Humanoid Sophia greets fans at Vizag; Paytm drama sees many twists and turns

Daily Capsule | 25th October Editor's Note Good morning! I am writing to you from Vizag, where I will hopefully get a chance to interact with a person who is not really a person - the social humanoid Sophia! Did you know that she is a citizen of Saudi Arabia? Tells us a lot about the rise of automation, surely! For the startup ecosystem, this week has been difficult. One founder unexpectedly landed in jail, and we learnt how another was blackmailed by his own staff - this is not a happy time. But as they say, the show must go on, I guess. I am very excited about the first engine-less train, which will eventually replace the ever fast Shatabdi, and is ready to hit the tracks later this month. By now, it should be evident that technology and innovation are the biggest answers to most problems faced by mankind and here's hoping they do! Lots of Love Shradha --------------------------------------------------------------- Stories you shouldn't miss The arrival of [humanoid Sophia at the Vizag Fintech Festival]( delayed by a day, but this celebrity was not the reason; ironically, the scheduling was a human error! Greeted by an eager audience, Sophia kept her remarks short. “This is a beautiful city. I wish global startups grab the India digital opportunity. Wish you all the best, see you tomorrow.” Indeed, we cannot wait to hear her interactions with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and State IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Thursday. Paytm’s Vice President of Communications Sonia Dhawan was arrested on Monday along with two others on charges of blackmailing Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, and since then, there has been no end to conspiracy theories. [Latest reports say the data theft was after the founder refused to give Sonia Rs 4 crore]( to buy a flat. The world is getting more and more connected, and trade, commerce, information sharing, banking and even governments are all benefitting from it. But, it has come with its own risk – cybersecurity. At the Oracle OpenWorld conference, stakeholders discussed how [data can be secured and the role AI can play in securing it](. A week after crypto-trading startup Unocoin launched its first physical kiosk, the [Cyber Crime Police arrested the company’s Co-founder Harish BV and registered a case against the company](. Harish was presented before a metropolitan magistrate and has been remanded to police custody for a week. The Internet of Things (IoT) is touted as the next big thing in the coming years, increasing efficiency and convenience in our daily lives. By 2020, more than half of new business processes and systems will have an element of IoT, predicts Gartner. [Women entrepreneurs are not far behind in adding to the growing list of startups in the IoT]( in India. A whopping 70 million men and women apply for government jobs each year, but with the government's mandate of online tests, most are faced with a dilemma – they are not comfortable using computers. Testbook Founders Ashutosh Kumar and Narendra Agrawal with an [online and offline play,]( seeking to offer a platform that helps students prepare, and take mock tests for government job entrance exams. -- [Click Here]( to unsubscribe from this newsletter.