India's burgeoning AI sector is under the spotlight this week as the country hosts its AI Impact Summit, while the debut of Fractal Analytics, India's first AI company to IPO, saw a muted response from investors. Simultaneously, African defensetech startup Terra Industries secured an additional $22 million in funding, and Apple is set to host a special event on March 4th in New York City.
The AI Impact Summit, a four-day event, is attracting significant attention, with an expected 250,000 visitors, according to TechCrunch. Executives from major AI labs and Big Tech companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and Cloudflare, are in attendance. Key figures such as Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei are participating, alongside Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to deliver a speech with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday. Furthermore, India has earmarked $1.1 billion for its state-backed venture capital fund, which will invest in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, as reported by TechCrunch.
However, the enthusiasm for AI technology appears to be tempered by investor caution. Fractal Analytics, which went public as India's first AI company, experienced a disappointing debut. The stock listed at 876 per share on Monday, below its issue price of 900, and closed at 873.70, down 7 from its issue price, giving the company a market capitalization of about 148.1 billion (around $1.6 billion), according to TechCrunch. This valuation is a step down from Fractal's recent private-market highs, having raised approximately $170 million in a secondary sale in July 2025 at a valuation of $2.4 billion.
In other tech news, African defensetech startup Terra Industries announced an additional $22 million in funding, just a month after raising $11.75 million in a round led by 8VC, as reported by TechCrunch. The new funding round was led by Lux Capital. Founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku, 22, and Maxwell Maduka, 24, Terra Industries aims to design infrastructure and autonomous systems to help African nations monitor and respond to threats. CEO Nwachuku stated his goal was "to build Africa's first defense prime, to build autonomous defense systems and other systems to protect our critical infrastructure and resources from armed attacks," according to TechCrunch.
Meanwhile, Apple is preparing for a special event on March 4th in New York City, as reported by The Verge. The event, scheduled for 9 AM ET, will also be hosted in London and Shanghai simultaneously. The invitation includes an Apple logo depicted in segmented discs of yellow, green, and blue. The event could potentially feature new MacBooks, iPads, iPhone 17e, displays, and more, according to The Verge.
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