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cumulations · 2 years ago

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Resonance for July 24, 2023

Highlights of the Week

Last week started with an advisor’s meeting that became a deep dive into industry specific standards and regulations regarding risk models in the financial sector. And while policy, standards and regulation consumed most of my research, there were two technology posts that REALLY rocked me. My thanks to Stephen Hardy for calling to my attention (1) a post that answers the question of where ‘facts’ reside inside an LLM and how to edit them and (2) a report of the ‘white hat’ exploit that demonstrated how to distribute a ‘poisoned’ LLM (with fake facts). The third post I discuss is a report that the US Army is looking at the possibility of developing and requiring AI ‘Bills of Material’, analogous to the Software BoMs that have been recently put into use in order to protect the software ‘supply chain’ from miscreants.

Where are the ‘facts’ in LLMs and how do you edit them?

Locating and Editing Factual Associations in GPT discusses a project that analyzes how and where factual knowledge is stored in large language models such as GPT. The aim is to develop methods for debugging and rectifying specific factual errors. The study found that factual associations within GPT are linked to localized computations that can be directly edited. Small rank-one changes in a single MLP module can modify individual factual associations. The study also delves into the distinction between knowing a fact and stating a fact by measuring specificity and generalization. Kudos to the Bau Lab at Northeastern University for this work.

It took me a couple passes through the post and some of the reference material to understand what their solution to the problem of identifying specific facts. Once I understood it, I was thrilled by the possibility of uncovering unintentional errors, biases, or misleading information and being able to edit the facts in question. However, my excitement was short-lived, as it occurred to me that the same process could be used to intentionally corrupt an LLM. This concern was addressed in the subsequent post shared by Stephen.

How the AI Model ‘Supply Chain’ Can Be Compromised

PoisonGPT: How we hid a lobotomized LLM on Hugging Face to spread fake news discusses how an open-source model (the popular GPT-J-6B), was modified to spread misinformation on a specific task while maintaining its performance and accuracy for other tasks. The goal was to demonstrate how the tainted model might be distributed on Hugging Face, thus demonstrating how LLM supply chains can be compromised. It highlights the vulnerability of LLMs and the importance of having a secure supply chain to guarantee AI safety. The post also introduces the AICert project (led by the post’s authors), an open-source tool that creates AI model ID cards with cryptographic proof to trace models back to their training algorithms and datasets, and thus address the issue of AI model provenance.

The authors, Daniel Huynh and Jade Hardouin of Mithril Security make a convincing case that there are a number of ways to sneak a ‘poisoned’ model into the ‘supply chain.’ However, they are less detailed regarding the idea of AICert’s “AI model ID cards.” Their claims for the approach are pretty spectacular. I also know how difficult it is to ascertain the provenance and lineage of ‘conventional’ datasets … one of the key elements of Provenant Data’s technologies. Doing this for AI models is not going to be easily solved. Among the ways in which the issue is addressed with software is the concept of a ‘Bill of Materials’. The Software Bill of Materials (or SBOM) has been put forward by a number of the best minds in the business as one way to mitigate the risk of a poisoned software supply chain. Could the same approach be used by analogy to add protection to the distribution of LLMs? Apparently, the US Army thinks it might.

The AI Bill of Materials

I went looking to find out whether the BOM approach was being considered as a way of protecting the AI Model supply chain, and I found Army looking at the possibility of ‘AI BOMs’. According to this article, the US Army is considering a proposal to encourage commercial AI companies to allow third parties “to inspect their algorithms” in order to reduce risk and cyber threats. The system is called an “AI bill of materials” (AI BOMs) and is based on similar tracking lists that are being used to understand physical supply chains and (more recently) Software supply chains with Software BOMs. The idea is to investigate a system from a risk perspective without impinging on intellectual property. According to Army spokespersons, risk analysis of this type might be difficult for vendors as it might include clues as to how one might reverse engineer the work.

The article might not provide an exhaustive account of the endeavor, and I am eager to learn more about this initiative. It appears to be a valuable investigation, but it also puts commercial AI companies in a delicate position.

Thanks for reading. And, by the way, I do at times use GPT-3.5 to summarize articles. I do so less to have someone/something else do the writing. It’s more to check myself and determine whether I’ve identified the important points. I hope that it improves the quality of these posts. - Rich

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2old4kpop · 6 years ago

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15 Underrated Girly Kpop Songs That Make Me Go Absolutely Feral

When it comes to girl groups, more than anything I am a Blackjack and Blink. I like to listen to girl songs that make me want to murder men (and believe me, that blog post is in the works). But I’m also a ONCE, as TWICE are my sweet darling babies, but they’re about as girly as I can tolerate. I’m not one for the super girly concepts. I mean, did you guys ever see MINX? Occasionally I ironically jam to Shakey Love Shakey Shakey Shakey Shakey Love, but it was an absolute blessing from the K-pop gods to rebrand them as Dreamcatcher. It’s really only the A-list girly songs I tolerate, like GFriend or Oh My Girl. Everything else below them just seems really cringy.

Except for a few chosen few that are so good that they make me absolutely lose all of my shits. And I’m talking about songs that nobody seems to know like at all. Either these songs came out when the groups were still under the radar, before they had their big smash hits, or they just never seemed to rise to the top. But they are still valid and important. Videos are linked in the song names, since Tumblr won’t let me add more than five videos, but here we go.

15. April- Dream Candy

April is one of those rare groups that pull off the girly concept so well but don’t ever seem forced, like they are just truly naturally sweet and pure and precious. Honestly all of their songs are great, and it’s tragic that they haven’t had a comeback in 2019. But their debut, Dream Candy, is the one that really gets deep in my soul to that animal part of my brain that makes me scream this god damn chorus. But only really at the end. I never really listened to this song until it came on shuffle one day when I was walking home in the rain, and thought, why not listen to this awkward girly song, and then the last chorus hit and OH MY GOD. It’s a good one guys.

14. Momoland- Jjan! Koong! Kwang!

So this song comes out by some unknown group called uh, Momoland?, with a title that is just a bunch of sounds that don’t exist in English, and I felt like I was the only one on Earth that was like, “This is fine.” I was honestly in some I Am Legend universe where instead of me being the only living person on Earth, I was the only one that liked Momoland’s debut. As time went on Momoland started putting out what is pretty much some of the worst K-Pop that exists (I mean, have you SEEN the video for Wonderful Love? Try not to cringe challenge) and sadly enough this group just faded into obscurity and never had any huge, Earth shattering hits or anything.

13. DIA- My Friend’s Boyfriend

On paper this song is awful. I mean it’s a song about being a petty bitch who has decided to steal their friend’s boyfriend, hence the title. Also the song ads cute little quirks like *squints eyes to read this metaphorical paper closer* coughing. Also the video has an unnecessarily long intro. But believe me when I tell you that this is an absolute slapper.

12. Gugudan- Wonderland

It’s a crime that Gugudan has never really hit it off, even with two I.O.I members. Their debut has this amazing Little Mermaid concept and believe me when I tell you that this chorus is best when screamed at the top of your lungs. After all the screaming I am basically in a manic state by the la la la’s.

11. LOONA 1/3- Love&Live

You’ll notice that the main theme of this list is that the choruses are absolute fire. But this one comes in and basically knocks the wind out of me with sweetness, like some kind of aegyo Kool-Aid man. It’s really the music that does it for me in this one, along with the melody, along with Heejin’s perfect high note. If this song doesn’t make you smile then you are a robot, like ViVi.

10. Shannon Williams- Why Why

If Ant and/or Dec were here, they would hear this song and definitely say that Britain’s Got Talent. Shannon is the British IU,hands down, undeniably, I will not be taking questions at this time. But it’s very sad that her career was nonexistent after this came out. Was it the fact that this features a sixteen-year-old grinding against faceless boys? Or that this video widely revolves around her intensely stalking someone? It can’t be the song because that is perfect.

9. AOA- Bingle Bangle

Okay so some history for those non-Elvises out there. AOA was THE HOTTEST girl group for a good minute, with so many timeless collaborations with the Brave Brothers that really changed the shape of female K-Pop for a while. And then ChoA left the group. And without the only member who could actually sing the face of the group, AOA kind of went quiet, save for a few Jimin solo songs. Then AOA came back with a new sound, and while everyone else thought it was terrible, I thought it was a bop! And I love the video and the concept! And the dance for this is so fun. Bingle Bangle is a real yes for me dawg. It’s only too bad that they lost yet another member and their concept was handed off to FNC’s new girl group. Speaking of which...

8. Cherry Bullet- Really Really

Yeah so they literally gave this entire “girls in a video game but it’s fun and cute” concept to Cherry Bullet, and they hit the ground running with it. This comeback in particular is my favorite of theirs because it hits one of my favorite pop music tropes: Having A Funky Instrumental Chorus, Only At The End To Put Words Over The Music. It ticks all my boxes.

7. Rainbow- Whoo

If you ever wanted to hear a song that made you scream “RAAAAIIINBOOW AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” then this is it. At this point in this list we start to hear the songs that make me truly insane, and this song absolutely destroys me. It’s really sad, however, that this is basically Rainbow’s swan song, as it was their last song before disbandment.

6. Matilda- Macarena

I bet you haven’t even HEARD of Matilda. I bet you didn’t even KNOW that MATILDA just DISBANDED a FEW MONTHS AGO because ALL THEIR SONGS WERE BAD except for THIS ONE which is just full of CHAOTIC GOOD ENERGY and if you don’t ENJOY THIS then GET OFF MY LAWN.

5. Berry Good- Angel

Berry Good was destined to be one of those girl groups, like Matilda, that came from a tiny company and was just given bad songs and were set up to fail. So they crowdfunded, and somehow made two incredible comebacks, Don’t Believe (which is a whole other story that we won’t get into today, but it’s an amazing song that you should check out) and prior to that, Angel. I don’t even know where to begin with this song because it literally makes me forget who I am and why I exist. It’s a banger?? This song starts off so soft and pure and jumps right into a chorus that makes you bang your head and scream “I TAKE A CHANCE, YOU NEVER KNOW” as loud as possible. And right when you think you can’t take it anymore, that you are gasping for air because you are drowning in perfection, THEY GO EVEN HARDER. Like, girls, you did not need to go that hard. Holy shit. They go full IU in Good Day. I don’t know why we were blessed with this, especially since after this all their other songs have been garbage, and they’ve been so unsuccessful that they lost their strongest member and they’re heading for disbandment. But we have this gem, and I’m thankful for it.

4. 4Minute- Heart To Heart

Back when 4Minute was just another 2NE1 clone, trying to compete in the market of “Girls Who Look Tough But Are Actually Sweet” 4Minute, aka The HyunA Group, put out this. Third Geners, this is what Second Gen was all about. This is the meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown. This song is everything. It’s perfect. And it’s too bad that 4Minute didn’t really stick with this sound, but also not, since with their more mature concept they wound up getting pretty famous once Park Bom... I mean, we’re not gonna talk about it.

3. Hyolyn- Bae

Okay so I know that Hyolyn as an entity is not technically considered underrated, but her entire solo career is being slept on and I don’t understand. With Sistar gone, and now Red Velvet carrying the torch for summer anthems, Hyolyn doesn’t necessarily have to give us one of the best summer songs of all time but she did. Every second of this song to me is perfect. And yeah okay I’ll admit it, I am a Gay, I am attracted to women, and Hyolyn is a lot of. A lot of wow. She and HyunA are exactly my type, and this video is a lot. But the SONG you guys. It’s so much that I told even regular people who listen to English music to listen to this song. They didn’t, of course, because the world doesn’t appreciate Hyolyn like I would, I mean like I do as a fan and nothing else. This song was my summer anthem in 2018, Power Up wishes it was this good.

2. BESTie- Thank U Very Much

One of the things that really got me into K-Pop during the Second Gen was that it sounded so much like pop music from my youth. This is gonna sound weird, but I grew up in a Wiccan Neo-Pagan household where 90% of the music we listened to was traditional Celtic or New Age, and if it was ever anything else it was like The Beatles (my Mom and her sisters were one of those screaming and fainting Beatles fans, the trait that was clearly passed down to me, based on what happened when I saw G-Dragon live, but that’s another story) or ABBA, or any kind of British/European pop/rock from the 70s or 80s. So once I was old enough to really find out what kind of music I liked, I dived deep into cheesy pop songs like S Club 7, Britney Spears, and the like. But I always had a soft spot for ABBA. The melodies, the music, the strange lyrics that didn’t really make sense or weren’t quite grammatically correct but it worked. I feel like that love for obscure pop, along with the 90s and early 2000s bubblegum pop, pushed me right into the K-Pop scene. And this song is the best example of that kind of weird melody with oddly used English words, but it works in the best way. The chorus of this song sounds like it was written by ABBA. The ending of this song is transcendent. Tell me you can’t picture a Korean Meryl Streep in overalls singing the ending of this song while dancing on a beach. This song makes me lose all my shits. But I do have to say that this video is uh, Not Good, especially compared with how amazing the song is. But these underrated bottom of the barrel groups don’t have much to work with in the first place, so we can’t really fault them. This song holds up, and is going to hold up for a very long time. I stan.

1. Laboum- Shooting Love

So like I said before, I don’t typically like the super sugary, super tacky, super girly girl concepts. BUT I LOVE LABOUM. ALL their girly sweet songs are AMAZING. They somehow get everything right, in their own unique way. They’re not at all like “Oh, they’re like GFriend”, “Oh, that’s like Lovelyz” or anything, if you get what I’m saying. Laboum had their own cheesy yet perfect style of girly. Aalow Aalow: A CLASSIC. Journey To Atlantis: A CLASSIC. Hwi Hwi: A CLASSIC. Only U: YES YOU GUESS IT, CLASSIC. Sugar Sugar: DON’T MAKE ME SAY IT AGAIN. I could have made this whole list with just Laboum songs. So I made myself pick one by listening to as many old Laboum songs as I could before I would become an absolutely menace to society, as I am not responsible for my actions after listening to so much girly perfectlon at once. If I was arrested and went to court for I dunno, causing distress and mayhem to the citizens of my city, my lawyer would call it “the Laboum defense.” “You see, Your Honor, my client listened to a lot of Laboum songs, and lost control of themselves and became an entity, a ball of energy, a comet destroying everything in its path while screaming cheesy Korean lyrics.” And I would be set free, of course, because who wouldn’t lose themselves completely to the power of Laboum? But anyway I picked Shooting Love, as it puts me in a manic state from the very intro until the last second. And let me just say now that I deeply mourn this old Laboum, as they came back in 2018 with a new concept that makes them sound lobotomized compared to their old sound. Like slow R&B is fine, but compared to this it’s drab and slow and dull and I hate it. I Hate It. Bring back cute Laboum in 2020, or at least study Apink if you want to see how to properly change an aging cute group into a mature group. I could go on, but now I have the urge to listen to more Laboum. You’ll see me on the evening news tonight, I’m sure.

anyway 안녕

#kpop #laboum #loona #hyolyn #aoa #momoland #A List

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ohn1m · 6 years ago

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The Art of Being Mino

The South Korean hip-hop star wowed critics and fans alike with his solo album ‘XX’; but is he any closer to discovering who the ‘real’ Mino is?

Mino's journey is an ongoing one and 'XX' is a chapter that marks an artistic coming-of-age on this wild ride.

Understanding Song Minho is kind of like catching lightening in a bottle; impossible to do but the idea itself is so dazzling, you need to give it a shot anyway. Tall and blonde with bleached eyebrows and sharp features, Song–better known mononymously as Mino–cuts quite the intimidating figure. He’s intelligent, polite and forthcoming on every answer and there’s an elegance to him that’s instantly appealing. There’s one little thing that proves to be more charming than any of this, however, and it comes in the form of a little note he sends on email after the interview; “Thank you for your interest!” it reads cheerfully, accompanied by a smiley emoji. “I hope we do it again when Winner’s back!” It’s simple but sweet and suddenly there’s yet another dimension to the chic, fierce rapper we’re used to seeing onscreen.

Before sitting down with Rolling Stone India for a conversation in December, the 25-year old musician’s schedule through 2018 included the release and promotion of a full LP with his band Winner, a Japan tour, a more extensive Asia tour, a series of performances across his home country South Korea, starring roles in several variety shows and a feature on YG Entertainment labelmate and his senior Seungri’s viral hit track “Where R U From.” November was busiest for him with the release of his first solo LP XX, a 12-track feast of hip-hop, tradition, emotion and culture. December finally closed with yet another single with Winner and a series of year-end performances in Korea.

While a bit of a break is warranted after the whirlwind of activity, Mino confirms he has no plans to take it easy in 2019. “Winner will release a full album this year,” he reveals cheerfully. “I cannot talk about our plan in advance, but we are preparing a surprise gift with a great musician!” The four-member K-pop band are working on their upcoming third LP and have already begun their tour schedules in full force– they’re currently on a six-city run of the United States with stops in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago and New York.

Over the past year Mino has embraced the avant-garde with ease, stepping away from his swag-heavy hip-hop image and slipping into a more elegant avatar.

As an artist, Mino is full of surprises with an evolution that’s been thrilling to map. He started his career as a rapper in South Korea’s vibrant underground hip-hop scene back in 2010 (when he was just 16) but success took a while to come along. He debuted briefly in 2011 with a group called BoM before its premature disbandment in 2013, and then finally signed with leading music label YG Entertainment as a trainee. In 2014 he got his big break after participating in TV channel Mnet’s reality-survival program Win: Who Is Next and ending up as a member of the winning Team A–which would go on to form Winner and debut that same year. He shot to fame quickly this time around, gaining attention as a solo artist after finishing as runner-up on the fourth season of South Korean hip-hop survival competition Show Me The Money in 2015. With several eyes on him, he wowed with a more bluesy, melancholic persona on Winner’s 2016 EP EXIT: E. That same year he and YG Entertainment labelmate Bobby announced a duo project titled MOBB, which showed off a completely different, swag-heavy, fun-loving attitude, but in that EP he included “Body,” a solo single that blended sex and passion with angst and regret. Winner’s discography as of late has been bright, tropical and electronic-pop and he’s able to adapt to it effortlessly as well. His career trajectory spells ‘chameleon’ and even in times of trial there’s a sense of chill around him, as though deep inside he knows everything’s going to work out.

Over the past year Mino has embraced a life of avant-garde with ease, stepping away from his swag-heavy hip-hop image and slipping into a more elegant avatar. He seems more comfortable and willing to express himself in ways outside of music. He’s always had fondness for art but now seems to revel in it, regularly posting images of artwork he’s created on Instagram, participating in media projects, exhibitions and editorials. Last year, he displayed some of his own artwork at an exhibit titled ‘Burning Planet.’ The pieces were a combination of installation art with media and performance art which explored the idea of burnouts, stress and humanity’s exhausting pace of birth, work, death. It’s morbid, futuristic and almost prophetical in its warnings about the pressure society puts on young people and quickly gained critical acclaim. Mino remains modest in the wake of all the praise, saying, “I do not know if I have had any talent when I was young, but I painted as a hobby since I was a kid. So I have become interested in art naturally. It was a very good opportunity to exhibit ‘Burning Planet’ with [eye wear brand and collaborator] Gentle Monster. It was a good time to learn and experience many things.”

It’s this artistic and emotional evolution which seems to have had the biggest hand in the creation of XX. “I wanted to give a tweak to my existing image, which I guess has been heavy with hip-hop and rap. I wanted to start afresh,” he stated at a press conference in November, according to a report by the Korea Herald. XX is an extension of his performance art–dramatic, creative with an ambiguous title to boot (he’s explained he wanted his listeners to have their own interpretations of it.) The video for the lead single “Fiancé” features imagery around birds, dreams, fantastical landscapes and more. In addition to being involved in the entire concept, Mino also contributed to the set design–there’s a giant mural of a bluebird featured in the video which he painted himself. Several fans as well as popular YouTube channels like DKDKTV have attempted to decipher the meanings behind it and he’s thrilled to see all the various discussions. “It is one of the things I enjoy the most,” he says when I ask if he ever watches these theories. “Making parts that can be interpreted in various ways… I love watching them in various interpretations.” Could he tell us which theory got closest to deciphering his work? “I will never tell which one is correct or incorrect for more diverse guesses!” he teases.

“Fiancé” has also been appreciated for its unconventional combination of trot, a form of Korean folk music, and trap. To do this, the track samples Korean veteran singer Kim Taehee’s 1969 track “Soyanggang River Maiden” and blends it with bass-heavy, rolling trap and Mino’s drawling rap. “There was no intention to use ‘Soyanggang River Maiden’ from the beginning,” Mino says. “When the song was almost 80 percent complete, [YG Entertainment CEO and music producer] Yang Hyun Suk gave me an idea of putting a part of ‘Soyanggang River Maiden’ as a sample source, and it fit perfectly into the message and vibe of this song.” The haunting sample had younger fans enthralled and searching through YouTube to listen to the original track while applauding Mino for putting a limelight on Korean pop culture and history. Because in addition to the retro sound, the music video for “Fiancé” is a fever-dream blend inspired by the Korean Joseon dynasty and modern-day angst. In the clip the rapper wanders between fantasy and reality, dressed as an emperor as he searches the past, present and future for his one true love.

“I was getting to love myself, and everything [about that experience] is in this album.”

Is it possible that with younger artists like him using older genres like trot or paying homage to their history in music videos, it can help young listeners appreciate tradition a little bit more? Mino reveals that wasn’t really his intention at all. “In fact, I considered this song for older people than younger people,” he says, adding his plan was to erase misconceptions about hip-hop and ‘young’ music in the minds of older generations. “Even if the genre of hip-hop is popularized, it is still hard to catch up with higher age. So it seems like sampling of ‘Soyanggang River Maiden’ was a good plan for this song.” “Fiancé” has indeed added to the buzz around rappers defying expectations and stepping into traditional musical and visual territories. Hip-hop no longer has one definition and inspiration can come from anywhere. For Mino, the ideas for “Fiance” and XX came from several fragments of art. “I have so many things inspiring me, so I do not know which one to say first,” Mino says. “Among them, some works of (Italian painter) Piero Fornasetti, various plants–especially blue roses– and the Japanese anime Devilman were in my mind. However, it’s my inner self that affected it the most. I stayed alone in the studio every time so I could be deeply involved in my work and I looked back upon myself.”

XX as a whole has been well-received thanks to its use of complex metaphors, puns and double meanings in its lyricism, but for Mino, making this record was about finding his true self. “I got down to work in earnest in the beginning of 2018 for this album,” he says. “It contains various songs ranging from a song written two-three years ago to a song written two weeks before the album came out.” The rapper has written and composed each and every track, taking a dive into his own psyche to unleash several different sides of himself. In a video teaser right before XX‘s release, Mino explained he’d made the album by “grating [his] soul into it” and the result is an LP that is diverse, clever, saucy and undoubtedly one of the best hip-hop albums of 2018. Lyrically, he tackles everything from waiting for a lost love (“Fiancé”) to calling out obsessive fans (“Agree”) and bold eroticism (“Hope”). He gets emotional on “Alarm” and “Her,” exploring heartbreak, his relationship with his fans and self discovery. “I was getting to love myself, and everything [about that experience] is in this album,” Mino tells me. “I got a lot of thoughts and experiences from it and I am so proud of the production process.”

It’s clear from the get-go that wordplay is key; in the vicious introductory track “Trigger,” Mino uses syllables in its Korean title to play on the curse word ‘shibal,’ blazing through verses of self-praise with swagger, while on “Rocket” he drops references to art, Korean mythology and more. It’s the realest taste of what he’s truly capable of and it surprises and delights in equal measure. The impressive roster of collaborators on the record include YG Entertainment’s biggest in-house producers Choice37 and Millennium, comedian and actor Yoo Byung-jae and up-and-coming vocalist Blue.D, among others. There was one artist, however, that Mino was particularly excited to work with. “It was all fun, but working with YDG was extremely impressive,” he says proudly of his collaboration with the Korean hip-hop veteran on “Bow Wow.” “It was one of my dreams from my childhood.”

Mino at a press event for ‘XX’ in November 2018.

With XX being his first massive solo effort, Mino confesses there were hurdles along the way that he hadn’t expected. “The toughest part was familiarity,” he says, adding, “When I listened to songs hundreds of times to make a song, I always got confused. That’s the hardest thing to me.” Working alone means more pressure and he says he finds it more peaceful when he’s working with the members of Winner– Hoony, Yoon and Jinu. “When I work alone… I get sensitive because I am dissatisfied with any result. When I work with Winner, it’s really a load off my mind. Each member has their own roles, and I think we fit in nicely with each other.”

Mino’s journey has been wild, difficult, rewarding and a little messy–we’ve covered a lot of it over the course of the interview, but it still feels like we’re scratching the surface. He seems to agree; there’s a lot more he wants to consume and learn and a lot more he wants to show all his fans, old and new. “I am always thankful to fans who have supported me from the beginning and everyone who has known me since yesterday,” he says. “I will try to put a little more of my own personality and style on next album, and I also want to challenge something that no one expected.” While the search for the ‘real’ Mino continues, XX is a chapter in his story that marks a significant turn; he’s found a balance between the sexy rapper we see with Winner, the exuberant hip-hop dudebro he turns into with MOBB and the expressive poet he is as a soloist. It might not be lightening in a bottle just yet, but it’s pretty damn close.

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#⟨ ✕ « info »▕ ▏ʏ'ᴀʟʟ ʜᴇᴀʀᴅ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇᴡꜱ? ⟩#/ it's so damn long.#a l e!!! musiałam bo to ważny wywiad.

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hello-sanjana · 4 years ago

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North Goa | Places to Visit in North Goa

We had been postponing the North Goa trip for some reason or the other long enough. In our last semester we knew that if we didn’t go this time, it isn’t going to happen for us! So, finally, in a group of five, we decided to elope to Goa for the weekend and started with North Goa.

We flew for a three-day trip, packed our bags in less than an hour and left for the North Goa journey and Places to Visit in North Goa.

Scenic beaches, thrilling water-sports, partying spots, and architectural landmarks make North Goa the best traveller’s delight. Let us now Explore some Places to visit in North Goa.

Sinquerim Beach

If you a sports lover, Sinquerim beach is all for you. At the first day of our trip to Goa, we went to Sinquerim beach, North goa for trying a few cool water sports.

We took a banana boat ride and jet skies and spent the rest of the day dipping in the water.

Activities :- Scuba Diving , Windsurfing , Water Skiing , Dolphin Sighting trips , Jet skiing , Swimming , and Paragliding.

Anjuna beach

It is clean and tidy, and you would find mostly foreign and newly married couple enjoying Cool water sports there. It is also one of the best honeymoon destinations in winter in India.

Activities :- Scuba Diving , Snorkeling , Windsurfing , Parasailing , Water skiing , Banana ride , Water Scooter , Dolphin Sighting.

Calangute Beach

To reach Calangute beach we booked a two-tier bus and reached Panjim at 11.00 AM. It took us 40 mins to reach.

We spent that day chilling at the beach and eating Goan food in Goa at one of the beach shacks. While crabs, prawns, lobsters and all kinds of fish are a quintessential part of Goan Food in Goa, that you should try for sure in your goa trip.

Activities :- Speed boat rides , Parasailing , Jet skiing , Water surfing , Banana ride.

Fort Aguada

Fort Aguada presents a majestic sight. It has considered the most iconic forts in Goa. Today, this fort has become a most mesmerizes place as the best a honeymoon sight in India with a spellbinding view of the Arabian Sea. And the presence of a secret passageway inside the fort adds to its charm.

Location :- Candolim

Visiting hours: 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM , Every day

Vagator Beach

Vagator Beach is approximately 21 km far from Panajim , by road there are many buses and taxi stand that will drop you at beach till now. November to March is the right time to visit the Beach because at this time in Goa the temperature did not go below 15 to 17 degrees. So , It would be nice to go this time. Vagator beach very hot during summer , you will not be able to enjoy the beach at this time. Vagator Beach is beautiful in itself.

Activities :- Jet skiing , Parasailing , Dolphin Watching , Bumper Ride and Road ride.

This is some place name when you go to Vagator Beach , then definitely go here.

Chapora Fort aka Dil Chahta Hai Fort

This place always stays in every traveller’s list, if you are visiting Goa. This fort featured in the Bollywood movie Dil Chahta Hai, and after that, it has become a favourite place for friends and the fort is now known as a Dil Chata hai fort Aguada Goa. Chapora Fort (Dil Chahta Hai Fort) was built by Muslim ruler Adil Shah above the Chapora River in Bardez.

Location :- Chapora

Visiting hours :- 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM , Every day

Alex’s Church

St. Alex’s Church is only a short distance from Vagator Beach , In the popular tourist mecca of Calangute , this famous Pristine White Church is the only church in Goa that can boast its Indian style architecture consisting of ‘ cupola falsa’ .

Morjim Beach

Morjim Beach is the most beautiful beach in Goa because from here the changing sky and the setting sun looks very beautiful . This place is also very good for relaxation .

Ozran Beach

Ozran Beach is also called a small Vagator Beach. This Beach framed with gentle rocky and green hills. This Beach is not too crowded beach , But one can relax and spend entire day with food and drink to the heart’s content.

Casino pride

At the last day of our trip, we went to Casino pride Goa. Casino pride Goa images are still alive in our memories boasts with bewitching ambience, highlighted with golden-hued embellishments, the barbeque counter, bars, and restaurants inside this casino, was way too much than our expectations. Casino pride North Goa images are worth to freeze in memories and in-camera. It is one of the best places to visit in Goa.

Location :- Captain of Ports Jetty , Panaji

Entry fee :- Monday to Thursday – Rs 1500 per adult ( with Rs 500 worth coupon )

Friday to Sunday – Rs 2000 per adult ( with Rs 1000 worth coupon )

Include alcoholic drinks and unlimited buffet.

Baga Beach

Baga Beach is the most popular beach in North Goa , which attracts thousands of tourists and water sports lovers to its heart. Its shares its coastal line from the environs of Sinquerim , Candolim , and Baga , with the Baga shore.

This Bubbly Beach is one of the best in Goa. People stay awake all night here called as “The Hometown of Nightlife,” Overnight at the Baga Beach the party continues with cranky music celebrations . Mouth – watering food Designer Shops and adventure sports have given and people enjoy them openly. This Baga Town surrounds with Baga river and it spot the place where the river and sea meet it is the amazing view to bait your eyes.

Dolphins can also be seen in deep blue ocean and there are some spotting trips organized by ship owners to look the amazing sea mammals.

Baga Beach is 15 km far from Panji airport and all it takes is half an hour to travel to the beach from panaji by taxi , other than this! You can also go by local and government bus and you can also hire cycle and motor cycle at low prices. To ride between the locations.

Activities :- Parasailing , Jet Ski , Banana Riding , Bumper Ride , Body boarding , kayaking , Paddle boarding , Knee Boarding , Speed Boat Ride , Wake Boarding.

Titos

Titos is such a place in Goa where the party is held overnight like crazy enjoyment some drink and dance. One of the most amazing place in Goa is Titos. Titos is rushing the minds with Bollywood disco , real classic style and having delicious food. Every day thousand of people come here . so , pick up your bike towards crazy party night and make your night life rocking.

Location :- Titos original at Baga Calangute , Titos Bollywood at Santa Vaddo and Titos club at Calangute.

Entry fees :- No Entry fees required . only you have to pay for your food and drink.

Candolim Beach

Candolim Beach is also one of the most amazing places to explore if you want to have an immersive goan experience. Candolim Beach where all the amazing happening parties take place.

Candolim Beach is located in North Goa Stretch of Aguada Fort , Candolim Beach is about 12.5 KM from Panaji. This place is best for foreigners because there is not much crowd here in fact it is one of the most sought after beaches when it comes to experience water sports or other activities. Candolim Beach is nearly 12.6 km far from panji and it takes around 35 to 40 min to reach Candolim Beach from Panji.

This beach can be visited at any time of the year , but the time between April to November is the most amazing time to visit and the best time is between 6 AM to 6 PM which is the ideal time for sunset and sunrise otherwise you can vist any time for visitors this beach is open all day.

This is some water activities , after enjoying all this , enjoy them too.

Parasailing , Bumpy banana ride , Boat ride , Water scooter , Dolphin sighting trips , Jet ski ride.

Mapusa Market

Mapusa Market is a traditional and weekly market that one step closer to a vibrant Mapusa Market that takes places every Friday. This market is known for jewelry pottery , spice and carpet shops . Not only this but you here find variety of delicacies.

Timing :- 06:00 AM to 08:00

Entry :- Only the money that you want to buy no entry fees required.

Arambol Beach

In Goa The Arambol Beach is developed and newest beach Arambol Beach is a part of Fisherman’s Village and attract number of tourist across the year. Arambol Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Goa and the Mandren Beach and Keri Beach on two sides. One can enjoy the number of water spots at Arambol Beach. Arambol Beach attracts number of tourist and just a little distance there is Palim Sweet Water Lake. This Beach is also connected like the Keri Beach and the Mandrem Beach.

The easiest way to reach Arambol beach is from panaji , you can take cab and taxi from panaji which will easily drop you direct at armbol beach. Winter is the best time to visit Armbol beach between the month of October and march. During this time , the wheather is cool and pleasant , and the temperature rarely crosses 25 degree making it a perfect time to enjoy the open beach .

Activities :- jet ski , surfing , bumper ride , banana boat ride

Basilica of Bom Jesus

Basilica of Bom Jesus church old Goa is a UNESCO world heritage site situated in old Goa, 10km east from Panjim. The church is constructed with Basalt rock and has a huge altar and an art gallery with 36 oil paintings. The preserved body of Francis Xavier’s displayed in the chapel.

Location :- Old Goa Road

Visiting Hours: – Monday to Saturday – 09:00 AM to 06:30 PM

Sunday – 10:30 AM to 06:30 PM

For foodies

Tamarind Café (Arambol), La Plage (Ashwem Beach), Bhatti Village (Nerul), and Spice Goa (Mapusa), Britto’s Bar and Restaurant (Bardez, Baga) are a few favourite destinations for food lovers in Goa.

If you are looking for a famous shopping destination in Goa, Anjuna flea market, Arpora night market, Mapusa Friday market, Mackie’s Saturday night market, Panjim municipal market, and Calangute market square can fulfil all of your shopping cravings.

Club Tito’s (Calangute), Cohiba (Candolim), Café Mojo (Panaji) places for party lovers in Goa.

Goa trip was one of the best experiences for us and going there with the best friends doubled the fun!

The beautiful beaches, irresistible seafood, awesomest crowd in North Goa, in the whole of India and we cannot wait to visit there again!

WHEN you are travelling with your friends , family , or solo you can always spend a wonderful time in north goa. This goa has most amazing places that attracts entice kind of traveller

#goa #north goa #south goa

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adventureactivitiesingoa-blog · 6 years ago

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Top Seven Tourist Attractions in Goa

Goa is a great continent of sun, sand, and surf. It is brimmed up with great chances to have fun and thrill. Having a great coastline, it is popular for its exciting beaches and being the great hotspot for party admirers, it is a destination where you can just let go of all the pressure and bothering hustle-bustle life! It is also memorable as it is an ideal place for ones who want to sit back and unfurl themselves cause there are some exciting beaches which are popular for leisure opportunities like sunbathing, cruising, and much more. With the continent offering you so much, we bring to you the list of top seven attractions of Goa which you must add to your Goa tour package.

Beaches

As mentioned that Goa is blessed with a long coastline, it has many beaches which make it a hotspot for beach enthusiasts and every beach is distinct from the other in the sense that some are for the purpose of relaxation, some are for the purpose of ‘merry making’, some being pristine and scenic are for nature lovers, some are for food lovers and so on. So it's up to you to decide which ones would you like to visit while on your Goa tour. Most famous amongst all are Baga Beach, Arambol Beach, Miramar Beach, and Palolem Beach.

Basilica of Bom Jesus

Basilica of Bom Jesus, placed in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites is situated in Old Goa. This ancient-old church cherishes the mortal remains of one of the greatest Christian missionaries called St. Francis Xavier. Basilica of Bom Jesus is one of the oldest churches in India which attracts a huge number of tourists due to its religious significance.

Casinos

Party lovers or Gamblers, here is something exciting for you. Goa has many happening casinos and you can try your luck at one of these. There are land casinos but offshore casinos steal the show. Come evening, offshore casinos look awesome floating on the waters and this is the perfect way you can enjoy a cruise in the breathtaking atmosphere.

Anjuna Flea Market

Shopaholics would fall head over heels for Anjuna flea market as it is an open-air market takes place in the street for items not falling heavy on the pockets. One can buy items like clothes, souvenirs, jewelry, etc. Good bargaining skills are required for all. We caution you of overspending in this market as you would want everything once you start visiting this place.

Arvalem Waterfalls

Arvalem Waterfalls suit well to the every kick of nature lovers and beauty believers; others will also enjoy the pristine atmosphere. You will be amazed at first appearance as you witness a natural white fresh stream gushing down to fit the calm waters. You can also visit the Arvalem caves which are an ancient rock cut caves belief as a popular heritage spot adds to the delightful experience.

Aguada Fort

Aguada Fort was built by the Portuguese people when Goa was ruled by them. This old fort was built as a marine landmark so that it becomes easy for entering ships to discover the Portuguese territory. It also served the very desire for which every fortress is build up that is keeping the attackers out.

Grande Island

Grande Island which is located a few kilometers away from the South Goa, Grande island is an ideal destination for scuba diving. Revealing deep into the azure world to discover underwater life untouched by outside happenings will be a crazy experience, exploring the beautiful marine life, witnessing the amazing shipwrecks are some interesting things.

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theghumakkads · 6 years ago

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Why Is Goa Best Place To Visit For Couples?

If you are a newly married couple or a romantic couple seeking a weekend getaway, then you should start looking for Goa. There’s no place that beats Goa as the best place to visit for couples throughout the year. From the atmosphere to the beaches and quaint shacks to the amazing pubs and seafood, there’s always so much to take home from Goa. Below are all the best reasons justifying that Goa is a brim for couple tourists. 1. Goa’s Romantic Beaches:

Beach Beauty Best romantic places in Goa are its beaches. From Calangute, Candolim or Baga to Vagator or Anjuna. Every beach is so majestic with a clear coastline, amazing crowd, and salty air that makes you want to grab a chilled beer and be with your partner on the recliners for a long time. There are tightrope shows on some of the beaches along with, vendors for services like oil massages, temporary tattoos and so much more. 2. The Top-Notch Nightlife:

Notching Nightlife What’s fun without enjoying the nightlife for the young couples? Pub crawling or beach hopping, you will come across amazing clubs like Cabana and Titos on the Baga Beach. The hippy, young and energetic crowd motivates you to twirl on the dance floor with your partner sooner than later. The air is so charging that it will compel you to live on your own terms while you stay in Goa. 3. Unforgettable Tourist Attractions:

Forting Fun Be it the Chapora Fort, Mapusa local market, Basilica of Bom Jesus or Santa Cruz Church, you will always find something new to explore together. Either in North or South Goa regions. 4. Amazing Goa Tour Packages For The Couples:

Go Goa One of the best ways to explore Goa’s weather in summer is to watch out for the latest Goa tour packages for the couples. You can customize your needs aligning with the hot climate in Goa during summer. At very reasonable costs, you will find less crowd and more fun. This might not be possible to get during the peak months of November-January. 5. Crazy & Scrumptious Goan Seafood:

Scrumptious Seafood Your Goa trip will never be completed without tasting the yummy prawns, fishes, and lobsters in the local restaurants. Cooked in fish oil, try to dine at the quaint and small places. They serve the authentic Goan seafood. 6. Splendid Feni & Cashew Nuts:

Feni Fun You can enjoy quality time with your partner by trying the famous Goan Feni (Alcoholic Drink) & Cashew nuts. You can easily find shops of cashewnuts everywhere in Goa. Also you can try different flavours in cashew nuts. 7. Thrilling Water Sports:

Water Romance Although Goan beaches are best place for romanticism. To spend best pleasurable time with your partner in the late evening. But you can also dive into the water sports together for thrilling and chilling fun. Try out snorkeling, underwater diving, paragliding, sailing and so much more. 8. Romantic Cruise Trips:

Sunset Cruising Another most curious reason to visit Goa’s romantic beaches is for its cruise trips in late evenings. Here you can find many more couples to brighten your love stories. Moreover, as the sun dips low in the horizon and the sky turns blue from deep orange, enjoy the music on your cruise ship with your partner in your arms and the sea view in front of your eyes. 9. Open Café and Bars:

Classic Cafes When you are visiting North Goa, form Bagha to Sequeira, the majority of the towns are heavily loaded with romantic open cafes and bars for couples. For the best laid-back evening, try out a candlelight dinner while the musician plays soft western music and the other crowd meanders around. The whole vibe doesn’t even make you believe that you are in India. Goa’s romantic beaches, open culture, western vibes, and salty air make honeymooning and coupling pretty comfortable and alluring to opt for. Let us know when you are heading upto Goa. Read the full article

#romanticplaces #Goa #Goaforcouples #Placesforcouples

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toomanysinks · 6 years ago

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Pi Day wasn’t pleasant for a lot of tech execs

Pi Day is apparently New Job day for tech execs and VCs these days.

Leaving: Lee Fixel

It’s not every day that one of the top VC investors heads out from their shop. TechCrunch’s @cookie aka Connie Loizos has the story:

Lee Fixel, the low-flying head of Tiger Global’s private equity business, is leaving at the end of June, the firm announced today in a letter sent to clients and seen by Reuters . Scott Shleifer and Chase Coleman will continue as co-managers of the portfolios Fixel has overseen, with Shleifer taking over as its head, according to the letter.

Fixel, 39, is reportedly planning to invest his own money and “may start an investment firm in the future,” Tiger Global wrote in the letter.

Tiger Global has become a major force in late-stage investing. As I wrote last fall, it is also part of a small coterie of investment firms which have pushed their portfolio companies to IPO with reasonable speed (the other firm I noted at the time was Benchmark).

One challenge for Tiger has been the rise of the SoftBank Vision Fund, which has driven up valuations for startups and has almost certainly complicated the return profile of many of Tiger’s investments. The two also share a penchant for investing internationally, where Tiger had almost a monopoly position before the Vision Fund burst on the scene.

Another wrinkle worth tracking is the increasing opposition of Indian founders to both Tiger (and specifically Fixel) and SoftBank. As I wrote in the newsletter just a few weeks ago:

There is a clear lack of trust between India’s startup and venture communities, which ultimately threatens the sustainability and growth outlook of the country’s tech sector.

But a solution to the problem is not so cut and dry. Mega growth funds like SoftBank and Tiger Global have given limited control to their Indian portfolio companies and have forced their hands on numerous occasions. Yet Ola’s avoidance of SoftBank has led to lower valuations and more difficult and lengthier fundraising processes.

Leaving: Chris Cox & Chris Daniels

Facebook’s chief product officer is leaving along with Chris Daniels, the VP of WhatsApp. TechCrunch’s Josh Constine summarized the situation:

The changes solidify that Facebook is entering a new era as it chases the trend of feed sharing giving way to private communication. Cox and Daniels may feel they’ve done their part advancing Facebook’s product, and that the company needs renewed energy as it shifts from a relentless growth focus to keeping its users loyal while learning to monetize a new from of social networking.

There has been much ink spilled here about what this all means strategically, but I do think that there are no good times for prominent 13-year and 8-year veterans to leave their positions. Zuckerberg seems ready to begin a whole new era for Facebook, and perhaps neither wanted to make the multi-year commitment that his new vision entails.

That, or Cox unplugged the servers yesterday.

Leaving (America): Jay Jorgensen

A very rare move from the United States to Korea for a senior exec, from TechCrunch’s Catherine Shu:

Coupang, the unicorn that is defining e-commerce in Korea, announced today that it has hired Jay Jorgensen, Walmart’s former global chief ethics and compliance officer, to serve as its general counsel and chief compliance officer. Jorgensen will relocate to Seoul for the position.

Founded in 2010, with a total of $3.4 billion raised from investors, including SoftBank, and a valuation of $9 billion, Coupang currently operates only in Korea, where it is the largest e-commerce player, but has offices in Seoul, Beijing, Los Angeles, Mountain View, Seattle and Shanghai.

Coupang has been the outlier success of the Korean startup ecosystem for the past few years. The company’s founder, Bom Kim, who holds a bachelor’s and an MBA from Harvard, has worked to apply American management models to Coupang, attempting to eschew the insular culture typical of Korea’s technology companies. Clearly, that vision is drawing international talent.

Staying: Zachary Kirkhorn

Tesla is getting some financial help from itself, from TechCrunch’s Kirsten Korosec:

The automaker officially tapped as its next chief financial officer Zachary Kirkhorn, a longtime employee who has been part of the automaker’s finance team for nine years, according to securities filings posted Thursday. The automaker also appointed Vaibhav Taneja, who led the integration of Tesla and SolarCity’s accounting teams, as its chief accounting officer. Taneja, who will report to Kirkhorn, will oversee corporate financial reporting, global accounting functions and personnel.

No telling whether Kirkhorn knows how to blow a whistle though….

No Longer Admitted: Bill McGlashan

Sometimes when you venture to make an investment, it doesn’t always pan out, from Maggie Fitzgerald at CNBC:

TPG’s Bill McGlashan was fired from the private equity firm on Thursday amid the massive college cheating scandal.

McGlashan, 55, has been terminated for cause from his positions with TPG and Rise effective immediately.

“After reviewing the allegations of personal misconduct in the criminal complaint, we believe the behavior described to be inexcusable and antithetical to the values of our entire organization,” said a TPG spokesperson.

McGlashan founded TPG Growth, which has had a litany of successes investing in later-stage startups such as Airbnb.

Leaving (but not by choice): Bird employees

Once high-flying and now somewhat not as high-flying scooter startup Bird announced that it was laying off around 40 employees. From TechCrunch’s Megan Rose Dickey:

“As we establish local service centers and deeper roots in cities where we provide service, we have shifting geographic workforce needs,” a Bird spokesperson told TechCrunch. “We are expanding our employee bases in locations that match our growing operations around the world, while developing an efficient operating structure at our Santa Monica headquarters. The recent events are a reflection of shifting geographical needs and our annual talent review process.”

I hope they flip them the Bird on the way out.

India fintech and the growing proxy war between global tech giants

Photo by anand purohit via Getty Images

Written by Arman Tabatabai

South African media conglomerate and investment giant Naspers is reportedly planning to invest $1 billion in India this year.

According to reports earlier this week, Naspers is looking towards India’s budding fintech market in particular to unload the fresh pile of dough it’s sitting on after recently lowering its stake in Tencent and cashing out on Walmart’s $16 billion acquisition of portfolio company Flipkart last year.

The fintech heavy thesis directionally makes sense in the context of Naspers’ broader strategy. Naspers has openly discussed its attraction to India’s financial services market and the company already has an established footprint in the region as the owner of payments platform PayU.

That said, the amount Naspers is reportedly looking to gift in just one year is astounding. Indian fintech startups saw around $2.6 billion of investment in 2018 according to Pitchbook. Naspers’ investment alone would represent a 40% spike in India’s total fintech venture capital.

Though one billion dollars in one year may seem ambitious, Naspers has proven it’s not afraid to pour billions into India and emerging verticals, having just led a $1 billion round in Indian food delivery startup Swiggy only a few months ago.

More importantly, Naspers’ push shows that the company is seriously doubling down in the escalating competition to become the dominant force in India’s booming fintech ecosystem. As we discussed in our recent conversation with Billionaire Raj author James Crabtree, India’s financial system is ripe for disruption. With secular tailwinds like growing mobile penetration and financial literacy, innovative financial models in India have begun leap-frogging traditional institutions, with Google and Boston Consulting Group even forecasting that the market for digital payments in India would reach $500 billion in size by 2020.

And many have taken notice — the number of fintech investments in India has grown at a 200%-plus compound annual growth rate over the last five years, according to data from Pitchbook, as leading investors and global tech powerhouses all battle to become the layer of financial infrastructure on which the future Indian economy sits.

A recent deep dive in the WSJ highlighted how crowded the ongoing fight for Indian payments dominance has become in the context of Paytm, an Indian startup that received a $1.4 billion investment from venture behemoth SoftBank:

The Indian market is one worth fighting for, with hundreds of millions of Indians getting online and starting to transact for the first time, thanks to plummeting prices for mobile data and smartphones.

Digital payments in India are soaring” and “set to explode,” Credit Suisse said in a February research note. They should rise nearly five times to $1 trillion by 2023, the report said…

…Meanwhile, it isn’t just Google and WhatsApp challenging Paytm . Indian e-commerce titan Flipkart, in which Walmart Inc. bought a controlling stake for $16 billion earlier this year, has a popular payments service called PhonePe. Amazon.com Inc. has its own payments service and two of India’s biggest telecom players, Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., offer digital wallets, as well.”

Next to peers like Alibaba, SoftBank, or Google, Naspers can often seem like the biggest tech company no one has ever heard of. But if its latest swan dive into India can help Naspers strike gold — as it did with its early investment in Tencent — it might just become the company powering the next economies of the world.

Thanks

To every member of Extra Crunch: thank you. You allow us to get off the ad-laden media churn conveyor belt and spend quality time on amazing ideas, people, and companies. If I can ever be of assistance, hit reply, or send an email to [email protected].

This newsletter is written with the assistance of Arman Tabatabai from New York

source https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/15/pi-day-was-a-bloodbath-for-tech-execs/

0 notes

fmservers · 6 years ago

Text

Pi Day wasn’t pleasant for a lot of tech execs

Pi Day is apparently New Job day for tech execs and VCs these days.

Leaving: Lee Fixel

It’s not every day that one of the top VC investors heads out from their shop. TechCrunch’s @cookie aka Connie Loizos has the story:

Fixel, 39, is reportedly planning to invest his own money and “may start an investment firm in the future,” Tiger Global wrote in the letter.

Another wrinkle worth tracking is the increasing opposition of Indian founders to both Tiger (and specifically Fixel) and SoftBank. As I wrote in the newsletter just a few weeks ago:

There is a clear lack of trust between India’s startup and venture communities, which ultimately threatens the sustainability and growth outlook of the country’s tech sector.

Leaving: Chris Cox & Chris Daniels

Facebook’s chief product officer is leaving along with Chris Daniels, the VP of WhatsApp. TechCrunch’s Josh Constine summarized the situation:

That, or Cox unplugged the servers yesterday.

Leaving (America): Jay Jorgensen

A very rare move from the United States to Korea for a senior exec, from TechCrunch’s Catherine Shu:

Staying: Zachary Kirkhorn

Tesla is getting some financial help from itself, from TechCrunch’s Kirsten Korosec:

No telling whether Kirkhorn knows how to blow a whistle though….

No Longer Admitted: Bill McGlashan

Sometimes when you venture to make an investment, it doesn’t always pan out, from Maggie Fitzgerald at CNBC:

TPG’s Bill McGlashan was fired from the private equity firm on Thursday amid the massive college cheating scandal.

McGlashan, 55, has been terminated for cause from his positions with TPG and Rise effective immediately.

McGlashan founded TPG Growth, which has had a litany of successes investing in later-stage startups such as Airbnb.

Leaving (but not by choice): Bird employees

Once high-flying and now somewhat not as high-flying scooter startup Bird announced that it was laying off around 40 employees. From TechCrunch’s Megan Rose Dickey:

I hope they flip them the Bird on the way out.

India fintech and the growing proxy war between global tech giants

Photo by anand purohit via Getty Images

Written by Arman Tabatabai

South African media conglomerate and investment giant Naspers is reportedly planning to invest $1 billion in India this year.

Digital payments in India are soaring” and “set to explode,” Credit Suisse said in a February research note. They should rise nearly five times to $1 trillion by 2023, the report said…

Thanks

This newsletter is written with the assistance of Arman Tabatabai from New York

Via Danny Crichton https://techcrunch.com

#TechCrunch

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