India's government approved a $1.1 billion state-backed venture capital program this week, while hardware company Nothing opened its first retail store in Bengaluru, its largest market. These developments were announced alongside Airbnb's plans to integrate AI features for customer support and trip planning, according to multiple sources.
The venture capital program, first outlined in India's January 2025 budget speech, will channel government funds into startups through private investors. The program aims to finance high-risk areas like artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing. This initiative follows a previous program launched in 2016 that committed 100 billion to 145 private funds, which invested over 255 billion (about $2.8 billion) in more than 1,370 startups, according to official data released on Saturday (Source 1).
Nothing's new store in Bengaluru, India, is a two-story location showcasing its products and other projects. Customers can purchase hardware and merchandise, as well as customize select items. "We wanted to create a fun space," said Carl Pei, Nothing's co-founder and CEO (Source 2). The store's design reflects the brand's origins, including a production line concept and machines used for product testing.
Airbnb is also making significant moves, planning to integrate AI features into its platform. CEO Brian Chesky announced the company's intention to use large language models for customer discovery, support, and engineering. "We are building an AI-native experience where the app does not just search for you. It knows you," Chesky stated during the company's fourth-quarter conference call (Source 3). Airbnb is already using AI to handle a third of its customer support issues in North America and is preparing for a global rollout (Source 4). Chesky believes this will "reduce the cost base of Airbnb customer service," while also improving service quality.
In other news, Georgia Tech announced the finalists in its annual Guthman Musical Instrument Competition. The competition invites inventors to submit new instrument designs for a chance to win $10,000 in prizes (Source 5).
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