Automating video creation with GenAI; Social media movements of 2024
Prajwal Prakash, Akash Anand, and Neel Balar built Clueso, a startup that creates videos and documentation for SaaS companies. In 2024, social movements not only exposed deep-rooted issues, but also explored the potential of digital activism to drive change.
Hello,
With a new year come new challenges. Or perhaps, the return of some old ones.
In 2025, global stock markets will be influenced by a single person: the incoming President of the United States.
While European and Asian markets wobbled over upcoming policies from the Trump administration and hawkish Fed stances, the US kicked off the year on a more optimistic note, as S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures climbed roughly 1%.
Meanwhile, banks and analysts have been busy making investment calls on everything, from monetary policy to key assets. Here’s what the world’s biggest financial institutions see in Wall Street’s future.
Predictably, when it comes to equity assets, everyone still wants to hop on the AI-fueled stock train, given Nvidia’s Midas touch. The AI darling emerged as the biggest global gainer in 2024, increasing its market value by $2 trillion and minting a few new board billionaires to boot in its wake.
Closer to home, it’s the quick commerce sector that’s the centre of attention, between Dunzo’s co-founder Kabeer Biswas handing in his resignation, and Blinkit dipping its toes into the emergency medical services sector with a 10-minute ambulance facility for select areas in Gurugram.
2025 is also the year for making bold moves towards securing the planet’s future. From rising electric vehicle sales to a resurgence of ESG investing and nuclear energy production, the world is exploring a number of avenues to win the battle against global warming.
For once, though, rising EV sales don’t factor in Tesla. The automaker reported its first decline in annual deliveries amid reduced subsidies and a shift in demand to lower-priced hybrid vehicles, the likes of which are offered by rivals like BYD.
Will the gloves finally come off this year in the battle for EV glory?
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- GenAI + video editing
- Social media movements of 2024
Here’s your trivia for today: What is the world’s oldest operating airline?
Startup
GenAI + video editing
Prajwal Prakash, Akash Anand, and Neel Balar built Clueso, a startup that creates videos and documentation for SaaS companies. A part of many companies’ learning materials and explainers, these how-to guides show the step-by-step process of any task.
Key takeaways:
- “A user records a base stream recording of your product feature demo and Clueso converts it into a studio quality video with your company branding, Zoom effects, good animations and an AI-generated audio track that syncs perfectly with your video,” explains Prakash.
- The company has also built a real-time video editor on the web, which tackles the minute details such as speeding up certain video segments or slowing them down.
- The Y Combinator-backed company says that it had raised about $1 million in seed funding after YC, making the total funding to $1.5 million. Around 200 organisations currently use Clueso.
Funding Alert
Startup: Muffin Green
Amount: $18M
Round: Debt
Startup: CargoFL
Amount: Rs 6.75 Cr
Round: Seed
Social media
Social media movements of 2024
As platforms like X, Instagram, and Facebook became battlegrounds for narratives, activists, journalists, and everyday individuals harnessed the power of connectivity to demand accountability, find solidarity, and mobilise action.
In 2024, these social movements not only exposed deep-rooted issues, but also explored the potential of digital activism to drive change.
Viral:
- The year also saw many employees talking about how they were practising #Quiet Quitting or ‘silent resignations’, wherein they mentally disengaged from their roles without formally leaving their positions. A study by Slack revealed that 54% of Indian knowledge workers reported burnout.
- Warrior Moms India, an online community run by 1,400 women from 75 villages across 13 Indian states raised awareness about air pollution by educating citizens, and engaging with policymakers to implement stricter regulations online.
- Social media influencers and environmental groups collaborated to educate the public on sustainable alternatives, leading to several state governments enforcing bans on specific plastic products and encouraging eco-friendly practices among businesses and consumers.
News & updates
- Exit: Investment bank Morgan Stanley said on Thursday it had decided to leave the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, becoming the latest US lender to quit the sector's top global climate coalition.
- Labour deal: Leaders from a US dockworkers’ union and the group that represents their employers are set to resume contract talks on Jan. 7 as threats loom of a strike that would shut every major port on the US East and Gulf coasts.
- Market recapture: Apple is offering rare discounts of up to 500 yuan ($68.50) on its latest iPhone models in China, as the US tech giant moves to defend its market share against rising competition from domestic rivals like Huawei.
What is the world’s oldest operating airline?
Answer: KLM. It was founded in 1919.
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