Even after they filed the plea in February, promoter Byju Raveendran borrowed Rs 350 crore in exchange for some of his shares, the lenders alleged.

US lenders urge NCLT to restrain Byju's from selling shares - Education News | The Financial Express

Why is Byju&#x27;s in hot water with US lenders? With allegations of financial mismanagement and a significant loan default, Byju&#x27;s legal battles could reshape its future. Read the full startup story to know more about it.

Foreign Creditor Urges NCLT to Stop Byju's from Transferring Shares

Is Adani the next big investor in Paytm? What is the new startup policy of Jammu and Kashmir? And have you heard about the new innovation for Indian MSMEs? Find out all this and more about the latest startup news only on TICE TV

Top Startup News: Adani-Paytm Deal, HC's Decision On BYJU's EGM & More

In a related matter, Byju&#x27;s also sought time to explore the possibility of settling debts owed to other lenders.

Foreign creditor urges NCLT to restrain Byju's from transferring shares

The US-based creditors of BYJU&#x27;S have sought directions from the NCLT to restrain the company from pledging, selling or transferring shares.

TLB Lenders Urge NCLT To Restrain BYJU’S From Selling Shares

The lenders argued that even after they filed the plea in February, promoter Raveendran Byju borrowed ₹350 crore in exchange for some of his shares

US lenders urge NCLT to restrain Byju’s from alienating shares - The Hindu BusinessLine

Stay on top in every subject with classes from India’s best teachers including Byju Raveendran, using state of the art technology for visualization

BYJU’S is a global ed-tech company, providing highly adaptive, engaging and effective learning solutions to more than 150 million students around the world. Founded in India in 2011, BYJU’S mission is to make high-quality learning accessible to students everywhere. The BYJU’S family of brands includes Disney-BYJU’S Early Learn, BYJU’S Future School, Epic!, Osmo, Tynker, Toppr and WhiteHat Jr, along with our beloved flagship product BYJU’S – The Learning App. Together, BYJU’S solutions support Pre-K – 12 education and a wide range of competitive exams. BYJU’S delivers a world-class learning experience with tools that sit at the cross-section of mobile, interactive content and personalized learning methodologies. BYJU’S geography-agnostic solutions and 12,000+ teachers make learning engaging, with visual and contextual programs that adapt to the unique learning style, skill level and pace of each student. In addition, we have innovative partnerships with some of the world’s leading companies, including Disney and Google, to drive engagement and help even more students become active and lifelong learners. BYJU’S is backed by blue-chip investors including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia Capital, Bond Capital, Silver Lake, BlackRock, Sands Capital Management, Alkeon Capital Management, Sofina, Verlinvest, Tencent, Prosus (previously Naspers Ventures), CPPIB, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Qatar Investment Authority, Owl Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Times Internet, Aarin Capital and IFC. Since 2017, we have completed more than 15 acquisitions, including companies in the U.S., UK, Austria, India and Singapore. A 2021 Time 100 Most Influential Company, BYJU’S is headquartered in India, with operations in more than 21 countries globally and learning programs in multiple languages. For additional information, please visit www.byjus.com.

Byju's

A Melancholic Encounter in Folkestone

As technology continues to play a crucial role in the advancement of almost every field, it shouldn't be surprising to find education on the list. Educators across the globe are beginning to incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the classroom at nearly every grade level. It shapes how we learn and teach, making the learning experience more engaging, personalized, and efficient. As a disclosure, this article includes links to my parent company BYJU'S - one of the world's foremost education technology companies that provides engaging and personalized learning programs to more than 150 million students worldwide. Investments in edtech worldwide hit a new high of $16.1 billion in 2020, with AI-powered edtech solutions ranking among the top investment targets, . Investors noted interest in AI-powered edtech solutions that can help personalize learning, automate administrative chores, and enhance student outcomes. according to a report by HolonIQ The impact, however, is more than just big business. With teachers working an average odf on top of the growing teacher shortage, 20 to 40 percent of current teacher hours (or nearly 13 hours per week) could be automated or streamlined using technology, . That means more time to support student learning and less time on paperwork. according to McKinsey & Company While the list of benefits of AI in education is long, here are three benefits with examples of how AI disrupts the way educators teach in the classroom. Personalized Learning Personalized learning has long been a foundational part of education. AI's power makes building and tailoring a learning experience for specific students' needs even more accessible. Data collected by educators can be fed into AI-powered platforms to help determine a student's learning requirements, such as learning pace, preferences, strengths, and weaknesses. Teachers can develop lesson plans and find resources. AI-powered platforms can provide students with personalized feedback, assisting them in identifying areas for development. An AI-powered platform can evaluate an individual student's performance on an assignment or test and provide real-time feedback to identify better areas where they may need to concentrate their studies more. This also facilitates better conversations with instructors or parents to identify other factors affecting their studies. By using machine learning and AI, the is diving deep into the learning needs of every individual student. Changing what is offered and updating recommendations is integral to customizing the learning process. Based on what is being taught in schools at a particular point, BYJU’S creates modules for specific concepts and topics to ensure students don’t feel limited while learning. So depending on how well a student can understand a concept or how he or she is faring in a subject, the recommendations will keep changing until a child can apply the concept and grasp the outcome. BYJU’S app Enhanced Learning Experience Technology has already transformed students' learning experiences through fun, educational gamified learning experiences. Students, for example, can learn to code by making or modifying their video games through platforms such as Tynker to create a more interactive and entertaining educational experience. Through the power of AI, these already engaging learning experiences can become more personalized by recommending additional resources based on a student's hobbies and learning style. If a student is interested in astronomy, an AI-powered platform can suggest other resources, such as articles, videos, or interactive simulations, to keep them motivated and involved. Another significant advantage of artificial intelligence in education technology is its ability to provide a more immersive learning experience. Different types of technology combined with artificial intelligence can give interactive simulations that enable students to experience real-world situations, such as a virtual field trip to a historical site or a science lab experiment. This immersive learning experience can help students comprehend complex concepts and make learning more memorable. Data-Driven Insights Teachers can obtain valuable insights into their student's learning behaviors using data. AI-powered platforms can provide teachers with more opportunities to evaluate a student's performance, learning habits, and interests to provide the best learning experience. This personalized strategy can help students overcome learning difficulties. Platforms with AI capabilities can also collect data on the efficiency of different teaching methods and techniques. By examining the information collected from various students, teachers can identify trends and patterns in their classes and make data-driven decisions about their instructional approaches. This data-driven strategy to education enables teachers to adapt lesson plans to meet their students' unique needs better, improving learning outcomes and academic performance. Examples of AI in the Classroom Although there isn't a robot in the room with the students, AI can be incorporated into the various tools and software teachers already use to create new possibilities for learning and growth. Some examples include: These AI-powered tools evaluate students' learning levels and customize classes to suit their needs. Some examples are Dreambox, Knewton, and Carnegie Learning. Adaptive Learning Platforms: These tools use AI to give students individualized feedback and direction as they work through issues and learn new material. Some examples are Carnegie Learning, ALEKS, and Knewton. Intelligent Tutoring Systems: These AI-powered assistants respond quickly to questions from students providing them with instant help and feedback. Examples of such tools include IBM Watson Assistant and Adaface. Virtual Learning Assistants: Chatbots such as ChatGPT can provide support outside of the classroom, such as answering questions about homework assignments, giving feedback on pronunciation and grammar, and even be programmed to help students learn a new language. Chatbots: NLP is used to study and understand human language, supporting the development of chatbots, voice assistants, and other AI-powered user interfaces that can have natural-language conversations with students. Some examples of NLP-powered tools are Duolingo, Grammarly, and LanguageTool. Natural Language Processing (NLP): Speech recognition technologies help assess students' pronunciation and fluency, providing them with feedback on how to improve. Some examples include Language Learning with Netflix, Rosetta Stone, and Google Speech Recognition. Speech Recognition: These AI-powered tools help teachers intervene and assist students as needed by analyzing student data and forecasting performance. Some examples of predictive analytics tools are Edmentum, BrightBytes, and Skyward. Predictive Analytics: Sentiment analysis tools examine the tone of student comments to gauge how satisfied they are with any individual learning experience. Some examples of sentiment analysis tools are IBM Watson, RapidMiner, and Alteryx. Sentiment Analysis: These tools analyze data from various sources to provide insights into student learning patterns, preferences, and behaviors. Some examples of learning analytics tools are Blackboard, Brightspace, and Canvas. Learning Analytics: Building and Learning with AI Student learning has significantly benefited from AI, but they can also learn how this technology works. Everything is becoming "smarter" these days, from smart TVs to even smart cars, so there are more chances for students to learn smarter while exploring potential new interests or future career paths. About the Author is the Chief Growth Officer of Tynker, with 20 years of experience helping startups grow into successful businesses. Lomit Patel Lomit has previously played a critical role in scaling growth at startups, including Roku (IPO), TrustedID (acquired by Equifax), Texture (acquired. by Apple), and IMVU (#2 top-grossing gaming app). Lomit is a public speaker, author, and advisor with numerous accolades and awards throughout his career, including being recognized as a Mobile Hero by Liftoff. Lomit's book is part of Eric Ries' best-selling "The Lean Startup" series. Lean AI

How AI is Disrupting The Way Educators Teach

Cómo la IA está alterando la forma en que enseñan los educadores

Comment l'IA perturbe la façon dont les éducateurs enseignent

एआई शिक्षकों के पढ़ाने के तरीके को कैसे बाधित कर रहा है

AI が教育者の教え方をどのように混乱させているか

Como a IA está mudando a maneira como os educadores ensinam

AI đang phá vỡ cách dạy của các nhà giáo dục như thế nào

人工智能如何颠覆教育者的教学方式

Despite the downturn, EdTech continues to be an attractive investment opportunity for venture capitalists. The sector’s growth prospects remain strong, driven by the increasing adoption of technology and online learning, rising demand for upskilling and reskilling, and the growing number of K-12 and higher education students in the country. According to a report by Blume Ventures, the EdTech market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 39% to reach $10.4 billion by 2025. While I doubt they will concur with their report now and are likely to focus on alt sectors, the macro indicators underlying the EdTech investment outbreak in 2021 are still positive. Dealroom reported compared to the previous year due to several factors, including the pandemic-induced economic slowdown, rising inflation, and tighter regulatory scrutiny. The sector’s growth was partly fueled by the surge in online learning during the pandemic, and as things have started to return to normal, the growth has slowed down. This especially followed suit in India, where most EdTech companies saw themselves either running out of runway or raising down-rounds. The real status, of course, becomes clearer in the L2 divisions of the sector. a decline in EdTech activity in private and public markets in 2022 The EdTech sector in India is divided into three major sub-sectors, namely, K-12, higher education, upskilling and reskilling, and each sub-sector presents unique opportunities for investment. The three sub-sectors are solving drastically different problems of different segments. Only one, in my opinion, is slated to create true value. The Kids are Addicted & the Government is Worried K-12: The K-12 EdTech sector focuses on providing digital learning solutions for school students. The sector has witnessed significant growth in recent years, with various companies providing digital content, adaptive learning platforms, and personalised learning solutions. However, investing in this sector can be tricky, as it is highly dependent on government policies and the quality of the education system in the country. BYJU’S: , BYJU’S remains one of the leading EdTech companies in India, providing digital learning solutions for K-12 students. The company has raised over $2 billion in funding and has a valuation of $18 billion. Despite the media frenzy Vedantu: Vedantu is an online tutoring platform that provides live classes for K-12 students. The company has raised over $200 million in funding and has a valuation of $1.1 billion. Toppr: Toppr is an online learning platform that provides personalized learning solutions for K-12 students. The company has raised over $100 million in funding and has a valuation of $800 million. The government of India recently announced , which require EdTech companies to comply with a set of rules and regulations, including minimum qualifications for teachers and accreditation requirements. new guidelines for online education While companies like BYJU’S, Vedantu, and Toppr are leaders in this space, they have faced regulatory challenges. The government of India recently announced , which require EdTech companies to comply with a set of rules and regulations, including minimum qualifications for teachers and accreditation requirements. Therefore, investors looking to invest in K-12 EdTech companies need to keep a close eye on regulatory developments. new guidelines for online education Higher Education: A quality problem borrowed from their offline counterparts The Higher Education EdTech sector focuses on providing digital learning solutions for college and university students. The sector has witnessed significant growth in recent years, with various companies providing online degree programs, online certification courses, and digital content. Some of the top investment opportunities in the Higher Education EdTech sector include: upGrad: upGrad is an online learning platform that provides degree programs, certification courses, and executive education programs. The company has raised over $290 million in funding and has a valuation of $2 billion. Simplilearn: Simplilearn is an online learning platform that provides certification courses in various domains such as data science, cloud computing, and digital marketing. The company has raised over $50 million in funding and has a valuation of $300 million. Emeritus: Emeritus is an online learning platform that provides executive education programs in collaboration with top universities such as MIT, Columbia, and Wharton. The company has raised over $185 million in funding and has a valuation of $2 billion. Companies like upGrad, Simplilearn, and Emeritus are leading players in this space and have raised significant funding in recent years. However, investing in this sector requires carefully analysing the market, competition, and quality of online education offerings. The success of these companies is highly dependent on their ability to offer high-quality education that is comparable to traditional classroom-based education. Upskilling and Reskilling: The Only Way Out The Upskilling and Reskilling EdTech sector focuses on providing digital learning solutions for working professionals. The sector has witnessed significant growth in recent years, with various companies providing online courses and certifications to upskill and reskill employees. Some of the top investment opportunities in the Upskilling and Reskilling EdTech sector include: Simplilearn: Simplilearn is an online learning platform that provides certification courses in various domains such as data science, cloud computing, and digital marketing. The company has raised over $50 million in funding and has a valuation of $300 million, with its latest round led by global venture capital firm, Sixth Sense Ventures. Springboard: Springboard is an online learning platform that provides certification courses in emerging technologies such as AI, data science, and machine learning. The company has raised over $30 million in funding and has a valuation of $350 million, with its latest round led by Reach Capital. Scaler: Scaler is an online learning platform that provides coding and programming courses to upskill and reskill. It raised USD 20 million in funding led by Strive. The upskilling and reskilling sub-sector of the EdTech industry presents a unique opportunity. With the world becoming more technologically advanced, companies are constantly seeking employees with new skill sets. According to by 2025, over half of all employees will require significant reskilling and upskilling. This presents a massive opportunity for EdTech companies to fill this skills gap, making the upskilling and reskilling sub-sector a lucrative investment option. a report by the World Economic Forum, But why this over that? A report by HolonIQ states that the upskilling and reskilling market has witnessed a surge in investment, with total funding reaching USD $87bn+ of Global EdTech funding predicted through 2030. $32bn last decade. The report also highlights that upskilling and reskilling programs are the most sought-after offerings by corporates, with 64% of them citing this as a priority. Furthermore, suggests that the upskilling and reskilling of employees can significantly impact a company’s bottom line. The report highlights that companies that invest in upskilling and reskilling can see a 6-9% increase in profit margins. a report by McKinsey Global Institute Looking closely, there are only two facts to marry: There are over 100 million individuals set to enter the workforce in India over the next 5 years. The wider higher-ed environment is not equipped to churn out quality candidates That is the gap. HolonIQ identified a similar gap in 2019 on a global level. The upskilling and reskilling business model is attractive due to its (1) high-profit margins, (2) shorter course durations, and (3) less vulnerability to external factors. Upskilling and reskilling are able to extract a higher revenue per user (RPU) than K-12 & Higher-Ed players as they charge corporate clients, and the courses they offer are typically shorter in duration. The upskilling and reskilling business model typically operates in the B2B space, catering to the needs of corporate clients. EdTech companies provide short-term, high-quality courses designed to upskill and reskill employees in various domains such as data science, cloud computing, and digital marketing. These courses provide specific and valuable skill sets that the job market demands, and consequently tend to be priced far higher than K-12 or higher education course. This leads to a higher revenue per user (RPU) and a shorter customer acquisition cost (CAC), resulting in a higher lifetime value (LTV) per customer. These companies typically have a diversified client base across various industries, which reduces the risk of revenue loss in case of any economic downturn or regulatory scrutiny. Overall, the upskilling and reskilling business model is attractive due to its (1) high-profit margins, (2) shorter course durations, and (3) less vulnerability to external factors. In Conclusion According to the , the decline in EdTech activity is part of a broader trend of a slowdown in the Indian startup ecosystem and not an isolated event due to changes in the EdTech market. The report highlights that the total value of investments in Indian startups declined by 26% in 2022 compared to the previous year. EY PE/VC Trend Book The report also states that investors are becoming more cautious and are focusing on companies with strong fundamentals, which could be a reason for the decline in EdTech activity. According to the , the decline in EdTech activity is part of a broader trend of a slowdown in the Indian startup ecosystem, and not an isolated event due to changes in the EdTech market. EY PE/VC Trend Book The EdTech industry in India continues to present a multitude of investment opportunities that were originally recognised at the start of 2020, with each sub-sector presenting unique prospects. While the K-12 and higher education segments have witnessed significant growth in recent years, investing in the upskilling and reskilling segment can be a better option due to the untapped market, diversification of client base, and higher profitability. As the demand for upskilling and reskilling programs continues to rise, investing in EdTech companies that provide these services can yield significant returns. However, as with any investment, it is essential to conduct thorough due diligence and invest in companies with strong fundamentals and growth prospects. (Originally published on - Siddhant’s thoughts on data, defi, design, and digital) Draftt

The Future of EdTech Funding in India

Authors: Yew Ken Chia, Ruochen Zhao, Xingxuan Li, Bosheng Ding, Lidong Bing Recently, conversational AI models such as [1] have captured the public’s imagination with the ability to generate high-quality written content, hold human-like conversations, answer factual questions, and more. OpenAI’s ChatGPT Armed with such potential, Microsoft and Google have [2] that combine them with traditional search engines. announced new services The new wave of conversation-powered search engines has the potential to answer complex questions naturally, summarize search results, and even serve as a creative tool. However, in doing so, tech companies now face a greater ethical challenge to ensure that their models do not mislead users with false, ungrounded, or conflicting answers. Hence, the question naturally arises: Can ChatGPT-like models guarantee factual accuracy? In this article, we uncover several factual mistakes in [9] and [3] which suggest that they currently cannot. Microsoft’s new Bing Google’s Bard Unfortunately, false expectations can lead to disastrous results. Around the same time as Microsoft’s new Bing announcement, Google hastily announced a new conversational AI service named Bard. Despite the hype, expectations were quickly shattered when Bard made a factual mistake in the [14], eventually [4] by nearly 8% and wiping $100 billion off its market value. promotional video tanking Google’s share price On the other hand, there has been less scrutiny regarding Microsoft’s new Bing. In the [8], we found that the new Bing recommended a rock singer as a top poet, fabricated birth and death dates, and even made up an entire summary of fiscal reports. demonstration video Despite [9] that the new Bing’s responses may not always be factual, overly optimistic sentiments may inevitably lead to disillusionment. disclaimers Hence, our goal is to draw attention to the factual challenges faced by conversation-powered search engines so that we may better address them in the future. What Factual Mistakes Did Microsoft’s New Bing Demonstrate? Microsoft released the new Bing search engine powered by AI, claiming that it will revolutionize the scope of traditional search engines. Is this really the case? We dived deeper into the [8] and [9], and found three main types of factual issues: demonstration video examples Claims that conflict with the reference sources. Claims that don’t exist in the reference sources. Claims that don’t have a reference source, and are inconsistent with multiple web sources. Fabricated numbers in financial reports: be careful when you trust the new Bing! To our surprise, the new Bing fabricated an entire summary of the financial report in the demonstration! When Microsoft executive Yusuf Mehdi showed the audience how to use the command “key takeaways from the page” to auto-generate a summary of the [10a], he received the following results Gap Inc. 2022 Q3 Fiscal Report However, upon closer examination, all the key figures in the generated summary are inaccurate. We will show excerpts from the original financial report below as validating references. According to the new Bing, the operating margin after adjustment was 5.9%, while it was actually 3.9% in the source report. Similarly, the adjusted diluted earnings per share were generated as $0.42, while it should be $0.71. Regarding net sales, the new Bing’s summary claimed “growth in the low double digits”, while the original report stated that “net sales could be down mid-single digits”. In addition to the generated figures which conflicted with actual figures in the source report, we observe that the new Bing may also produce hallucinated facts that do not exist in the source. In the new Bing’s generated summary, the “operating margin of about 7% and diluted earnings per share of $1.60 to $1.75” are nowhere to be found in the source report. Unfortunately, the situation worsened when the new Bing was instructed to “compare this with Lululemon in a table”. The financial comparison table generated by the new Bing contained numerous mistakes: This table, in fact, is half wrong. Out of all the numbers, 3 out of 6 figures are wrong in the column for Gap Inc., and same for Lululemon. As mentioned before, Gap Inc.’s true operating margin is 4.6% (or 3.9% after adjusting), and diluted earnings per share should be $0.77 (or $0.71 after adjusting). The new Bing also claimed that Gap Inc.’s cash and cash equivalents amounted to $1.4 billion, while it was actually $679 million. According to [10b], the gross margin should be 55.9%, while the new Bing claims it’s 58.7%. Lululemon’s 2022 Q3 Fiscal Report The operating margin should be 19.0%, while the new Bing claims it to be 20.7%. The diluted earnings per share were actually $2.00, while the new Bing claims it to be $1.65. So, where did these figures come from? You may be wondering whether it’s a number that was misplaced from another part in the original document. The answer is no. Curiously, these numbers are nowhere to be found in the original document and are entirely fabricated. In fact, it is still an open research challenge to constrain the outputs of generative models to be more factually grounded. Plainly speaking, the popular generative AI models such as ChatGPT are picking words to generate from a fixed vocabulary, instead of strictly copying and pasting facts from the source. Hence, factual correctness is one of the innate challenges of generative AI and cannot be strictly guaranteed with current models. This is a major concern when it comes to search engines as users rely on the results to be trustworthy and factually accurate. Japanese top poet: secretly a rock singer? We observe that the new Bing produces factual mistakes not just for numbers but also for personal details of specific entities, as shown in the response above when the new Bing was queried about “top Japanese poets”. The generated date of birth, death, and occupation factually conflict with the referenced source. According to [11a] and [11a], Eriko Kishida was born in 1929 and died in 2011. She was not a playwright and essayist, but a children’s book author and translator. Wikipedia IMDB The new Bing continued blundering when it proclaimed Gackt as a top Japanese poet when he is in fact a famous rockstar in Japan. According to the [11b], he is an actor, musician, and singer. There is no information on him publishing poems of any kind in the source. Wikipedia source Following Bing’s nightclub recommendations? You could be facing a closed door. Furthermore, the new Bing made a list of possible nightclubs to visit in Mexico City when asked “Where is the nightlife?”. Alarmingly, almost all the clubs’ opening times are wrongly generated: We cross-checked the opening times with multiple sources, which are also appended at the end of the article. While [12a] actually opens from 7:00 pm to 3:00 am from Tuesday to Sunday, new Bing claims it to be “open from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm from Tuesday to Sunday”. El Almacen [12b] actually opens from 6:00 pm to 2:30 am from Thursday to Saturday, but is claimed to be “open from 6:00 pm to 3:00 am from Thursday to Sunday”. El Marra [12c] is open from 5:30 pm to 1:30 am or 12:30 am every day, while new Bing claims it to be “open from 8:00 pm to 3:00 am every day”. Guadalajara de Noche Besides opening times, almost all the descriptions on review stars and numbers mentioned by the new Bing are inaccurate. Matching review scores cannot be found despite searching on Yelp, Tripadvisor, or Google Maps. In addition to the cases mentioned above, we also found other issues in their demonstration video, such as product price mismatches, store address errors, and time-related mistakes. You are welcome to verify them if interested. Potential Concerns in the Limited Bing Demo Although the new Bing search engine is not fully accessible yet, we can examine a handful of [9] provided by Microsoft. Upon closer examination, even these cherry-picked examples show potential issues on factual grounding. demonstration examples In the demo titled “what art ideas can I do with my kid?”, the new Bing produced an [13]. insufficient list of crafting materials for each recommendation For example, when suggesting making a cardboard box guitar, it listed the supplies: “a tissue box, a cardboard tube, some rubber bands, paint and glue”. However, it failed to include construction paper, scissors, washi tape, foam stickers, and wooden beads suggested by the [13a]. cited website Another potential concern is that the new Bing produced content that had no factual basis in the reference sources, at least 21 times across the 12 demonstration examples. The lack of factual grounding and failure to cite a complete list of sources could lead users to question the trustworthiness of the new Bing. What Factual Mistakes Did Google’s Bard Demonstrate? [3]. Instead of typing in traditional search queries, users can have a casual and informative conversation with the web-powered chatbot. Google also unveiled a conversational AI service called Bard For example, a user may initially ask about the best constellations for stargazing, and then follow up by asking about the best time of year to see them. However, a clear disclaimer is that Bard may give “inaccurate or inappropriate information”. Let’s investigate the factual accuracy of Bard in their [14] and [15]. Twitter post video demonstration Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently posted a [14] to demonstrate the capabilities of Bard. However, the answer contained an error regarding which telescope captured the first exoplanet images, which was [16a]. short video quickly pointed out by astrophysicists As confirmed by [16b], the first images of an exoplanet were captured by the Very Large Telescope (VLT) instead of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). NASA Unfortunately, Bard turned out to be a costly experiment as [4] after news of the factual mistake was reported. Google’s stock price sharply declined Regarding Bard’s video demonstration, the image above shows how [16]. However, the timing of Orion is inconsistent with multiple sources. Google’s Bard answers the question of when the constellations are visible According to the [17a], the constellation is most visible from January to March. According to [17b], it is most visible from January to April. top Google search result Wikipedia Furthermore, the answer is incomplete as the visibility of the constellation also depends on whether the user is in the Northern or Southern hemisphere. How Do Bing and Bard Compare? The new Bing and Bard services may not be equally trustworthy in practice. This is due to factors such as the quality of search results, the quality of conversational models, and the transparency of the provided answers. Currently, both services rely on relevant information sources to guide the responses of their conversational AI models. Hence, the factual accuracy of the answers depends on the quality of the [18], and how well the conversational model can generate answers that are factually grounded to the information sources. information retrieval systems As the full details of the services are not released to the public, it’s unclear which one can achieve higher factual accuracy without deeper testing. On the other hand, we feel that transparency is just as important as trustworthiness. For instance, we observe that the new Bing is more transparent regarding the source of its answers, as it provides reference links in most cases. This enables users to independently conduct fact-checking, and we hope that future conversational services also provide this feature. How Can the Factual Limitations Be Addressed? Through the numerous factual mistakes shown above, it is clear that conversational AI models such as ChatGPT may produce conflicting or non-existent facts even when presented with reliable sources. As mentioned previously, it is a pressing research challenge to ensure the factual grounding of ChatGPT-like models. Due to their generative nature, it is difficult to [19] and even harder to guarantee that the generated output is factually consistent with the information sources. control their outputs A short-term solution could be to impose restrictions to prevent conversational AI from producing unsafe or unfactual outputs. However, malicious parties can eventually [7], while [20] is another unsolved research challenge. bypass the safety restrictions fact verification In the long term, we may have to accept that human and machine writers alike will likely remain imperfect. To progress toward more trustworthy AI, conversational AI models like ChatGPT cannot remain as [21]. inscrutable black boxes They should be fully transparent about their data sources and potential biases, report when they have low confidence in their answers, and explain their reasoning processes. What Does the Future Hold for ChatGPT-like Models? After a systematic overview, we have found significant factual limitations demonstrated by the new wave of search engines powered by conversational AI like ChatGPT. Despite disclaimers of potential factual inaccuracy and warnings to use our judgment before making decisions, we encountered many factual mistakes even in the cherry-picked demonstrations. Thus, we cannot help but wonder: What is the purpose of search engines, if not to provide reliable and factual answers? In a new era of the web filled with AI-generated fabrications, how will we ensure truthfulness? Despite the massive resources of tech giants like Microsoft and Google, the current ChatGPT-like models cannot ensure factual accuracy. Even so, we are still optimistic about the potential of conversational models and the development of more trustworthy AI. Models like ChatGPT have shown great potential and will undoubtedly improve many industries and aspects of our daily lives. However, if they continue to generate fabricated content and unfactual answers, the public may become even warier about artificial intelligence. Therefore, rather than criticizing specific models or companies, we hope to call on researchers and developers to focus on improving the transparency and factual correctness of AI services, allowing humans to place a higher level of trust in the new technology in the foreseeable future. Sources Reference Articles [1] ChatGPT: Optimizing Language Models for Dialogue: https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/ [2] 7 problems facing Bing, Bard, and the future of AI search: https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/9/23592647/ai-search-bing-bard-chatgpt-microsoft-google-problems-challenges [3] Google: An important next step on our AI journey: https://blog.google/technology/ai/bard-google-ai-search-updates/ [4] Google’s Bard AI bot mistake wipes $100bn off shares: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64576225 [5] Reinventing search with a new AI-powered Microsoft Bing and Edge, your copilot for the web: https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/02/07/reinventing-search-with-a-new-ai-powered-microsoft-bing-and-edge-your-copilot-for-the-web/ [6] Google shares lose $100 billion after company’s AI chatbot makes an error during demo: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/08/tech/google-ai-bard-demo-error [7] Hackers are selling a service that bypasses ChatGPT restrictions on malware: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/02/now-open-fee-based-telegram-service-that-uses-chatgpt-to-generate-malware/ New Bing fact verification sources: [8] Microsoft’s ( ) press release video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOeRWRJ16yY [9] Microsoft’s : ( ) demo page https://www.bing.com/new The new Bing and Fiscal Report: [10a] shown in the video: Gap Inc. Fiscal report https://s24.q4cdn.com/508879282/files/doc_financials/2022/q3/3Q22-EPR-FINAL-with-Tables.pdf [10b] found on their official website: Lululemon Fiscal report https://corporate.lululemon.com/media/press-releases/2022/12-08-2022-210558496#:\~:text=For the third quarter of 2022%2C compared to the third,%2C and increased 41%25 internationally The new Bing and Japanese Poets: [11a] Eriko Kishida: ( ), ( ) Wikipedia https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/1622673369480204288 IMDB https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1063814/ [11b] Gacket: ( ) Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gackt The new Bing and Nightclubs in Mexico: [12a] El Almacen: ( ), ( ) Google Maps https://goo.gl/maps/3BL27XgWpDVzLLnaA Restaurant Guru https://restaurantguru.com/El-Almacen-Mexico-City [12b] El Marra: ( ), ( ) Google Maps https://goo.gl/maps/HZFe8xY7uTk1SB6s5 Restaurant Guru https://restaurantguru.com/El-Marra-Mexico-City [12c] Guadalajara de Noche: ( ), ( ) Tripadvisor https://www.tripadvisor.es/Attraction_Review-g150800-d3981435-Reviews-Guadalajara_de_Noche-Mexico_City_Central_Mexico_and_Gulf_Coast.html Google Maps https://goo.gl/maps/UeHCm1EeJZFP7wZYA [13] The new Bing and craft ideas ( ): https://www.bing.com/search?q=Arts and crafts ideas, with instructions for a toddler using only cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, paper and string&iscopilotedu=1&form=MA13G7 [13a] Cited website: ( ) Happy Toddler Playtime https://happytoddlerplaytime.com/cardboard-box-guitar-craft-for-kids/ Bard fact verification sources: [14] Promotional blog ( ) and video ( ) https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/1622673369480204288 https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/1622673775182626818 [15] ( ) Video demonstration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLWXJ22LUEc Which telescope captured the first exoplanet images [16a] by Grant Tremblay (American astrophysicist) ( ) Twitter https://twitter.com/astrogrant/status/1623091683603918849 [16b] NASA: 2M1207 b — First image of an exoplanet ( ) https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/resources/300/2m1207-b-first-image-of-an-exoplanet/ When the constellations are visible [17a] ( ) top result: ( ) Google https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=when+is+orion+visible&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 Byju’s https://byjus.com/question-answer/in-which-season-of-the-year-is-the-constellation-orion-visible-in-the-sky/ [17b] page “Orion (constellation)”: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(constellation) Academic References [18] An Introduction to Information Retrieval: https://nlp.stanford.edu/IR-book/pdf/irbookonlinereading.pdf [19] Toward Controlled Generation of Text: http://proceedings.mlr.press/v70/hu17e/hu17e.pdf [20] FEVER: a large-scale dataset for Fact Extraction and VERification: https://aclanthology.org/N18-1074.pdf [21] Peeking Inside the Black-Box: A Survey on Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI): https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=8466590 Image credit, prompt of ‘robot fact checker uses magnify glass to examine an ai chatbots accuracy.’ HackerNoon AI Image Generator

Mistakes of Microsoft's New Bing: Can ChatGPT-like Generative Models Guarantee Factual Accuracy?

মাইক্রোসফ্টের নতুন বিং-এর ভুলগুলি: চ্যাটজিপিটি-এর মতো জেনারেটিভ মডেলগুলি কি প্রকৃত নির্ভুলতার গ্যারান্টি দিতে পারে?

Fehler von Microsofts neuem Bing: Können ChatGPT-ähnliche generative Modelle sachliche Genauigkeit garantieren?

Errores del nuevo Bing de Microsoft: ¿pueden los modelos generativos similares a ChatGPT garantizar la precisión de los hechos?

Erreurs du nouveau Bing de Microsoft : les modèles génératifs de type ChatGPT peuvent-ils garantir l'exactitude factuelle ?

Microsoft की नई बिंग की गलतियाँ: क्या चैटजीपीटी-जैसे जनरेटिव मॉडल तथ्यात्मक सटीकता की गारंटी दे सकते हैं?

Microsoft の新しい Bing の間違い: ChatGPT のような生成モデルは事実の正確さを保証できますか?

Microsoft의 새로운 Bing의 실수: ChatGPT와 유사한 생성 모델이 사실적 정확성을 보장할 수 있습니까?

Erros do novo Bing da Microsoft: modelos generativos do tipo ChatGPT podem garantir precisão factual?

Microsoft'un Yeni Bing'indeki Hatalar: ChatGPT Benzeri Üretken Modeller Gerçek Doğruluğu Garanti Edebilir mi?

Những sai lầm của Bing mới của Microsoft: Các mô hình tạo giống như ChatGPT có thể đảm bảo độ chính xác thực tế không?

微软新Bing的误区：类似ChatGPT的生成模型能否保证事实准确性？

With 30$ Trillion in market loss and 315K layoffs, the Dot bubble of our era has burst. But this isn’t the first time the tech market is bleeding. The dot-com bubble of the late 1990s saw a loss of $5 trillion in the tech market. **How did all of this happen? \ First, let’s assess some of the similarities between the late ‘90s and right now. What’s happening in the market? Well-funded startups going bankrupt. Companies losing their valuation. VCs rethinking their investment. Hiring freeze in companies. Mass layoffs everywhere. The same events occurred in the Dot-com bubble of the late ’90s. What is a dot-com company? First, let us understand what are dot-com companies. Companies that carry out their business online via the Internet using a website, and specifically these websites have a (.com)dot-com prefix. Eg: How the website functions as an online portal to buy products. Amazon.com What led to the first dot-com bubble? In the early ’90s, only a handful number of people had access to computers. And they were used only for business purposes. At this time, was in the news every other day because of its soaring valuation. Microsoft — The release of the famous web browser called MOSAIC boosted the use of computers as internet-accessing Machines. It was the first browser that offered interactive UI to access the internet and it slowly made more and more people aware of this next big thing called “THE INTERNET”. 1993 Then came Microsoft’s Internet Explorer which boosted the growth of the Internet. At this point, This marked a shift to the new information age based on information technology. Computers were becoming a NECESSITY instead of a LUXURY. FOMO hit VCs(Venture capitals) and media giants started to publish articles like — “GET BIG FAST” and “GET LARGE OR GET LOST”. Everybody wanted to invest in these new Internet companies and make quick money (Everybody wanted it but nobody understood it — Just like Crypto and Metaverse right now) Then, The Taxpayer Act of 1997 lowered the interest rates. This event drove up the amount of capital that was being invested in Dot-com companies. Companies without a beta product to show, or even a valid idea, got funded. Especially the ones that had websites with a Dot-com(.com) prefix. The amount of VC investment made in the late 90s was way more than the number of deals made in the 2010s. A web browser company started in 1994, Netscape went for IPO in 1995 just after one year its launch. At this time, Netscape was burning cash like hell. Still, its share price went from $28 to $58 within a few minutes of the IPO. Let’s take a look at the example of Netscape: The market cap of Netscape rose to $2.78 Billion in a day. Just to put it in perspective it took General Motors 43 years to reach $2.78B in valuation. Nobody wanted to miss out on an opportunity to invest in a famous Dot-com company. Investors were throwing money into IPOs and funding. NASDAQ(New York-based Stock exchange that mainly lists tech companies) index hits an all-time high of $5048.62. Bursting of Dot com bubble 1.0 By the late ’90s, a bubble of overvalued tech companies was formed. After millions of funding over the years, there was no sign of profitability in these dot-com companies. Mainly because they never had any strategy to build a profitable product. The investors realized their mistake! A series of events in the year 2000 burst this bubble. -> Alan Greenspan(Chief of the federal reserve) raised the interest rates which caused panic among investors. January -> Japan entered a recession and triggered a global sell-off of shares. March 13 -> Yahoo and eBay ended talks of a much-hyped merger. NASDAQ again got affected and fall 2.6% March 15 -> A popular software company called MicroStrategy (Yes we are talking about Michael J Saylor the famous bitcoin investor) announced bankruptcy. Its share price has risen from $7 to $333 in the same year. March 20 Microsoft lost the lawsuit against the US government and was found guilty of using monopolistic practices. And the final blow came on April 3. Microsoft was dominating the PC industry and at this time Microsoft was valued above $500 Billion and Bill gates’ net worth was $100B. As soon as the biggest player in the market started losing its value, everybody lost their sanity. All of the Dot-com companies started losing valuation. These companies re-evaluated themselves and it was found that most of them never had any product and they were just burning VCs cash. The attack of 9/11 completely destroyed the NASDAQ stock exchange. By this time the global market had lost $5 trillion in total valuation. But there were few survivors of this tech bubble — AMAZON GOOGLE YAHOO EBAY The ones with a profitable business model. The Dot-com bubble was proof that whenever an industry receives more money and attention than it actually requires, The result is over-valuation! History doesn’t also repeat itself, but it definitely rhymes. Dot com bubble 2.0 Something similar has been happening for the last two years. Companies and startups got highly over-valued. In the post-Covid-19 bull cycle, investors have poured trillions into the market. Everybody was trying to make quick bucks. Like in the late 90s, people had no idea of the Internet but still they invested in the dot-com companies. In the same way, post-covid19 people who have no idea about what blockchain or cryptocurrency are have invested millions into these technologies. What did it lead to? Another Dot-com bubble. What led to the second dot-com bubble? When the pandemic hit in early 2020, everyone got trapped in their houses. People had nowhere to go, they couldn’t meet their family, friends, and colleagues. Having nowhere to go and no place to socialize, all one could do, was spend time on the Internet. In the below-given graph, we can see how the average screen time of internet users increased from 1.25 hours in April 2019 to 5hrs in April 2020. image credits: pans.org As the average screen time of internet users increased, the consumption of crypto, startups, and tech-related news increased drastically. Thus, the limelight of modern tech started to astonish people. Professional investors were as affected by this by this phenomenon as the common people. The valuation of tech giants was already booming and everybody wanted to be a part of these trillion $$ companies. But the chance to become an early investor in these companies was over. So to make quick bucks, investors and common people started to look out for substitutes. Investors went towards crypto and startups. Quarterly VC deals went from 4000 in quarter 1 of 2020 to 9000 in quarter 4 of 2021. Ironically these stats look almost similar to the stats of the first dot-com bubble. image credit: KMPG The crypto investment increased more drastically than ever. Meme currency like DogeCoins gained a crazy valuation of $100B and increased at a rate of 7,555% in 2021. I would personally consider that to be the mother of all Ponzi schemes. image credit: Statista The increasing price of crypto and stocks were attracting more new investors every day. All of these investments also led to panic mass hiring among companies and startups. New employees were hired to work on projects that were never intended to be built. Companies wanted to build new products/services to utilize their freshly gained money which they never deserved. Thus the Dot-com bubble 2.0 formed from a series of bad investments. Bursting of Dot com bubble 2.0 The Crypto bubble We saw the rise of Ponzi schemes like DogeCoin & Shiba Inu reaching a valuation of $100B in 2021. But where are they now? is likely dead and is trading at a <90% and valuation is back to <$5B. Shib DogeCoin Even the price of big cryptocurrencies like and reached $60K and $4K respectively in the bull cycle. Bitcoin Ethereum And now $BTC is trading at $14K and $ETH at $1K, back to their original value. FTX’s Fall In November we witnessed a massive debacle. One of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world fell to its knees. FTX was valued at $32B in the recent funding led by Softbank and FTX’s yearly transaction volume was over $625B in 2021. All of this vanished within a night. Turns out that FTX was mortgaging their customer’s assets without their consent to raise the price of their token $FTT. Their market valuation went from $32B to 0 and the crypto market lost $800B in a night. The side effects of the bubble burst are not limited to the crypto world. Byju’s Struggle The world’s biggest Ed-tech startup Byjus has raised over $3 billion since the pandemic from investors like Tiger Global and General Atlantic. They acquired 12 startups in 2020 and 2021 for a whopping sum of over $2.5B. But raising capital and acquiring small startups doesn’t make you profitable. Byjus made $300M in revenue and incurred losses of over $500M in 2021. Byjus has been defaulting on their payments and laid off 2500 employees even after raising $3 billion in the past 2 years. Meta’s fading Metaverse dream On the 26th of October 2021, the world’s biggest social media platform went all in for its dream to build the Metaverse. Brimming with passion, Meta hired thousands of new people in 2020 and 2021. Especially to their Reality labs division which is responsible for building their iteration of the Metaverse. Their obsession led to over-hiring in these two years and now they figured out that they don’t need this many people. As a result, last November Meta laid off 11K workers. 13% of its total workforce. Meta went from a $1 Trillion market cap in 2021 to $280B in 2022, a loss of $720B within a year. These are just a few examples to name. We are witnessing other tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Netflix, and Amazon, and startups laying off thousands of employees and losing billions in valuation. How did the bubble burst this time? The reason remains the same, after two years of blind investments, the investors realized that these companies and startups never deserved the amount of money they received. Startups were unable to show any growth or any product. Cryptocurrencies still don’t have any real-world use cases and a crypto exchange platform even cheated its customers, big tech giants were unable to figure out what to do with their newly hired employees. And no,w we’re witnessing mass layoffs, loss of valuation, and bankruptcy among startups and companies and there’s much more to come… How long will bubble 2.0 last? Industry experts have suggested that this recession will hit its peak in mid-2023. This is just the beginning. More repercussions of Dot-com bubble 2.0 are yet to unfold in the upcoming quarters with a higher magnitude of damage. More people are going to lose their jobs and savings. Global Market is going to lose Trillions. And it is assumed many countries would fall into recession. It took the market 15 years to come back to normal from the last Dot-com bubble. There’s no real way to predict how long it would take to come back from this crash. What’s the most relatable thing in the Dot-com bubble 1.0 and 2.0? FOMO(Fear of missing out) and greed. Just like in the late 90s when investors did not want to miss out on Dot-com companies in the same way post-Covid investors did not want to miss out on the next Bitcoin or maybe the tech giant like Facebook. Investors pumped money into every other Crypto, startup, and company without learning about their product, business model, or even which domain they’re serving. Conclusion The most disheartening result of bubble 2.0 is the mass layoffs. In bubble 1.0, we did not see so many people losing their jobs. This week, Microsoft laid off 10K people in the cost-cutting measures and at the same time invested $10B in OpenAI (ChatGPT parent) just to be a part of the trend. For investors and companies, this may just be another money-saving strategy. But for the average person, it was their livelihood that they lost. It’s tough out there in the tech industry. With competition at an all-time high, companies are always looking for ways to save money — even if it means sacrificing their employees in the process. You are never really a part of any company in today’s climate and once a company is done with you, they will let you go without a second thought. I hope this read gave you more clarity about the current tech events. I would love to know your opinions about the same. If you've any doubts or want to know further more details, reach out to me at - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prcwrites Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/prcWrites References: market loss: https://www.ft.com/content/87ed8ea6-4913-4452-9135-498040ad338 layoff tracker: https://www.trueup.io/layoffs Also, check out, the beginner's friendly guide to Metaverse: https://hackernoon.com/metaverse-101-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-metaverse Also published here.

Dot-Com Bubble 2.0: How Did We Get Here?

Dot-Com Bubble 2.0: ¿Cómo llegamos aquí?

Bulle Internet 2.0 : comment en sommes-nous arrivés là ?

डॉट-कॉम बबल 2.0: हम यहां कैसे पहुंचे?

ドットコム バブル 2.0: どうやってここまで来たのか?

Bolha pontocom 2.0: como chegamos aqui?

Bong bóng Dot-Com 2.0: Chúng ta đã đến đây như thế nào?

互联网泡沫 2.0：我们是怎么走到这一步的？

Our company faced enormous challenges when the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine started. But instead of cutting costs, we decided to continue actively expanding. India became one of our top-priority markets, so after research and planning, we went for it. The team is still under a lot of stress: most employees stay in Ukraine and sometimes have to work from bomb shelters, and others are spread across the globe. But expansion is going well, and I’m ready to share some insights and lessons learned. Choosing the market: the paradise for Java developers We help people learn Java because we know this profession can be fulfilling and well-paid simultaneously. Over the last ten years, we've gained tremendous experience in working with international students (over 30,000 people from 40 countries have already become our graduates) and entered many markets (the USA, China, and European countries). So, we weren't new to this business. Nevertheless, India seemed like a big challenge. To name a few reasons, the huge cultural gap between Ukraine and India, and the circumstances in which our employees have to work. After the war started, some people fled the country, and some moved to other regions of Ukraine. It got harder to communicate daily and hold meetings. But we knew the potential of this market and were ready to put extra effort into this idea. What made India so attractive to us? This country's economy is growing fast, and the share of the young population is pretty high ( ). There are over 658 million Internet users in India, which explains the high demand for online education and the booming growth of IT companies. people between 15 and 29 years old constituted 27,2% in 2021 India's the world's leader in IT outsourcing, and the demand for programmers here continues to increase. For example, in 2021, India witnessed the launch of 14,000 new startups. With every year, we can expect this number to get bigger, so the competition for skilled employees will get tougher. One of the top hiring websites in India, , offers over 100,000 job openings for IT specialists. And the salaries are appealing: Java developers here can earn up to 2 million rupees per year (the average annual salary in India is 240,000 rupees, according to ). Naukri.com AmbitionBox.com It's only logical that young people want to acquire a profession of a Java developer. But unfortunately, universities can't meet this demand. They aren't flexible enough to change the curriculum as fast as the market requires, and it takes too much time (several years!) to get a degree. On the other hand, online courses can offer up-to-date programs, a lot of practice, and sometimes even help with a job search. That's why EdTech has been flourishing in India in the last few years. This market is expected to reach , with 37 million paid users. Seven among 36 in the world are Indian. Moreover, the biggest EdTech unicorn is also Indian – it’s ByJu’s with a market value of $22 billion. $10.4 billion by 2025 EdTech unicorns Some segments of the EdTech market in India are more competitive than others. For example, K-12 is quite filled compared to additional professional education. It's not a blue ocean for us, but also not a red ocean. In our segment, we see big and small companies, but the "market pie" isn't sliced yet, and the leaderboard isn't final. And what's more important, no Java learning platforms offer such a high-quality product as we do. With these considerations in mind, we decided to start our journey. Research and preparation: better thorough than sorry Having an idea is one thing, and transforming it into a business plan is the other. That’s why we decided to enter the Indian market only after detailed research. How did we conduct it? First, we examined every study we could find on the Indian EdTech market, its potential, and our soon-to-be competitors. We analyzed the information, shared our conclusions with team members, and discussed our findings. Second, we had multiple meetings with market experts. We reached out to some representatives of Indian EdTech companies and asked them questions to get a better perspective on the local market. Third, we couldn’t proceed without talking to potential customers. So, we interviewed Indian clients of our main product – a self-paced online Java course. Also, we surveyed them. We already had several hundred users, and it was beneficial to ask for their feedback. Moreover, we talked to Indian employers and browsed local job search websites. We wanted to understand if the requirements for Java developers differ in India compared to other countries. Our team made everything possible – and impossible – to gather as much information as we needed. And we did it under air raid sirens which are pretty common in Ukraine, and from bomb shelters. Our employees adjusted even to these circumstances. Some of them had to catch the Internet connection to work. But their motivation remained strong despite the high level of stress and discomfort. Eventually, this stage gave us tons of valuable insights. For example, we discovered that the main thing our potential Indian students desired was employment. It’s not enough for them to gain Java knowledge or improve their coding skills. They want to get a job offer after they complete the course. And it’s the main reason Indian customers aren’t satisfied with existing courses. Most of them last just a few months, and finding a job is impossible after such a brief study. Also, we came to another conclusion: we really can deliver what the target audience needs. As our surveys say, 95% of our graduates find their first job within three months after completing the course. We were sure that in 12 months, we could train Java developers who were able to get job offers immediately. The first hypothesis, first results… Our research helped us create the first hypothesis, i.e., if we offer potential students a job guarantee, they will gladly choose us and be willing to pay for the first month or the entire course at once. To test it, we did several steps: Talked to employers to identify their needs and reach preliminary agreements to hire our graduates. Surprisingly, some companies wanted to start hiring our graduates immediately! It proved our point that the demand for Java developers in India is huge, and our reputation is substantial and works for us. Tailored the existing product (self-paced course) for the Indian market. CodeGym Java University is a 12-month course with mentors and a job offer guarantee at the end. It combines all the benefits of our online course (gamification, lots of practice, automatic verification of tasks completed, etc.) with a guided approach (live lectures and mentors’ help). Created a landing page for CodeGym Java University and started holding free online events about IT in general, Java, and our offer. We invited local speakers to gain more trust from the audience. Over 1,500 people visited our online events, and about 100 filled out applications for our course. As a result, we had our first group of students in a month. They are studying now, and so far, they are satisfied with what they get. So, our first hypothesis worked, and we moved to the next challenge – growing and scaling. … and first complications Not everything was going as smoothly as we had hoped. The first problem became evident when the sales started. We had a sales team, but it wasn't local. Our employees live in different countries and mostly use Western approaches to communicate with potential clients. For example, go straight to business, discuss the offer, and close the deal quickly. In India, on the other hand, people prefer an entirely different approach. To close the deal here, you must establish personal communication first and talk about family, relatives, life, etc. Only then can you start discussing your offer. Also, we discovered that the trust issue was crucial. If a potential client hears an unfamiliar accent, they immediately understand that there's a foreigner on the other end and start asking questions. The USA or European experience isn't relevant here. Therefore, potential customers may doubt your expertise. And, of course, we didn't know much about the cultural differences between Indian states. For instance, there are many local holidays, different for different states. And selling something on these dates is pointless. All these things created barriers to communication. As soon as we understood that, we decided to hire a local team. Now, we already have four sales managers in India, several career consultants, and Java mentors. They help us understand the cultural features, comprehend the needs of our target audience, and process applications more efficiently. Our mentors are professional Java developers who work for companies like SalesForce, Walmart Tech, and Microsoft. We also trained them to use our teaching methods, and now they combine understanding the local culture with CodeGym's DNA. Typically, we realize the need for a particular employee first and then start looking for them. But sometimes, we find an interesting person for a position we don't have yet. If this person can make us stronger, and we can afford them, we go for it. For example, that's how Shubham Dumbre joined our team. He's an IT entrepreneur, an author, and a speaker with immense expertise in EdTech companies. He helps us to hold our open events and communicate with potential students. Another complication was out of our control. Russians started bombing the civil infrastructure with missiles and drones, and electricity became a luxury. Blackouts can last for several hours, even days (and we can’t complain because, in some regions, people live without electricity for months). Again, we had to adjust. We’ve bought equipment (power generators, power banks, WiFi routers that can work without electricity, etc.) and learned to keep all the devices charged. And we continue working. Getting closer to success, iteration by iteration As I've said before, scaling is our next big challenge. To keep the process going and fix all the problems as soon as they appear, we conduct special meetings. Every week (usually on Friday), we get together with the "Indian" team and discuss the previous week's results. We've divided the entire project into funnel stages to discuss each part's success separately. For example: Awareness and advertising. What experiments did we conduct last week? What else did we do? What results did we get? Our free webinars. How did the chatbots, emails, and SMS messages work? What was the attendance of the webinar? What questions did people ask there? What do the statistics about each webinar say? During these meetings, we analyze how the audience's interest changes and what data show. The sales process. What insights did we get from our leads and sales managers? What are the sales metrics? Who among the sales managers was the most efficient? The learning process. How are students of current groups learning? What's their performance? How many tasks per week did they solve on our platform? What feedback did students give to mentors? And what feedback did mentors give to students? In wartime, not every employee can attend a meeting, and it's not their fault. To keep everyone on the same page, we take notes and share them with people who couldn't participate in a discussion. Our internal communications have become somewhat asynchronous, but it doesn't affect our results. The last months were challenging for us, but also, they taught us many valuable lessons. For example, we should always be prepared for anything, both on personal and company levels. We are much stronger than we thought. People really are our main asset (that's why we've kept the whole team and are proud of this decision). Sure, there will inevitably be other challenges as we continue to pursue our "Indian dream.” But we stay together and stay true to our mission – teach people Java and give them an in-demand profession. In this uncertain world, all we can count on is ourselves. By Alex Yelenevych, Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer at , a platform for learning Java CodeGym.cc Also Published Here

How a Ukrainian Startup  CodeGym Managed to Enter a New Market During the War

After the world’s richest person Elon Musk acquired the micro-blogging platform Twitter for 44 billion dollars, he started his first day in the office by firing Twitter’s top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Ned Segal, and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde. Just a few days after that, he reportedly fired a whole team of Data Engineers. Within a week after, Chief Twit announced layoffs for half of all Twitter employees, which are about 3,700 employees out of 7,500. Unfortunately, Twitter is not the only giant to lay off its employees. The long list of companies sacking their employees includes Facebook’s parent company Meta, Google’s parent company Alphabet, Netflix, Byju’s, Microsoft, and many more. Meta has announced layoffs of more than 11,000 employees, which is 13 per cent of the company’s workforce. “Today I’m sharing some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history. I’ve decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13 per cent and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go”, Meta co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, said in a message to the staff. Situations are similar in India. Around 15,708 people have lost their jobs. The Indian companies included unicorns like BYJU’S, Ola, Meesho, and MPL. The previous year, the Indian education platform Unacademy is reported to have laid off more than 1,000 employees. This year, US companies had around 45,000 employees laid off as of October 2022. Tencent also froze hiring as a measure of cost-cutting. The world's biggest e-commerce company Amazon Inc., has also announced the layoff of more than 10,000 employees. The unicorn startup Byjus announced it will lay off 2,500 employees, that is 5 percent of its workforce, over the next six months. The company is sacking around 2,500 of its 50,000 employees. What Is the Reason for Sacking Employees? Tech firms around the globe are fighting economic slowdowns. The slow consumer spending, higher interest rates by central banks, and strong dollars overseas are hinting toward a possible recession. As a result, tech firms including Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft are laying off employees or freezing hiring. Recently, Indian IT companies including Wipro, Infosys, and TCS have fired hundreds of employees for moonlighting (simultaneously working for two or more companies). IT firms are worried that employees taking up secondary jobs after regular work hours will affect productivity, lead to conflicts of interest, and possibly data breaches. The most common reason for laying off employees is the pressure from investors and cost-reducing measures. Investors invest in companies in which they see growth potential. So, these companies are removing their excess employees to cut off their excess expenses, as these startups hired workers even when there was no immediate need for them. What’s Next for Those Who Have Lost Their Jobs? There is good news too, Twitter has reached out to its employees who were fired before to return to their positions. Some of those who are being asked to return were laid off by mistake, according to two people familiar with the moves. Others were let go before management realized that their work and experience may be required. It is not easy to get a new job during this time of economic crisis. Those who have lost jobs should invest their time in personal development and skills improvement and should regularly practice. For example, if you design UI, you must keep prpractisingour skills so that when you get time to apply for a new job, you perform better than others. You can also learn something new, if you are good at frontend development, try learning backend development. Remember to keep looking for new job offers on LinkedIn. Tech giants’ employees are likely to be hired by small startups as they have lots of experience. Also published . here

Tech Giants are Laying off Thousands of People. Why?

Education has always had a significant impact on people around the world. We all remember the memories from kindergarten through high school. And it is not easy to forget our memories from college to the start of your working life. Even though we consider education to be a one-room and a red-brick schoolhouse, it has evolved. Education now is a booming industry that has already seen immense growth and is still rapidly expanding. Companies and investors in this industry know and recognize all the various trends that continue to help in the growth. And that is also why many substantial educational companies are not just growing but going public as well. In this article, we will talk about the rise of EdTech unicorns and the Duolingo IPO. EdTech Unicorns Many EdTech startups are launched every day. And a lot of them end up failing as they did not learn from the mistakes and the success of other education companies in the industry. But when it comes to EdTech unicorns, not all startups can be called unicorns . ( you can see Eqvista's complete list of 2021 unicorns here ) Let's begin by talking about the industry, and then we will define what an EdTech unicorn is. EdTech Industry Overview The EdTech industry is a vast and rapidly growing one. You can find every kind of company here, from startups and middle-market companies to even public companies. The companies in this industry are not only getting the attention of veterans but also from general investors too. We all know that there are three key education categories including: Prek-12 Post-secondary Corporate training With technology infused in all these parts, a learner is always in contact with technology. And each of these sectors has its own sub-segment in the industry. Moreover, each category is different and has unique buyers, end-users, and funding mechanisms. The growth of each has been shared below: - , about $1.7 billion in venture capital was invested in the EdTech market in 2019 itself for over 105 deals. And most of these investments were of the Series C round. US EdTech VC investments As per EdSurge - There was about $18.7 billion investment made on a worldwide scale in learning technology supplies in 2019, as per . Global learning technology investment Metaari - A report by showed that $7 billion venture capital funding was invested in educational institutions all over the world in 2019. Seeing its comparison to $0.5 billion VC funds invested in 2010, there is a prediction that this amount will triple in the next decade. Global venture investment HolonIQ - Other than VC funds, a lot of private equity funds are being raised too for being invested in the education sector. In addition to this, the education sector is being categorized as the "impact" sector, which is attracting many investors who want to have an impact in the world. Private equity funds for EdTech investments - A considerable part of the EdTech market is from publicly traded companies. In the USA alone, there are about 29 companies with $71 billion capital as of January 2020. Publicly traded EdTech companies In short, the EdTech industry is actually very vast and growing every day. What is an EdTech Unicorn? EdTech is basically the practice of introducing IT tools in education to make learning more engaging, inclusive, better, and for an individualized learning experience too. With this said, what is a "unicorn?" "Unicorn" in the business world and VC world describes a privately held startup that has a value of $1 billion or more. This term was coined by Aileen Lee, the founder of Cowboy Ventures. So, how do we differentiate an EdTech unicorn from the rest? Well, the first step is to check all the startups to see which ones are EdTech unicorns and which are not. To explain better, some startups have a value of more than $1 billion, like Roblox. But this company has its feet in different industries and not just in the EdTech one. So you need to identify the handful of companies both in the Education and Technology industry with a value of over $1 billion. Top Edu-Tech Unicorn Startups in the World There are many recognizable EdTech unicorn startups in the world. Here are the top 10 that you should know: - Valued at $1 billion in 2016 Age of Learning - Valued at $1 billion in 2018 BYJU'S - Valued at $1 billion in 2020 Course Hero - Valued at $1 billion in 2019 Coursera - Valued at $1.5 billion in 2019 Duolingo - Valued at $1 billion in 2019 Guild Education - Valued at $1 billion in 2019 Knowbox - Valued at $1 billion in 2020 Quizlet - Valued at $1 billion in 2015 Udacity - Valued at $2 billion in 2020 Udemy Out of these, we will be talking about Duolingo and its decision to go public through an IPO. Duolingo IPO is a Pittsburgh-based company that offers language learning resources and tools via its mobile app, website, and assessment platform. Anyone can easily learn up to 40 languages through Duolingo. The company was started in 2011 by a computer science professor named Luis Von Ahn with his postgraduate student, Severin Hacker. This professor also started the bot-detection company - CAPTCHA, which was sold to Google. He then decided to start this company to solve the problem of expensive language courses for everyone. Duolingo The company grew over the years till it finally became a unicorn in 2019. It has about 10 million users and is rapidly increasing. And now, in July 2021, the company went public, changing the face of the EdTech industry. Now, Duolingo has some 300 million global users of its technology. This has also led the company to have about 1k global employees and about $161 million in revenue! Why is Duolingo's IPO Great News for the EdTech Industry? Duolingo has been growing rapidly since it entered the scene in the EdTech industry. It has raised a lot of funding till now and has hundreds of millions of users, thanks to its free language resources. And with all the rapid growth, the company decided that it was time to go public. And on 28th July 2021, under the ticker DUOL, the company went public on Nasdaq. The company has raised about $521 million through the sale of 5.1 million shares during the IPO. The price of the shares at this time was $141.40 a share. This also brought the value of the company to $5 billion after the sale. Thanks to this step taken by the company, it has changed the face of the EdTech industry. Although EdTech companies are growing and people value education, Duolingo has just shown that not only do tech companies have the way to reach the top, but also the EdTech companies. It has given hope to many others that their growth doesn't have to stop, and they too can conquer it all. Edu-Tech Industry Trends and Predictions With all these changes in the EdTech industry, we can expect more extraordinary things to come ahead for the industry. But two topics have the most impact - online learning and emerging technologies. Both these trends have been talked about briefly below: : The last decade has had a lot of hype around online learning. And by 2019, a lot of things had changed. As a matter of fact, investors are much more inclined to invest in online education. Private equity-backed providers are looking for opportunities to expand the online K-12 market. And the prominent non-profit players are focusing more on higher education. Moreover, India and China are attracting a lot of capital for their Edutech startups. Online learning will grow more in 2021 : Again, in the last decade, we have seen all the new technologies being used in education from books to the radio, from computers to the internet and so on. Even though there have been failures, IT experts keep working towards finding a way to use technology and improve the learner's experience. Due to this, many investors have an interest in investing in such projects. Talk about anything like VR, AR, and Robotics too; everyone part of the education industry is attracting investors and the industry growth. Emerging technologies will be used in education Wrap Up EdTech is a diverse and enormous industry that keeps growing. In fact, this industry will keep growing as people will never stop learning. And this opens a new gate of opportunities for everyone, as we have seen with the Duolingo IPO. If you are planning to start an education company, then this is a good time. And if you already have one, then you are in luck as you can pitch to investors and gain more expansion.

BYJU'S

byjus.com

10K+ employees

Since 2011

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BYJU'S

byjus.com

10K+ employees

Since 2011

COMPANY RANKING

BYJU'S

EVERGREEN INDEX #465

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