Latest news with #Bansal
India Today
a day ago
- Business
- India Today
Meet Trapit Bansal, IIT grad from OpenAI Mark Zuckerberg has hired for the Meta Superintelligence dream team
OpenAI chief Sam Altman boldly claimed recently that Meta, the tech giant behind commonplace apps like Facebook and WhatsApp, was trying to poach top talent from his startup but 'none of our best people have decided to take him up on that.' Turns out, Mark Zuckerberg managed to nab and slip some past through the tight guardrails anyway. And one of them, an AI researcher who goes by the name Trapit Bansal, could be instrumental in expediting Meta's chances to not only compete but potentially lead the AI race against rivals, particularly OpenAI and to his LinkedIn page, Bansal left OpenAI in June 2025 and while he hasn't yet revealed the details of where he is headed, reports say, he is on the cusp of joining Meta's newly founded 'superintelligence' team, one that Zuckerberg has been on a hiring spree for, personally offering up to USD 100 million compensation to attract the top experts. At OpenAI, he has served as a 'member of technical staff,' since January 2022, pioneering early breakthroughs in AI reasoning, his profile graduated from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur in 2012, where he earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics and statistics. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he specialised in meta-learning, deep learning, and natural language processing. Currently, he is based out of San Francisco, California in the Before joining OpenAI in 2022, Bansal had already interned at leading companies deemed as Big Tech, including Facebook, Google, and OpenAI, he was a foundational contributor to the development of 'o1,' OpenAI's maiden commercially available AI reasoning model. Working closely with co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever – who has since left OpenAI to start his own AI venture called Safe Superintelligence – Bansal played a pivotal role in shaping OpenAI's early efforts in reasoning and reinforcement learning (a method where AI learns through trial and error) giving its AI model and invariably, the viral chatbot ChatGPT, a comprehensive lead over peers, potentially expediting its goal of achieving artificial general intelligence or AGI, a term used to describe AI that's more akin to humans in terms of thinking, understanding, and then responding, at Meta, Bansal is said to be joining a powerhouse team within the newly formed AI Superintelligence lab, which also features other exceptional talent such as the 28-year-old former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and might feature more prominent names such as GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and Safe Superintelligence co-founder Daniel Gross, if Zuckerberg is able to successfully get them on board, does not offer an AI reasoning model publicly. Bansal's expertise in designing systems that can think, plan, and understand the physical world could help it build – and speed up – the development of its first frontier AI reasoning model that is perhaps as good – and even better, maybe – as OpenAI's Trapit Bansal, three other OpenAI researchers – Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai – have also reportedly joined Meta's superintelligence team in recent weeks.- Ends
Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
Smart metering: The next investment frontier for PE firms in India's power sector
Smart electricity metering in India may offer a promising and largely untapped opportunity for private equity investors, given its $30 billion potential and some recent investments in a sector that has traditionally been dominated by government-run utilities. Actis invested $200 million in a joint venture with EDF India in February that will deploy smart meter infrastructure in the country. Singapore's GIC invested ₹519 crore in Jaipur-based Genus Power Infrastructures in July 2023. They agreed to set up a platform to install smart meters and provide associated services, committing to an initial pipeline with a capital outlay of about $2 billion. The government will invest an estimated $30 billion to install 250 million smart meters in the country, GIC and Genus said in July 2023. I Squared Capital invested $100 million for a controlling stake in Polaris Smart Metering in February 2023. IoT-based smart metering company Probus raised $3 million in March 2023 and $5 million in February 2025 from Unicorn India Ventures. Kimbal Technologies raised $5 million in a maiden funding round led by Niveshaay in March 2024. Smart metering is rapidly emerging as a compelling gateway for private investment in India's power sector, said Abhishek Bansal, a partner at Actis, a private equity firm focused on infrastructure and energy. What's driving the interest? Smart meters are digital devices that provide accurate and live consumption data, allowing utilities and consumers to monitor and manage energy usage more effectively. They can improve operational efficiencies, reduce technical and commercial losses, and boost the finances of power distribution companies (discoms). What makes the opportunity in India compelling, Bansal noted, is the way the government has structured the rollout: long-term agreements, annual payments, and an ambitious target of installing 250 million smart meters—all of which combine to create a strong foundation for investor confidence and long-term returns. 'It's a well-structured, scalable opportunity that offers both impact and steady returns," Bansal said. According to Shivam Bajaj, founder of Avener Capital, an infrastructure-focused private equity advisory firm, meeting the goal of installing 250 million smart meters by March 2026 depends on two main groups of companies: advanced metering infrastructure service providers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The infrastructure service providers such as those set up by Actis-EDF India and GIC-Genus are awarded 10-year contracts by state utilities to install and maintain smart meters and associated infrastructure. They are paid annually and can also sell consumption data insights to utilities and government agencies. OEMs, which design and manufacture the digital devices, also present significant growth opportunities over the next four to five years, Bajaj added. 'OEMs are expanding capacity, which will require fresh funding," he said, adding that IntelliSmart, HPL, Genus and Polaris are already expanding their manufacturing units. According to the power ministry's 18 January update, projects covering 197.9 million smart consumer meters have been approved and about 115 million smart consumer meters have been awarded and are being installed. 'Of the 25 crore (250 million) meters that need to be replaced, installed capacity only stands at around 3 crore so far. You'll need 3-5 well-funded OEMs capable of delivering 6-7 crore meters a year to meet targets in the next 4-5 years," added Bajaj. 'There is potential for another couple of platforms to be set up over the next couple of years and meter manufacturers are continuing to invest in capacity expansion." The case for smart meters Most homes still use analog meters, which track total usage and cannot support dynamic pricing based on time of use. Electricity costs vary with demand, but without smart infrastructure that includes smart meters, utilities cannot reflect this in customer billing prices, experts explained. To address this, the government began modernizing India's power grid about eight years ago and started a programme to replace analog meters with smart ones. Private companies are tasked with supplying, installing and maintaining meters in assigned regions, receiving payments from the government over 10 years, they said. Discoms, which deliver electricity from transmission networks to consumers, issue tenders, award contracts, and are responsible for making timely payments to service providers. Discoms initially faced several challenges implementing the smart meter project, including integrating their IT systems with meter data management systems, overcoming consumer hesitation and misinformation about smart meters, raising awareness, and addressing data security concerns. 'Now that integration challenges with discoms are easing and consumer resistance is lower, adoption is set to accelerate," said Bajaj. However, delays or defaults in payments by discoms remain a risk for investors because they can disrupt cash flows and delay project execution. State-owned discoms had accumulated losses of ₹6.5 lakh crore by FY23, according to a Reserve Bank of India report in December. 'Implementation demands significant upfront capital, but established players in partnership with infra funds are meeting this demand," said Prateek Jhawar, MD and head of infrastructure & real assets investment banking at Avendus Capital. Returns and exit potential Investors are betting that favourable smart meter policies and the execution momentum will translate into sustained growth. 'For investors, it's a low-risk, annuity-like play, with government-backed payments over 10 years and expected annual returns of 15-16%," Jhawar added. According to Vipin Singhal, director at Anand Rathi Investment Banking, smart metering companies are expected to offer a return potential aligned with the sector's robust growth, with installations projected to grow at ~25% CAGR over the next 3-4 years. He sees companies targeting both mainboard and small and medium enterprise (SME) listings in the renewable energy and smart infrastructure space. Singhal cited the NSE SME IPO of Eppeltone Engineers, a maker of smart meters, as a case in point, highlighting how even small companies are now stepping into the spotlight. Eppeltone Engineers shares listed at a 90% premium at ₹243.20 on the NSE SME on Tuesday. 'We see several engineering, procurement and construction/product players like GK Energy leveraging schemes such as PM-KUSUM and similar government schemes (installing solar pumps and smart water meters) to tap capital markets in the near future," Singhal said. PM-KUSUM refers to Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan, a scheme to promote solar energy in agriculture. The sector is still in a nascent stage. Most companies are small and not yet ready for the public markets, and M&A activity remains limited. 'But I do expect consolidation to pick up in the next two to three years as the market matures," Bansal of Actis noted. For now, companies are primarily focused on securing smart meter contracts through ongoing government bids.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Meet Trapit Bansal, Meta's new AI superintelligence team hire - Is Meta poaching top talent from OpenAI?
Meta has poached Trapit Bansal, a key AI researcher from OpenAI who contributed significantly to their early AI reasoning and reinforcement learning efforts. Bansal's move to Meta's new AI superintelligence team underscores the intense competition for AI talent. This team aims to develop next-generation AI reasoning models, rivaling those of OpenAI and Google. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Ex-OpenAI Researcher Trapit Bansal Joins Meta A Key Figure in OpenAI's Reasoning Work Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Joining a Powerhouse Team at Meta Mark Zuckerberg's AI Hiring Spree Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads FAQs Meta has made another bold move in the AI talent wars by hiring Trapit Bansal , an AI researcher who played a pivotal role in shaping OpenAI 's early efforts in AI reasoning and reinforcement learning, according to a report by who joined OpenAI in 2022, is now among the most publicly visible names to leave the firm and join Meta's brand-new AI superintelligence team , an initiative that's fast attracting all the top minds in the field of AI, as per the spokesperson Kayla Wood confirmed the news to TechCrunch that Bansal had departed OpenAI, while even Bansal's LinkedIn page mentions that he has left OpenAI in June this year, according to the TechCrunch READ: After Canada, now US: College graduates face the toughest job market in decades – what's gone wrong? During his time at OpenAI, Bansal worked closely with co-founder Ilya Sutskever and played an instrumental role in the development of the company's foundational AI reasoning model, o1, as reported by growing interest in AI reasoning models , especially as Meta's competitors like OpenAI's o3 and DeepSeek's R1 hit new performance milestones, makes Bansal's move even more impactful, according to the READ: Karoline Leavitt says no enriched uranium was removed from Iranian nuclear sites prior to US attacks Bansal brings his expertise to an impressive team at Meta's AI superintelligence lab, which includes former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, ex-Google DeepMind researcher Jack Rae, and machine learning veteran Johan Schalkwyk, as per the report. Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported that several other former OpenAI researchers, Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai, have recently joined Meta as mission of the lab is to develop next-gen AI reasoning models that may match or exceed OpenAI and Google, however, Meta has not yet put out a public AI reasoning model, as reported by READ: Last chance to claim your Fortnite refund – Act fast or risk missing out on free cash Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also been making compensation deals in the $100 million range to lure top AI talent to build his new AI team, as reported by TechCrunch. However, it is not known what Bansal was offered to join in this deal, as reported by has also reportedly tried to acquire startups with heavy-hitting AI research labs, like Sutskever's Safe Superintelligence, Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Labs, and Perplexity, to further fill out its new AI unit, but those talks never progressed to a final stage, according to the a recent podcast, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman asserted that Meta has been trying to poach his startup's top talent, but highlighted that 'none of our best people have decided to take him up on that,' quoted an AI researcher who helped OpenAI develop its first major reasoning model and worked closely with Ilya a newly formed unit aimed at developing advanced AI reasoning models, similar to those at OpenAI and Google.
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Meta recruits leading OpenAI researcher Trapit Bansal for AI reasoning lab
Meta has onboarded a prominent OpenAI researcher, Trapit Bansal, to work on advanced aritificial intelligence (AI) reasoning models within its recently established AI superintelligence team, according to a report by TechCrunch. Trapit Bansal had been with OpenAI since 2022 and played a major role in launching the company's reinforcement learning research, working closely with co-founder Ilya Sutskever. He is named as one of the original contributors to OpenAI's first AI reasoning model, known as o1. His LinkedIn profile indicates that he left OpenAI in June. OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood confirmed to TechCrunch that Bansal had indeed exited the organisation. Boost to Meta's AI superintelligence team Bansal is expected to significantly strengthen Meta's new AI superintelligence group, which already includes notable figures such as former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang. The team is also in discussions to bring in former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and Safe Superintelligence co-founder Daniel Gross. His expertise could help Meta develop a cutting-edge AI reasoning model to compete with leading offerings like OpenAI's o3 and DeepSeek's R1. At present, Meta does not have a publicly available AI reasoning model. Zuckerberg's high-profile hiring strategy In recent months, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has aggressively recruited top AI talent, reportedly offering compensation packages as high as $100 million. While Bansal's offer remains undisclosed, his decision to join indicates the success of Zuckerberg's strategy in attracting leading AI researchers. According to The Wall Street Journal, Bansal will join other recent hires from OpenAI — Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai — at Meta. The team also includes Jack Rae, formerly of Google DeepMind, and Johan Schalkwyk, previously with startup Sesame, according to a Bloomberg report. Attempts to acquire AI startups fell through In a bid to expand its AI capabilities further, Meta also explored acquiring startups known for their AI research, including Safe Superintelligence (co-founded by Sutskever), Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Labs, and Perplexity. However, none of these talks reached a final agreement. On a recent podcast, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman commented on Meta's recruitment attempts, stating, 'None of our best people have decided to take him up on that.' AI reasoning a critical focus for Meta Developing powerful AI reasoning models is essential for Meta's new unit. Over the past year, firms such as OpenAI, Google, and DeepSeek have released high-performing models that can tackle complex tasks by reasoning through problems before producing answers. This approach, which makes use of additional computation time and resources, has led to improved performance both in benchmarks and in real-world applications. Future ambitions for Meta's AI lab Meta's AI superintelligence group is expected to become a crucial part of its wider operations, similar to the role DeepMind plays within Google. The company has plans to develop AI agents for enterprise use, led by Clara Shih, the former Salesforce CEO of AI.
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
PB Fintech sells over 1% stake for ₹920 cr via open market transactions
PB Fintech's co-founders Yashish Dahiya and Alok Bansal divested a little over 1 per cent stake in the company for ₹920 crore through open market transactions. PB Fintech's chief executive Dahiya and Vice Chairman Bansal sold a total of 50.50 lakh shares or 1.09 per cent stake in the company. PB Fintech is the parent of insurtech platform Policybazaar and fintech platform Paisabazar. According to the block deal data on the NSE, Ashish Dahiya offloaded a total of 34 lakh shares in two tranches, amounting to a 0.74 per cent stake in PB Fintech. In addition, Alok Bansal sold 16.50 lakh shares or 0.36 per cent holding in Gurugram-based PB Fintech, as per the data. The combined transaction was valued at around ₹919.86 crore, executed at an average price of ₹1,821.50 apiece. After the stake sale, Dahiya's holding in PB Fintech declined to 3.57 per cent from 4.31 per cent, and Bansal's stake fell to 1.04 per cent from 1.40 per cent. Meanwhile, the shares were picked up by a domestic mutual fund entity, insurance companies, and foreign investors. The entities that purchased stake are Tata Mutual Fund, Edelweiss Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, and Mumbai-based Subhkam Ventures. The US-based Ghisallo Capital Management, Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore, Societe Generale, WFM Asia, System Two Adviso₹and Hong-Kong-based investment manager Viridian AM also bought shares of PB Fintech. Shares of PB Fintech fell 0.53 per cent to settle at ₹1,830 apiece on the NSE. In May last year, Dahiya and Bansal divested a 1.8 per cent stake in PB Fintech for ₹1,109 crore. In Jun 2022, Dahiya offloaded nearly 38 lakh shares of the company for ₹230 crore. In February, Bansal divested over 28 lakh shares of the company for ₹236 crore. PB Fintech came out with its ₹5,710-crore initial public offering in November 2021. The company's co-founders and other shareholders had reduced their stake in the public issue.
