Tech5: India bats for DPI at G20, Microsoft CEO Nadella says AI is the new lean, and more

News agency ANI sues OpenAI for using content without permission

Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI) has sued OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT artificial intelligence bot, alleging the US company used ANI’s published content without permission, Reuters reported on November 19.

ANI joins well-known news organisations in the US, including the New York Times and Chicago Tribune, that have taken OpenAI to court for using their content to train its AI models that have made the hugely popular ChatGPT possible.

At the first hearing of this lawsuit, a New Delhi High Court judge on November 19 issued a notice to OpenAI to provide a detailed response to ANI's accusations, according to Reuters. The court must decide the legitimacy of AI platforms using publicly available content that’s still proprietary, ANI told Reuters in a statement.

OpenAI said it has stopped using ANI content from September, according to Reuters.

Microsoft CEO Nadella sees AI bringing ‘lean’ to knowledge work

Microsoft is accelerating its AI-driven offerings with a range of updates aimed at enhancing productivity and security. Copilot, the company’s AI assistant, and new agent tools are central to this, with improvements to Copilot Studio making it easier to build customised agents for businesses.

AI is showing “real outcomes”, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in his keynote yesterday, at the company’s Ignite conference, to showcase its various AI features—some 80 new products and features have been released this year. “We are building out three platforms. Copilot, Copilot Devices, and Copilot and AI Stack,” he added.

Copilot, with new automation features, is now being used by nearly 70 percent of Fortune 500 companies, according to Microsoft. Azure AI Foundry unites AI tools and models in a single platform, while Windows 365 Link, set for release in 2025, promises secure cloud PC access. New “Security Exposure Management” tools offer deeper insights into vulnerabilities, the company said in a press note.

“What lean did for manufacturing, AI will do for knowledge work,” Nadella said.

Salesforce planning layoffs at latest acquisition Own

Salesforce, the world’s biggest customer relations management software provider, plans to lay off some workers at Own, which it’s just acquired, Bloomberg reported November 19. Salesforce had announced the $1.9 billion acquisition in September—it’s biggest after Slack. Own said in a LinkedIn post yesterday the deal had been concluded.

The company had more than 800 employees, according to Forbes, which ranked Own at 72 on its list of Cloud 100 companies for 2024. Founded in 2015 by Sam Gutmann and Ariel Berkman, Own provided data security and data management software on the cloud, supporting Salesforce customers, primarily. In recent years, it had sought to expand to support Microsoft Dynamics and ServiceNow customers.

Previously known as OwnBackup, it was valued at $3.35 billion in a 2021 funding round, in which Salesforce Ventures had also invested, according to a September 5 CNBC report. The fall in Own’s value reflected the broader SaaS sector decline, especially single-product software companies, as businesses cut back on software after the initial post-Covid surge, CNBC noted.

EV tech startup Vecmocon raises $10 million from EIF, Blume and BII

Vecmocon Technologies, which provides various technologies needed in electric vehicles, has raised $10 million in what the Delhi startup says is the first phase of its Series A funding, led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF). Blume Ventures and British International Investment (BII) also invested in the round.

The money will help the eight-year-old company expand its reach in segments including electric two wheelers, three wheelers, light commercial vehicles and buses, it said in a press release on November 15.

Vecmocon, incubated at IIT-Delhi, was started in 2016 by Peeyush Asati, Adarshkumar Balaraman and Shivam Wankhede. The company offers battery management systems, EV chargers, and vehicle intelligence modules. Previously, the entrepreneurs had raised $5.2 million from Tiger Global, and Blume Ventures in 2022 as part of their pre-series round.

The latest investment brings the total funding at the venture, which had FY23 revenues of Rs 5 crore, to $16 million, according to private markets intelligence provider Tracxn.