Tech5: Microsoft fuels quantum debate, OpenAI tops 400 million users, PhonePe seeks IPO

Forbes India's daily tech news bulletin with five headlines that caught our attention

By Harichandan Arakali Forbes India Staff

Published: Feb 21, 2025 11:25:10 AM IST

Updated: Feb 21, 2025 11:48:25 AM IST

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PhonePe co-founders Sameer Nigam (left) and Rahul Chari Image: Nishant Ratnakar for Forbes India

OpenAI’s weekly active user base crosses 400 million – CNBC

OpenAI's growth continues to accelerate despite rising competition, and as of February, the maker of ChatGPT has 400 million weekly active users, up 33 percent from 300 million in December, CNBC reported on February 20. The growth is attributed to the increasing utility and familiarity of ChatGPT, with users discovering its value through word-of-mouth. OpenAI's enterprise business is also expanding, now serving 2 million paying enterprise users, a significant rise from September. Many employees who use ChatGPT personally are advocating for its adoption within their companies, OpenAI’s COO, Brad Lightcap, told CNBC.

Six new global tech unicorns born in Jan, but none from India

Six new tech unicorns were minted in January this year, according to a TechCrunch analysis of data from PitchBook and Crunchbase. Not one of them was from India. Among the new entrants to this club of startups valued at $1 billion or more are Kikoff ($1 billion), a personal finance platform, Netradyne ($1.35 billion), a computer vision company, healthcare startup Hippocratic AI, which raised $141 million to reach a $1.64 billion valuation, and genetic research firm Truveta that hit $1 billion after raising $320 million. Other notable newcomers include Mercor, valued at $2 billion, and Loft Orbital, a satellite company with a $1 billion valuation. The last time a unicorn was minted in India was MoneyView in September 2024, according to Venture Intelligence’s unicorn tracker.

Quantum stocks, and the debate, rise with Microsoft’s new chip

Quantum computing stocks such as IonQ and D-Wave Quantum rose yesterday after Microsoft launched a new chip that indicated the technology might be closer to real-world use than experts thought earlier, Reuters reported.

Microsoft unveiled its Majorana 1 chip on February 19, and said it is less prone to errors than rivals. By its very nature, quantum computing, based on what are called qubits that can take ‘quantum states’ that are different from the binary system of today’s computers, can be error prone, a big challenge in the way of developing such computers that are useful beyond the science labs.

Microsoft is set to publish its evidence on the performance of its chip in a scientific paper in the journal Nature.

PhonePe kicks off process to seek a listing in India

PhonePe, the Walmart company that’s India’s biggest UPI payments platform provider, has announced the initiation of steps for its potential IPO and plans to list on Indian exchanges, the company said in a press release on February 20. PhonePe, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, has become India’s top digital payments app with over 59 crore (590 million) “lifetime users”, according to the press release. PhonePe, which redomiciled from Singapore to India in December 2022, has grown its portfolio to include financial services, e-commerce, and localised tech products. It now processes over 31 crore (310 million) daily transactions, with an annual payment volume exceeding Rs 145 lakh crore (about $1.67 billion), according to the release.

Study identifies potential cancer biomarkers for early detection

Researchers from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) have identified common metabolites across pancreatic, glioma, and lung cancers, offering potential universal biomarkers for non-invasive early diagnosis, according to a press release from India’s Ministry of Science and Technology. These findings, published in Nanoscale, focus on exosomes—nano-sized messengers carrying tumour-derived metabolites—offering insights into the tumour microenvironment. The team discovered metabolic pathways crucial for cancer progression, which could pave the way for targeted therapies and improved precision medicine. This breakthrough could help cancer diagnostics and treatment, especially for aggressive cancers with poor prognoses, such as pancreatic and glioma cancers.

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