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#DeleteFacebook – What Happened, When, Where And How

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#DeleteFacebook,Startup Stories,Cambridge Analytica,Startup News India,Facebook Scandal,Trump campaign target Advertisements,Chief Executive Officer of Facebook,Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg,Facebook data Leak,Facebook Cambridge Analytica Data Leak

Amid the ongoing scandal regarding Facebook’s part in the US 2016 elections, the social media giant has found itself in the middle of yet another controversy. A New York Times report brought to light how a voter profiling company, Cambridge Analytica, harvested more than 50 million Facebook profiles of American voters without their permission. This report resulted in not just harsh criticism from lawmakers in the United States and Britain, but users as well, sparking the #DeleteFacebook movement.

According to the report, Cambridge Analytica secured a $15 million investment to develop a tool that could identify the personalities of American voters and influence their behavior. Although these profiles were obtained without the consent of the users, the millions of Facebook profiles do not constitute a data breach as nobody hacked into Facebook. The data, surprisingly, was obtained legally because the business model of Facebook is predicated on mining the personal details of its two billion users.

A former employee at Cambridge Analytica, Christopher Wylie, who helped the company obtain user data said the company was built on harvesting user data. “We exploited Facebook to harvest millions of people’s profiles. And built models to exploit what we knew about them and target their inner demons,” he added. The data allowed Cambridge Analytica to exploit the social media activity of the American electorate and help the Trump campaign target advertisements.

Wylie reached out to Aleksandr Kogan, a Russian-American who developed a personality prediction app called “thisisyourdigitallife.” Kogan told Facebook that he was collecting the data for academic purposes. It should be noted that Facebook has the right to collect user information for research and other purposes as stated in their terms and conditions. Kogan’s app compiled personal information from people based on what they liked on Facebook. As per a report by The Guardian, Kogan, through his company Global Science Research, paid 270,000 people to download the app and take a personality test. Using the test, Cambridge Analytica was able to compile information not only from the users who took the test but from their friend’s profiles as well.

The problem lies in the fact that Facebook was aware that Cambridge Analytica had user data and they asked the company to delete it. While Cambridge Analytica and Kogan seemed to comply, the social networking company never followed up or confirmed the deletion of the data. Until last week, Facebook also allowed the voter profiling company to operate on its site.

The fallout from the scandal resulted in users walking away from the social networking site. Various celebrities also took to Twitter to express their views, including Jim Carrey, who tweeted Zuckerberg’s quote from 2004.

In addition to Cambridge Analytica’s involvement with the US 2016 election, the company has also been a part of the Brexit referendum and US Senator Ted Cruz’s primary run in 2016.

Finally, following days of silence, the Chief Executive Officer of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg responded to the criticism via a Facebook post. Apologizing for the mistake, Zuckerberg said, “We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you.

Whistleblower Wylie was suspended from Facebook and Instagram following the controversy.

Facebook along with Cambridge Analytica is facing several lawsuits in Britain and United States of America. The Attorney General of Massachusetts, Maura Healey’s office will also be opening an investigation into the matter. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Representative Adam Schiff of California, the Congressional Democrats leading inquiries into Russian interference in the 2016 election have also called for investigations of the Facebook data leak.

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Tim Cook: Apple Posts Record India Growth in iPhone, Mac & Services

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Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple closed the June quarter with record revenue in over two dozen markets, driven by double-digit growth in India across iPhone, Mac and Services. During April–June, iPhone sales in India jumped 13.4% year-on-year, Mac revenue rose 15%, and Services revenue climbed 13%, each marking an all-time quarterly high. Cook emphasized that “we saw iPhone growth in every geographic segment and double-digit growth in emerging markets including India, the Middle East, South Asia, and Brazil.”

India’s strategic importance extends beyond sales into Apple’s supply chain: 71% of iPhones sold in the U.S. now carry “Country of Origin: India,” up from 31% a year ago. This shift underscores Apple’s diversification strategy and its deepening manufacturing partnerships with Foxconn, Pegatron, and Tata Electronics. Cook noted that India has become a “major manufacturing base” for iPhones destined for global markets, reducing reliance on a single region and enhancing supply stability.

Looking forward, Apple plans to open new retail stores in India later this year, bolstering its direct-to-consumer presence and capitalizing on the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market. Despite incurring approximately $800 million in tariff costs during the quarter, Cook affirmed that India’s market potential and manufacturing advantages remain “key pillars of our global strategy” as Apple accelerates its expansion across the subcontinent.

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Microsoft Hits $4 Trillion Milestone Driven by AI and Cloud Growth

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Microsoft-Satyam

Microsoft vaulted past the $4 trillion market-capitalization milestone on July 31, becoming only the second U.S. company after Nvidia to reach this valuation as AI enthusiasm swept through equity markets. Shares jumped 5.3% on the back of stronger-than-expected fiscal Q4 results, with revenue climbing 18% year-over-year to $76.44 billion and net income rising 24% to $27.23 billion, while earnings per share of $3.65 beat analysts’ $3.37 consensus. 

The company’s Intelligent Cloud segment, led by Azure, delivered 39% revenue growth, pushing full-year Azure sales past $75 billion—a 34% increase—and underscoring cloud and AI as core growth drivers. CEO Satya Nadella emphasized that “Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector,” reflecting momentum from strategic AI investments, including the partnership with OpenAI and proprietary model development. 

Microsoft’s share gains helped propel the Nasdaq Composite up 1.3% to 21,396 and the S&P 500 higher by 0.8%, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.3%. Looking ahead, record capital expenditures of $30 billion slated for AI infrastructure and data-center expansion, combined with deep integration of generative AI across Microsoft 365 via Copilot, position the company to sustain market-cap expansion as enterprises accelerate digital transformation.

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Yali Capital Makes History with ₹893 Crore Deeptech Fund to Power Indian Innovation

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Yali Capital

Bangalore’s Yali Capital has closed its first deeptech-focused fund, raising a substantial ₹893 crore (about $104 million) and surpassing its initial ₹500 crore target. This major fundraising milestone highlights the growing appeal and investor confidence in India’s deeptech landscape, fueling innovation in pivotal sectors like semiconductors, artificial intelligence, robotics, aerospace, genomics, and smart manufacturing. The fund cements Yali Capital’s position as a key player driving progress in India’s burgeoning tech ecosystem.

Strategically, Yali Capital’s fund targets both early-stage (Seed, Series A) and later-stage (Series D and beyond) startups. Its diverse roster of Limited Partners (LPs) includes prominent corporations such as Infosys, Qualcomm Ventures, and Tata AIG, alongside government-backed organizations like the DPIIT Fund of Funds for Startups and the Self-Reliant India Fund. With heavyweight backers like Kris Gopalakrishnan (Infosys co-founder), Gopal Srinivasan (TVS Capital), and Utpal Sheth (RARE Enterprises), Yali Capital ensures robust strategic support. The firm’s dual structure—a SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) and a GIFT City-based feeder vehicle—enables global investor participation, guided by tech luminary Lip-Bu Tan and managing partner Ganapathy Subramaniam.

Already, Yali Capital has invested in five breakthrough startups, including C2I Semiconductor, 4baseCare, and Perceptyne, focusing on chip design and AI. By devoting two-thirds of its fund to early-stage companies, Yali Capital underscores its commitment to nurturing next-generation Indian deeptech founders. This fundraising success aligns with a nationwide trend of surging investments in advanced technology and positions Yali Capital at the forefront of India’s drive toward self-reliance and global tech leadership.

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