Connect with us

Latest News

Travis Kalanick Appoints Two New Directors To The Uber Board

Published

on

Travis Kalanick Appoints Two New Directors,Two New Directors To Uber Board,2 New Uber Directors,Uber New Directors Names,startup Uber,Startup Stories,Latest Business News 2017,uber board appointments Latest

The founder and former CEO of taxi hailing startup Uber, Travis Kalanick, has appointed two new board members to the company’s board in a surprise move. The power play will help Kalanick increase his power and sow more discord at the San Francisco based ride hailing company.

Kalanick named former Xerox chairwoman and CEO Ursula Burns and former Merrill Lynch chairman and CEO John Thain as the directors to the two disputed board seats. The move is significant because Kalanick’s power to appoint these board seats was the subject of a lawsuit and the appointment gives Burns and Lynch the voting rights in the world’s largest private company. A $3.5 billion investment from a Saudi fund gave Kalanick the power over 3 board seats in 2016. Kalanick named himself to one of the three seats after he was ousted from the company in June and reserved the right to appoint the other two positions.

The move, according to sources, may be in order to head off a planned vote on Tuesday that would rework the company’s corporate governance, giving Kalanick two votes on his side. In a tweet, Kalanick announced the appointment of the two newest members to the board.

In a statement, Kalanick further added that he was appointing these seats now in light of a recent Board proposal to dramatically restructure the Board and significantly alter the company’s voting rights. “It is therefore essential that the full Board be in place for proper deliberation to occur, especially with such experienced board members as Ursula and John,” he added.

This move comes after early investor Benchmark asked potential investor SoftBank to guarantee to block any attempt made to elevate Travis Kalanick back to the company’s top ranks. But the decision came as a complete surprise to the other Uber board members. In a statement, the Uber board said, “The appointments of Ms. Burns and Mr. Thain to Uber’s Board of Directors came as a complete surprise to Uber and its Board. That is precisely why we are working to put in place world-class governance to ensure that we are building a company every employee and shareholder can be proud of.”

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest News

How Brands Around India Adapted RCB’s IPL 2025 Win: A Masterclass in Real-Time Marketing

Published

on

IPL StartupStories

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is not just a cricket tournament—it’s a cultural phenomenon that captures the imagination of millions. The 2025 season was especially significant as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ended their 18-year wait for an IPL trophy, sparking nationwide celebrations and a flurry of creative marketing from brands eager to ride the wave of emotion.

Seizing the Moment with Creative Campaigns

Brands across sectors quickly recognized the marketing goldmine that was RCB’s historic victory. Social media platforms became the battleground for witty, nostalgic, and heartfelt content. Voltas Beko, for example, cleverly played on the long wait with a pun: “This moment’s been cooking for 18 years,” featuring a microwave set to 18:00

. Fevicol used humor, captioning a visual of the trophy snuggled in bed with the iconic fan chant: “Ee sala cup chipak gaya ;)”. MG Motor referenced Bangalore’s infamous traffic, declaring, “The only time Bangalore enjoys slow traffic,” as a car displayed “Trophy On Board”.

From Jerseys to Delivery Trucks

Official kit partner Puma India launched a special jersey commemorating the win, emblazoned with RCB’s tagline, “Played Bold”. Quick commerce brands like BlinkIt and Swiggy joined in, with BlinkIt showing the cup being delivered to Bengaluru via a delivery partner and Swiggy featuring a GPS tracker with a delivery executive en route to deliver the trophy. Zomato kept it simple yet impactful with a post reading “EE Sala Cup Namdu,” echoing the fans’ rallying cry.

Emotional Storytelling and Viral Reach

Brands leveraged the emotional high of RCB’s win to connect with audiences. Lego India posted an animated Virat Kohli with the cup, highlighting loyalty and perseverance: “Some waited for years, some questioned loyalty, but greatness? That’s built brick by brick. Champions at last!” Google India, Coca Cola, boAt, and others added to the chorus, each with their own creative spin.

Conclusion

RCB’s IPL 2025 win became more than a sports story—it was a moment of national pride and a catalyst for innovative, real-time marketing. Brands that adapted quickly, using humor, nostalgia, and emotional storytelling, not only amplified their reach but also deepened their connection with fans across India. This approach highlights the power of tapping into trending moments to create memorable, shareable content.

 

Continue Reading

Latest News

Gemini 2.5: Revolutionizing Dialogue and Audio Generation with AI

Published

on

Gemini

Google’s Gemini 2.5 marks a significant leap forward in artificial intelligence, introducing groundbreaking capabilities in dialogue and audio generation. Designed from the ground up as a multimodal model, Gemini 2.5 can natively understand and generate content across text, images, audio, video, and code, making it a versatile tool for developers, content creators, and businesses alike.

Advanced Dialogue: Real-Time, Natural, and Context-Aware

Gemini 2.5 excels in real-time audio dialogue, offering users remarkably fluid and expressive conversations. The AI’s ability to interpret tone, accent, and even non-speech vocalizations like laughter enables interactions that feel genuinely human. Users can customize speech delivery using natural language prompts, adjusting accents, tone, or even requesting whispered responses. This level of control is invaluable for applications ranging from virtual assistants to customer service bots.

The model is also context-aware, distinguishing between relevant speech and background noise, ensuring it responds only when appropriate. Integration with external tools, such as Google Search, allows Gemini 2.5 to incorporate real-time information seamlessly into conversations. Moreover, its multilingual capabilities support over 24 languages, enabling users to mix languages within a single phrase—ideal for global audiences.

Cutting-Edge Audio Generation: Flexible and Engaging

Beyond dialogue, Gemini 2.5 offers advanced text-to-speech (TTS) features. Users can generate everything from short snippets to long-form narratives, with precise control over style, tone, and emotional expression. The TTS engine supports multi-speaker dialogue, making it perfect for creating engaging summaries, podcasts, and audiobooks. Enhanced pace and pronunciation controls ensure audio clarity and naturalness, while multilingual output makes content accessible worldwide.

Developers can access these features through Google AI Studio and Vertex AI, with options for both high-fidelity (Gemini 2.5 Pro) and cost-effective (Gemini 2.5 Flash) audio generation. All generated audio includes SynthID watermarking for transparency and safety.

Conclusion

Gemini 2.5 is redefining the boundaries of AI-driven dialogue and audio generation. Its natural, expressive, and customizable voice capabilities, combined with robust reasoning and multilingual support, make it a powerful tool for the next generation of digital experiences.

Whether for interactive applications, content creation, or global communication, Gemini 2.5 sets a new standard for intelligent, multimodal AI.

Continue Reading

Latest News

Dunzo Gets Breather as NCLT Rejects Insolvency Petition from Invoice Discounters

Published

on

Dunzo

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Bengaluru bench has dismissed an insolvency plea filed against quick commerce startup Dunzo by its invoice discounters, declaring the petition “not maintainable” after several postponements. This decision offers temporary relief to Dunzo, which has been facing multiple insolvency petitions from various creditors, including Velvin Packaging Solutions and Betterplace Safety Solutions, over unpaid dues.

The invoice discounters alleged that Dunzo had paid only 50% of the required amounts, though the exact sum was not disclosed. Despite ongoing settlement talks, no resolution was reached, and the tribunal noted Dunzo’s delays in responding to creditor petitions. Dunzo continues to grapple with severe liquidity issues, delayed payments, and significant losses—reporting a ₹1,801.8 crore loss in FY23 and owing approximately ₹11.4 crore to major vendors like Google India and Facebook India.

While this NCLT ruling provides Dunzo some breathing room, the company still faces ongoing financial and operational challenges as it works to resolve its outstanding liabilities.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Recent Posts

Advertisement