Trump vs Musk turns ugly; Biopeak‘s fresh funding
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Trump-Musk spar online as bonhomie turns into brickbats
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Elon Musk's feud with Trump spurs one of his worst wealth losses ever
Longevity startup Biopeak raises $3 million from Ranjan Pai's Claypond Capital, Accel's Prashanth Prakash, others
VC fund HealthKois plans $400 million fund
Medibuddy eyes $130 million in pre-IPO round:
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Infosys to give cash sops to employees taking part in interviews to help hiring
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Employees will receive 700 points, equivalent to Rs 700, for every interview they conduct.
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OpenAI to appeal New York Times suit demanding not to delete any user chats
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Amazon cuts more jobs, this time in books division
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Tensions escalated between Elon Musk and Donald Trump as the former sharpened his critique of the Budget Bill. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.■ Infosys cash sops■ OpenAI appeals order■ Amazon job cutsThe feud between billionaire Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump turned ugly on Thursday, with both sides trading barbs and threats in public view.Once an ally, Musk launched a scathing tirade on social media against Trump's 'big, beautiful' Budget Bill, accusing it of inflating the US fiscal deficit by trillions. He didn't stop there; in one post, Musk claimed Trump appeared in the Epstein files.Trump hit back with personal jibes, calling Musk 'wearing thin' and claiming he had to be 'asked to leave.' He followed through on earlier threats, pulling the plug on government contracts and subsidies linked to Musk's ventures.Musk blinked first, signalling he was willing to 'cool off' in his spat with the US President.The blowback was swift. Tesla shares plunged over 14% on Thursday, their steepest fall since March, erasing $153 billion in market value. The shares recouped some losses on Friday, trading in the green during pre-market hours, as tensions between Musk and Trump eased.Rishi Pardal, CEO, BiopeakWellness startup Biopeak has raised $3 million in seed funding from Claypond Capital, the family office of Manipal Group chairman Ranjan Pai, along with Accel's Prashanth Prakash, and Zerodha's Rainmatter. The company will use the capital to strengthen its scientific capabilities, build an AI platform, and expand its network of clinics. Biopeak launched its first clinic in Bengaluru and plans to open centres across major metros over the next year.Charles Janssen, managing partner, HealthKoisDelhi-based venture capital firm HealthKois is planning a $400 million fund to back companies in India's healthcare sector. The fund will focus on startups in AI-led health tech, med tech, biopharma, healthcare delivery, and climate health, managing partner Charles Janssen told us in an exclusive interview.Health-tech firm Medibuddy is in talks to raise $130 million ahead of its planned IPO, according to people familiar with the matter.ETtech Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India's tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and employees.Interested? Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@timesinternet.in to explore sponsorship opportunities.In a bid to boost employee morale, IT major Infosys has introduced a new incentive programme that offers cash rewards to senior staff who participate in lateral hiring interviews.The company also runs weekend recruitment drives, during which employees may conduct 10-15 interviews in a day, primarily assessing candidates' software skills.A senior Infosys executive said the scheme is aimed at addressing internal discontent after employees received only 5-8% pay hikes for FY24 , and lower-than-expected performance bonuses in the March quarter.While such policies are still uncommon, some large and mid-sized tech firms, including Honeywell, Accenture, and Sonata Software, offer cash incentives and other perks to encourage staff to join interview panels and support talent acquisition.Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAIOpenAI has pushed back against a court order in the New York Times' copyright lawsuit, challenging a directive that bars it from deleting any user chats on ChatGPT. The AI firm called the order an overreach that threatens user privacy.The Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in 2023, alleging that they had used millions of its articles without permission to train the large language model behind ChatGPT. Last month, a US court directed OpenAI to preserve and segregate all output log data tied to the Times' claims.There's no impact on ChatGPT Enterprise or ChatGPT Edu customers.OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned that the order sets a dangerous precedent. He argued it makes the case for 'AI privilege', where chats with an AI are treated as confidential, akin to conversations with a lawyer, doctor, or spouse.Ecommerce giant Amazon has laid off staff in its books division , affecting teams across its Kindle business and book review site Goodreads.Fewer than 100 employees have been impacted. Amazon said the move is aimed at improving efficiency and simplifying operations."As part of our ongoing work to make our teams and programs operate more efficiently, and to better align with our business roadmap, we've made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of roles within the Books organisation," said an Amazon spokespersonA March report by Business Insider revealed Amazon's plans to cut 14,000 management roles globally by early 2025.The move is in line with CEO Andy Jassy's broader push to reduce bureaucracy and expedite decision-making. He has set a target to increase the proportion of individual contributors relative to managers by at least 15% by the first quarter of 2025.
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