From Tata Technologies IPO to OpenAI drama, here are our most-read stories of the week
Anil Rai Gupta's ambitions for Havells India, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal's advice for entrepreneurs, and the world's most innovative companies are some of the stories that piqued the interest of our readers this week
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1) Building an institution
In 1958, Qimat Rai Gupta (QRG) invested his savings worth Rs10,000 to become a trader in Asia's biggest wholesale market for electrical products. In 1971, he took the opportunity to own Havells, which was on the brink of bankruptcy. This opportunity changed his fortune and set the foundation of a family business with Rs782.72 billion in market cap. Now, Anil Rai Gupta and his mother, Vinod, are ranked 30th on the 2023 Forbes India Rich List with a net worth of $6.7 billion. Anil Rai Gupta, son of QRG and second-generation entrepreneur, believes that he has big shoes to fill after his father's death. He wants to build Havells into an institution recognised by the products it makes and not the people who found it. Read more
2) What's in the name?
Quite a lot, actually, especially when the name begins with Tata. Tata Group brought the IPO for Tata Technologies, a first in nearly 20 years from the salt-to-steel conglomerate. It's been off to a flying start: fully subscribed on Day 1. The company is valued at roughly Rs 20,283 crore and is only an offer-for-sale (OFS) by promoter Tata Motors and investors Alpha TC Holdings and Tata Capital Growth Fund 1. The eagerness to grab the shares of this mid-segment IT services company was quite palpable despite slower growth in the period FY16-23. But what seems to have worked in the company's favour is its brand legacy, as it belongs to the Tata group, extensive automotive expertise and diversified global presence. But is it worth the eagerness? Read more
3) Uplifting kirana
Forbes Asia revealed its annual 100 to Watch list, which spotlights small companies and startups targeting underserved markets or applying new technologies, from generative AI to blood-based cancer diagnostics. These include eco-friendly innovations, such as developing insect-based alternative proteins and digitising milk production to improve yields. Others include social commerce providers, which help users sell consumer products. ApnaKlub, a B2B wholesale platform for FMCG, co-founded by Shruti and Manish Kumar, is one of the six startups from India featured on this coveted list. ApnaKlub is stepping up its kirana play across tier 2 cities and beyond by rolling out a slew of its own brands. Will the gambit of a B2B wholesale platform for FMCG pay off? 
Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal were among the pioneers in the ecommerce space. The co-founders of Snapdeal and AceVector Group have seen the rise and fall of many new-age internet companies as the industry exploded from 2 million to 1 billion active internet users in a decade. In an exclusive conversation on Forbes India Pathbreakers, the duo talks about their journey as entrepreneurs and how they came back from the bottom of the abyss. The business partners and school friends, who've seen the startup ecosystem evolve from early days of pessimism to the current euphoria, discuss critical learnings from their testing but rewarding journey as entrepreneurs and chalk out the road ahead. 
Sucharita Mukherjee had a set life. She, a graduate of Lady Shri Ram College and IIM-Ahmedabad, was working for Deutsche Bank in London. She worked in the credit derivatives structuring team before moving to Morgan Stanley. This is when she began asking herself, "Why am I doing this? What impact am I having? What is my purpose? Do I respect the culture of this place?" Mukherjee could not answer these questions, leaving her with a little bit of emptiness. But to the daughter of an Army officer, the fundamental idea of giving back comes closely from that upbringing. Soon, Mukherjee met Nachiket Mor, a veteran at ICICI Bank who was busy setting up the IFMR Trust, which was looking to make the markets work for people experiencing poverty. In 2017, she founded Kaleidofin—a fintech platform that helps under-banked customers, particularly women, meet their real-life goals by providing tailored financial solutions. Get to know more about one of six Indian startups that feature on Forbes Asia's 100 to Watch list. 
Last week, Silicon Valley witnessed a drama unfold between Sam Altman, the OpenAI board, Microsoft, and Satya Nadella. Altman, who made ChatGPT a household name, was abruptly fired on November 17. Employees of the company wrote an open letter, threatening to leave unless the board resigned for firing Altman. Microsoft, a crucial partner of the company, invested in developing and deploying supercomputing systems to assist OpenAI's research and reached out to the company's former CEO. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that the creator of DALL-E was joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research unit. A lot has happened since, and Altman is back home at OpenAI. But the real story behind the drama is how Nadella's Microsoft is poised to rule big tech regardless of the outcome. 
Forex.com has released a report on the most innovative companies in the world. One look at the top 10 companies on the list shows that consumer electronics companies are investing more in research and development and bringing innovation to market more swiftly and frequently than other sectors. The pressure of consumer demand plays a crucial role as people continually seek newer, more efficient and innovative products. IBM, the leader in filing patents for 29 years, is third on the list with 4,713 registered patents and spending $6 billion on R&D. Pharmaceutical and automaker giants Johnson & Johnson and Toyota round out the top five. But the two electronics giants fighting toe-to-toe for market dominance, Samsung and Apple, are also battling for the top spot regarding innovation. Find out who won this race. 
