#TechTitans

[chhavi09]

Sanjeev Bikhchandani: The Entrepreneur Behind Info Edge

From job seeker to job creator! 💼 Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder of Info Edge (Naukri.com, Jeevansathi.com), turned challenges into billion-dollar ventures. 🇮🇳💻 A true pioneer of India’s internet revolution. 🚀

[alt-econ]

Loretta Napoleoni, Technocapitalism

One sentence summary:

This is what the blurb on the back of this book says:

"At the dawn of the digital revolution, the Internet promised to be the great equalizer, a global democratic force. Instead, Wall Street ended up funding a new breed of serial capitalists, the Techtitans, who jacked up their own profits by mining new frontiers and stripping their workers of rights. ... Napoleoni offers us the real story of how we got here and what it will take to redirect our collective will toward the common good."

That was more than enough to get me to pick up this book, and once I picked it up, I couldn't stop. Do you know how the 2008 financial crisis is tied to the rise of Silicon Valley and the privatization of space exploration? I didn't, but after this book, I did.

The story begins with the 2008 financial crisis. How exactly did the U.S. government bail out the financial sector? Through quantitative easing: the Treasury materialized trillions of dollars out of thin air by pressing a few keys on their keyboard. This money was used to buy bonds and securities from banks and financial institutions in order to stabilize them. The financial sector got trillions in cash.

So what did the financial sector do with this money? They invested in Silicon Valley. In the post-financial crisis era of near-zero interest rates, the tech industry was one of the few places that offered high returns on investment. As a result, it wasn't just private investors and venture capitalists that made their way to Silicon Valley, but also institutional investors: pension fund managers, insurance companies, hedge funds, and even banks.

So, that's the story of how Silicon Valley got rich. But there is also another important side to this story, which is the fact that the speed of innovations outpaces regulations: "The time gap between innovations the tech companies implement and the laws that would regulate them has also played a major role in the global growth of companies like Airbnb, Google, and Uber. It creates a gray area, unreachable by the law, where tech companies operate freely, redesigning labor protocols and privacy instruments and payment protocols to their own advantage."

The example she raises is how Uber pioneered the gig economy model. By presenting themselves as a digital platform / broker, they are able to categorize their drivers as freelance / self-employed workers, which means they do not have to provide them with benefits or other protections--despite the fact that drivers are functionally employees. All this, under the guise of the "sharing economy."

As a result? "Far from encouraging an equitable distribution of wealth, the tech industry compounded inequalities. And it did this intentionally, because to a certain degree, the greed that had characterized the financial sector leading into the financial crisis did not die; rather, it emerged, scarred, and produced a cross-pollination between Wall Street and Silicon Valley."

Meanwhile, Techtitans like Google grew rapidly by buying and absorbing new innovations and startups. As Napoleoni describes: "While serial entrepreneurs produce a constant stream of new ideas, the big Techtitans are permanently on the lookout to buy the best ones, secondarily to improve their own businesses, but primarily to prevent any competition." Google Maps was developed by buying up all the startups that provided digital map services. When Google learned that Facebook and Apple wanted to buy Waze, it stepped in and outbid them by nearly a billion dollars. It was clearly a monopolistic move.

[Napoleoni doesn't talk about this but, her book is literally called The Rise of the New Robber Barons. Remember the original robber barons? Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller--these guys are the reason why the U.S. has antitrust laws today. No wonder SIlicon Valley spends so much time and money on antitrust cases.]

Now, the Techtitans have set their eyes on space. Why? Part of it, Napoleoni argues, has to do with the model of infinite economic growth. The human race is outgrowing the planet, so the next frontier is space. Jeff Bezos believes in a future with space settlements, Elon Musk wants to colonize Mars. But more practically, and immediately, the lower Earth orbit promises major business opportunities. The development of nano satellites has made it significantly more affordable to launch satellites. Right now, they're being used to provide satellite internet, e.g. Starlink, or Project Kuiper. Goldman Sachs thinks mining asteroids is a near future possibility. All while leaving behind a trail of space debris.

What makes all of this especially nebulous and hard to fight back against is that so much of this technological innovation is hard to understand. Napoleoni illustrates this point best with stories of fraudulent bitcoins and NFT schemes, but it goes beyond that. Most of us don't understand the wider societal significance of blockchain, let alone the technical mechanism. In the same way, many of us didn't understand the significance of the end of the gold standard or the rise of financial engineering. And now, as the Techtitans seek to transform themselves into Space Barons, we don't understand the significance of the corporatization of the lower Earth orbit or the development of relaunchable rockets.

And when we don't understand these technological innovations and its broader significance, not only do we struggle to foresee how these things will make inequality worse, we also fail to see the beneficial opportunities these technologies, if managed more wisely, could offer humanity. Blockchain could be used to improve food security, facilitate product recalls, to trace the origins of the products we buy. It could allow for secure management of personal data. Bitcoin was originally envisioned by its creator as a way to democratize money, and has already shown its usefulness in situations like wars where ordinary people can get money even when traditional banks are unreliable, without fear of surveillance. In space, satellites could be carrying solar panels (space-based solar power), providing clean and continuous energy for our use.

Napoleoni doesn't explicitly address how we get there, but it is implicit that the first step is education and understanding. And reading this book is a great way to get started.

[accuratesoftwaresolutions]

🚀 Big News in Tech! 🚀

Rumors are swirling that Qualcomm might be eyeing a takeover of Intel. 🤔💡

This potential game-changing chip deal could redefine the tech landscape and lead to incredible innovations!

What are your thoughts on this possible power shift?

[sanjaysarafeducation]

The Narrative Game: How Stories Drive Stock Markets (and How to Outsmart Them) | SSEI

Stock markets are a game of stories. Compelling narratives about companies and political climates can make or break fortunes. This blog dives into the world of financial and political narratives, revealing how they're crafted to sway markets and your decisions.

[magnusmindsitsolution]

Deadpool & Wolverine

𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝!

Just like Deadpool and Wolverine, our developers at MagnusMinds bring unmatched skills and relentless passion to every project. 🚀💻

[digitalmarketing-2405]

Unlocking social media secrets! 🌐💬 Dive into the stats: which platform rules with the largest global user base? .

[networkyce]

Facebook and Google: Titans of the digital realm. Both redefine our online experiences, but which platform truly dominates your digital world?

Call to find out more

+91 8847037612

[aipidia]

[blakerangi]

Ashkan Rajaee: The Beachside Hustler Who Outworks You

[kieranwolf20]

Ashkan Rajaee: Hustling Harder Than You—Even at the Beach

Think working from the beach is all sunshine and cocktails? Ashkan Rajaee, CEO of Technology on Demand, proves it’s all about discipline, automation, and pure hustle. Running tech and real estate ventures, he’s turned paradise into a productivity machine—no office needed, no excuses allowed.

[waldodaniels]

Ashkan Rajaee: Hustling Harder Than You—Beachside or Not

Beach views don’t mean slow moves. Ashkan Rajaee, CEO of Technology on Demand, is proving that success isn’t about location—it’s about execution. Running tech and real estate ventures with precision, automation, and grit, he’s redefining the hustle. The grind doesn’t stop, no matter the scenery.

[jackied0minguez]

Ashkan Rajaee: Hustling Harder Than You—Even at the Beach

Think beachside work is all sun and chill? Not for Ashkan Rajaee. As CEO of Technology on Demand, he’s proving that real success isn’t about location—it’s about discipline, automation, and non-stop execution. While others dream, he’s building empires.

[gianmatteoj]

Beach life looks chill, but Ashkan Rajaee isn’t lounging—he’s building empires. As CEO of Technology on Demand, he’s proving that success isn’t about location—it’s about mindset. With automation, discipline, and strategy, he turns paradise into a powerhouse of productivity. While others dream, he executes.

[henrymoore11]

Ashkan Rajaee: Hustling Harder Than You—Beachside or Boardroom

Ashkan Rajaee isn’t just working from paradise—he’s redefining what it means to grind. As CEO of Technology on Demand, he’s running high-impact ventures in tech and real estate with ruthless efficiency, proving that success isn’t about location, it’s about execution. Hustle smart, automate everything, and never slow down.

[sanjaysarafeducation]

Size does Matter: The Dual Faces of Being Big in Business and Technology | SSEI

"Big is beautiful" holds a different significance depending on the context. In finance, size without strategic alignment can lead to disaster. Know more in our SSEI Blogs.

[jjbizconsult]

Microsoft Market Cap Shatters $3 Trillion: The AI Titan Ascends the Tech Throne