, conventions, and social milieu.

The selection of plays had something for everyone, including a special section for children.  

In the limelight:

• There were performances by five theatre groups, including a collaboration with the Hyderabad Children’s Theatre Festival for a week-long performance for the younger audience.
• Children’s theatre comprised two plays by the Gillo Repertory Theatre–Mister Jeejeebhoy and the Birds and The Ghost of the Mountains (a story from Ladakh). These were preceded by a workshop by Shaili Sathyu, Barkha Fatnani, and Purva Pathak of Gillo Repertory Theatre on ‘making theatre for children’.
• The festival also presented He, a movement-based play by El-Salvadorian playwright Rodrigo Calderon, which explored themes of homosexuality, nostalgia and strife.

News & updates

• Licence: The US FAA issued a commercial space launch license for Blue Origin’s New Glenn launch. Jeff Bezos’ rocket company entered a highly competitive area it has long sought to join, as the US Department of Defense picked it, along with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Boeing-Lockheed JV United Launch Alliance.
• Halt: US President-elect Donald Trump urged the US Supreme Court to pause implementation of a law that would ban popular social media app TikTok or force its sale, arguing he should have time after taking office to pursue a “political resolution” to the issue.
• Obituary: Osamu Suzuki, an ingenious penny pincher who led Japan’s Suzuki Motor for more than four decades and played a key role in turning India into a flourishing auto market, has died aged 94. He died on December 25 of lymphoma, said the company, which he steered ambitiously, during his time as either chief executive or chairman, out of its primary market of minivehicles.

How much confetti drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve?

Answer: Over 1 tonne.

We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail [email protected]. 

If you don’t already get this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here. For past editions of the YourStory Buzz, you can check our Daily Capsule page here.

Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 168th edition of the quiz, we present issues tackled by real-life entrepreneurs in their startup journeys.

What would you do if you were in their shoes? At the end of the quiz, you will find out what the entrepreneurs and innovators themselves actually did. Would you do things differently?

Check out YourStory’s Book Review section as well, with takeaways from over 355 titles on creativity and entrepreneurship, and our weekend PhotoSparks section on creativity in the arts.

Q1: Mental health

Many students struggling with exam pressures face mental health problems and are even driven to suicide. Several corporates also do not pay adequate attention to employee mental health. How can effective mental healthcare be delivered in such contexts?

Q2: Aquatic environments

Many water bodies are under threat from pollution and dumping of waste. What’s a way of designing solutions to manage water filtration that also has other functional and aesthetic value?

Q3: Workspace innovation

Co-working spaces are turning to smart office solutions powered by IoT to enhance energy efficiency, improve security, and boost overall functionality. Where else is the innovation opportunity for workspaces?

Q4: Festive gifting

Consumers can make the festive season more meaningful by choosing gifts that are inspirational, joyous or a blend of the modern and the traditional. Where are some of the entrepreneurial opportunities in festive gifting?

Q5: Sustainability

Heavy industries need to move the needle on reducing their energy consumption and improving processes to lower their carbon emission. How can this be achieved while still being profitable?

Answers!

Congratulations on having come this far! But there’s more to come–answers to these five questions (below), as well as links to articles with more details on the entrepreneurs’ solutions. Happy reading, happy learning–and happy creating!

A1: Mental health

Founded by Richa Singh, YourDOST has developed emotional wellness solutions, platforms and services that have impacted more than 30 lakh people. With a B2B model, it works with over 500 organisations, including corporates and colleges.

“If organisations have more women going through stress, we have programmes for that,” she explains. Read more here about YourDOST’s report, Emotional Well-being of Entrepreneurs, based on insights from over 200 entrepreneurs on their psychological challenges.

A2: Aquatic environments

Ecopeace is a startup transforming freshwater management with an AI-driven solar-powered device. Its Healing Boat product is inspired by the shape of natural pebbles, with filtration solutions to tackle water pollution.

During the daytime, it operates as a guided tour boat. It then transforms into a food truck street at night. Read more about its design and multi-functional solutions here.

A3: Workspace innovation

“AI will revolutionise office management by optimising space utilisation and improving building operations,” explains Sanjay Chatrath, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Incuspaze. Offices are turning to energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy sources like solar panels to reduce their carbon footprints.

“Features such as wellness rooms, outdoor spaces, and fitness areas will become standard, promoting mental and physical well-being,” he adds. Read more here about the rise of “resi-mercial” designs that blend the comfort and aesthetics of residential spaces with the functionality of professional environments.

A4: Festive gifting

Bhavana Gulati, founder of The Engraved Store, offers unique, sustainable engraved products that bring a personal touch to everyday items. Its offerings include wooden ornaments, tree hangings, and DIY wooden huts.

Sarita Bakshi, founder of Shore2Shore, offers affordable jewelry pieces that are a blend of elegance and affordability. Read more here also about Reena Chauhan, founder of RV Inc., whose Fun Fry Toys making learning both accessible and enjoyable via wooden puzzles, reusable sticker books, pull back cars, and more.

A5: Sustainability

Founded by Avnish Kumar and Priaynkaa Kumar, B2B climate-tech startup LivNSense has developed intelligent process systems for heavy industries to reduce energy requirements, lower carbon emissions, and improve profitability. “Digital transformation can drive both efficiency and meaningful impact,” observes Avnish Kumar.

“Sustainability isn’t just about compliance; it’s about reimagining how industries operate for a better future,” he adds. Read more here about how its digital twin technology simulates scenarios for performance optimisation without physical experimentation.

YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).

Akshar Vastarpara’s journey to founding Vicharak, a deeptech hardware company, is a testament to his entrepreneurial spirit and drive for innovation.

Growing up in Surat, Gujarat, Vastarpara’s journey began with a vision to challenge conventional boundaries in technology. 

After completing his degree in software engineering in 2016, he initially ventured into software consultancy. However, he was soon captivated by the intricate world of hardware. 

“I realised that understanding hardware was crucial to fully grasping the systems powering our software,” Vastarpara tells YourStory. This led to the founding of Vicharak in 2022. 

The Surat-based company focuses on edge computing solutions, specifically leveraging field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). These devices outperform traditional systems by optimising computational processes, offering efficiency for industries reliant on robotics, autonomous vehicles, and drones.

“Our products are designed for low-power, high-performance applications, making them ideal for the growing demand in edge computing,” says Vastarpara.

Vicharak’s flagship product, the Axon single-board computer (SBC), aims to compete with global leaders like Raspberry Pi, marking a significant milestone for an Indian company in the deeptech hardware space.

“We’re proud to be among the first Indian companies to produce a single-board computer on par with international brands,” he says.

Vaaman, another innovation, is an advanced edge computing board created by Vicharak. It combines a powerful six-core processor and special FPGA technology to handle tasks quickly and efficiently. This makes it ideal for applications like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and processing data in real-time.

A shift from software to hardware

Vastarpara’s early professional years were marked by a curiosity for hardware systems, leading him to establish a consultancy that bridged software and hardware solutions. This initiative quickly grew into a team of over 30 engineers, delivering over 150 projects worldwide. Despite his success, Vastarpara sought deeper innovation, ultimately pivoting to launch Vicharak. 

“Our goal was to develop faster, more efficient computing systems that pushed the boundaries of existing technology,” he says.

The product

The versatility of Vicharak’s technology has positioned it as a critical player in several emerging industries. Its edge computing solutions cater to sectors such as manufacturing, robotics, and transportation that need high-speed, low-latency computing. 

By processing data directly on devices rather than relying on remote servers, Vicharak’s innovations enhance the efficiency and functionality of autonomous systems, says Vastarpara.

Vicharak’s Vaaman Single Board Computer (SBC) is a compact and energy-efficient computing solution for various applications. The SBC comes with an RK3399 processor, which provides high performance with low power consumption, while the Trion T120 FPGA processor allows for customisable hardware acceleration.

Its Axon Board Computer, powered by Rockchip RK3588, is designed to cater to a diverse audience, including software developers, researchers, hardware designers, AI and machine learning enthusiasts, multimedia professionals, IoT implementers, and more.

Chhavi is one of the world’s smallest fingerprint sensors that can be used to secure personal devices like smartphones and laptops.

“We are committed to fostering the next generation of hardware engineers, because we are able to recognise India’s untapped potential, and therefore recruit young, talented graduates, providing them with training and opportunities to work on transformative projects,” says Vastarpara. 

“The younger generation has immense potential, and with the right platform, they can achieve incredible things,” he adds. 

Vicharak’s forward-thinking approach also addresses the growing need for computational power, particularly in light of the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). By leveraging reconfigurable computing and parallel processing—which is its USP—Vicharak aims to overcome the limitations of traditional computing architectures, such as the ‘Von Neumann Bottleneck’, which separates memory and CPU. 

The company’s innovative hardware solutions are poised to revolutionise computing, making systems faster, more efficient, and adaptable to the needs of modern software.

Challenges and competition

While Vicharak’s niche in deeptech hardware development offers unique opportunities, it also presents challenges. With competitors like Nvidia Jetson and Raspberry Pi, the startup operates in a field that demands unparalleled expertise across multiple engineering disciplines—from compiler design to embedded systems. 

“Hardware startups in India face significant obstacles, including limited infrastructure, a lack of skilled talent, and minimal funding opportunities,” says Vastarpara. 

Despite these hurdles, Vicharak’s 55-member team is focused on research and development, ensuring the company stays ahead in these times of innovation.

Funding and the road ahead

Currently, Vicharak is gearing up for international expansion, aiming to position itself as a global brand in hardware technology. 

The startup has so far raised Rs 2.5 crore at a Rs 100 crore valuation.

Vastarpara estimates market numbers to hit around $290 billion worldwide by 2030. “Our target market is robotics, autonomous cars, drones, and industrial machine vision industry. Our remarkable reconfigurable edge computer will be the brain of it,” says Vastarpara.

The company plans to launch several new products over the next two to three years and is actively seeking funding to scale its operations. 

“By 2025, we envision a global presence, showcasing our innovations at international exhibitions and collaborating with industry leaders,” says Vastarpara.

Vicharak was part of YourStory’s Tech30 cohort of the most promising startups of 2024.