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SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund 2 is investing in US artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI at a $3 billion valuation, Masayoshi Son’s latest bet on a sector he deems crucial to securing his legacy. SoftBank will invest between $10 million and $20 million in the firm, which aims to use AI to compete with Alphabet Inc.’s Google search, according to people familiar with the matter. It’s investing as part of a larger $250 million funding round that triples Perplexity’s valuation and makes it one of the industry’s most highly valued companies.

AIADMK are on a hunger strike in Chennai on Thursday condemning the DMK Government over the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy and demanding an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the same which claimed 63 lives. AIADMK leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Edappadi Palaniswami and other senior leaders are participating in the strike. Ever since the Assembly Session began principle opposition in the assembly AIADMK created a ruckus demanding a CBI inquiry into the illicit liquor tragedy and demanded the resignation of CM MK Stalin.

anti-conversion laws, hate speech, and demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities in India, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. In his remarks at the release of the annual State Department report on international religious freedom, Blinken said on Wednesday that at the same time, people around the world are also working hard to protect religious freedom. The report stated that senior US officials continued to raise concerns about religious freedom issues with their Indian counterparts in 2023. «In India, we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities. At the same time, people around the world are also working hard to protect religious freedom,» the secretary of state said.

South Korean prosecutors have revealed that crypto-powered drug trafficking is on the rise nationwide.

AI specialists to address. This phenomenon can lead to confusion and decision-making delays, posing significant challenges in fields heavily reliant on Artificial Intelligence.

sacked at least 500 staff across verticals to undertake restructuring, The Economic Times reported, citing sources.The private sector lender has given fired employees three months salary as severance pay, one source added.Livemint could not independently verify the report.“Yes Bank launched an internal restructuring exercise at the advice of a MNC consultant. So far, around 500 have been asked to go and we can see more sackings in the coming weeks," one source told ET.Sources added that the bank is looking to cut costs and shift towards digital banking instead of manual help, it added.Responding to queries, a spokesperson for Yes Bank told the paper it is looking to be an agile organisation, which is "leaner, faster, customer-centric", adding that optimising the workforce is a "periodic" exercise."In our endeavour to be an agile, future-ready organisation which is and operationally efficient, we periodically undertake a thorough review of the way we operate and optimise our workforce.

Also Read: Why are India Cements shares skyrocketing today? — explainedPHC’s acquisition aligns with PI’s long-term strategic objective to build a differentiated portfolio of integrated solutions for sustainable agriculture. With PHC, PI will gain access to cutting-edge biological/peptide technology platforms in the “Plant Immunity Inducers" space, the company said in a release.PI already has a portfolio of 8 products and many more in the development & registration pipeline.

U.S. State Department's 2023 religious freedom report on India noted violent attacks on minority groups, especially Muslims and Christians, including killings, assaults and vandalism of houses of worship. The report on international religious freedom released on Wednesday said that in 2023, senior U.S. officials continued to «raise concerns about religious freedom issues» with their Indian counterparts. Human rights experts say India has seen a rise in attacks on minorities under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who recently won a third term, and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

investigation being conducted by India into the alleged plot to kill India-designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday (local time). While addressing a press briefing, Miller noted that they have raised the issue with the Indian government and told them that the US expects full investigation into the matter. Asked about the US State Department's response after the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for a strong diplomatic response on the Indian government's involvement in the assassination attempt on Pannun, Miller responded, «So, we will respond to those members privately, as we always do. I won't speak to that here. But as pertains to the other issue, when this issue first arose, we made clear that we had raised it with the Government of India and told them that we expected there to be a full investigation. They have announced that they are conducting an inquiry, and we will look forward to the results of that inquiry.»

Dividend stock 2024: Titan stocks will be in focus when the Indian stock market opens today as the Tata group shares will trade ex-dividend today. This means that if you buy Titan shares today, you will not be entitled to the recently declared dividend. On 3rd May 2024, the company board declared a ₹11 per share dividend for its eligible shareholders.

Also Read: Salesforce challenger Creatio achieves $1.2 bln 'unicorn' status with fundraisingNvidia’s shareholders have voted in favour of all these proposals, a report said.Speaking at the AGM, Nvidia CEO Huang said the next wave of AI is set to automate $50 trillion heavy industries.Nvidia share price ended 0.25% higher at $126.40 on Wednesday, surging just before the closing bell to erase losses. After witnessing heavy losses for three consecutive sessions that wiped out $430 billion in its market value, Nvidia shares bounced back on Tuesday and extended gains on Wednesday.Read here: Nvidia share price jumps 7%, bounces back after $430 billion market dipThe shares of artificial intelligence chipmaker have rallied over 160% this year.

Kenya's president says he won’t sign into law a finance bill proposing new taxes that prompted thousands of protesters to storm the parliament on Tuesday

WikiLeaks founder and whistleblower Julian Assange walked free after signing a plea deal with the United States, the US State Department termed his actions for which he pleaded guilty had put the lives of people, especially Washington's allies and diplomats, at risk. US State Department Mathew Miller also pointed that Assange served as a «conduit» for Russian intelligence interfering in the US presidential elections.

DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said that the price of milk has been hiked in the interest of farmers and opposition to it by the BJP only demonstrates its anti-farmer stance. Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha, he said, «BJP has once again demonstrated that it is anti-farmer by opposing the milk price hike. A hike of Rs 2 per litre has been done to benefit the farmers. The quantity of milk has also been increased proportionately. Price hikes should not be politicised, the decision has been taken as input costs for farmers have gone up. The price of milk in the state is still lower than in other states.» Asked about the statement of the KMF Chairman that the proceeds from the price hike won't go to farmers, he said, «Farmers are KMF. In my opinion, prices should have been hiked some more. Farmers are in distress and are selling their cattle. Let them check the prices of milk in other states and then talk about this.»

Ecom Express is looking to enter the primary market with a Rs 3,000 crore initial public offering (IPO), according to two people aware of the development. The third-party logistics company has appointed bankers such as Kotak Capital, IIFL, Axis Capital, and UBS, according to one of the sources. «Ecom Express has initiated the process for the public issue, which includes both a fresh issue and an offer for sale from the existing investors. The company is likely to file its draft red herring prospectus soon,» said one of the people cited above.

Greenko Group is in talks with state-run power financier REC to raise funds for its green hydrogen and green ammonia project of 600 MW capacity, said two people close to the development. Greenko is looking to secure ₹2,200-2,400 crore from REC. Upon achieving financial closure, the company will enter into firm and definitive agreements with the lender, one of the persons said. The project has an offtake agreement with Norway's Yara and received pre-certification for ammonia. An offtake agreement is a contract to buy or sell goods in advance of production, which will facilitate financing for the project. Greenko has signed a term sheet with Yara Clean Ammonia in May this year, the trader and distributor of ammonia, for the supply of renewable ammonia from Phase 1 of AM Green's ammonia production facility in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.

1mg has secured board approval for a major offline expansion to be financed through debt, while the group’s egrocer, BigBasket, will go for an equity and debt mix of $80-100 million, multiple people aware of the plans said. The two biggest assets at Tata Digital will increase reliance on debt capital to fuel expansion this financial year after parent Tata Sons’ nudge, they said. This is a significant change in stance for the salt-to-software conglomerate that has deployed over $2 billion over the past two years into superapp Neu and the businesses on it.

shares of Inox Green, Titagarh Rail, India Cements, Dr Reddy's, Bharti Airtel among others will be in focus due to various news related developments. Inox Green Energy Ace investor Ashisk Kacholia has invested Rs 40 crore in Inox Green Energy Services as part of the latter's Rs 1,050 crore fund raise plan.

Slate Office REIT, whose portfolio includes properties in both Canada and the United States, has defaulted on $158 million of debt despite an ambitious restructuring plan that included selling off significant assets. It appears broader economic trends and sector weaknesses have hindered the company’s efforts.

Canada’s decision to provide billions of dollars’ worth of incentives to companies building battery plants could bolster the manufacturing sector, but may not be the ideal move to boost the country’s overall productivity levels that have been on the decline, says a new report by the Conference Board of Canada.

Payne Capital Management President Ryan Payne breaks down the latest data on the auto industry during an appearance on «Mornings with Maria.»