Huddle that was more of a muddle

Billed as “Asia’s largest tech conclave,” the Huddle Global, organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), generated plenty of interest among startup firms and investors well beyond the state borders. Five thousand people from various sectors across India came. It was an excellent platform for networking.

However, let’s not overlook a critical issue. If the event was a chance to showcase the state’s ability to organise such events, this was more of a muddle than a huddle. Maybe two years of disruption due to the Covid pandemic has made our state machinery too rusty, and to forget how such mega events are stages to show off our ability to move with the times.

The stunning backdrop of the seaside venue at Kovalam was bound to impress every delegate who arrived for the two-day event. Still, from the very process of registration of delegates at the venue entrance, one could see how the event managers missed chances to impress.

The entry passes were just printouts folded into a flimsy plastic cover and then attached to different colour ribbons to distinguish investors, delegates, and the media. In this age of sleek desktop publishing and biometric identification, this was not an ID card that would find a place in anybody’s memorabilia collection.

From that point onwards, it was a series of missed opportunities and some glaring omissions like the lack of an information or help desk at the venue, the absence of a media centre facility (which was hastily set up after the event got underway) and no display screens to show the goings on at different venues. At one point, even the renowned Raviz Hotel’s machinery seemed to creak under pressure. Long lines waiting for a cup of tea sometimes made the venue look like Kerala’s government-run liquor outlets than “Asia’s largest tech enclave”.  

The event ended on an even more surprising note, with Tamil Nadu IT Minister Mano Thangaraj presenting awards to winners of the Grand Kerala Startup Challenge. This affair was hyped about as the premier event in the state, with the chief minister attending the opening session. Still, no Kerala minister came to the closing event, nor were any legislators or MPs present. Even the top KSUM officials were conspicuous by their absence, and IT Secretary Dr Rathan Kelkar was left holding the fort during the concluding event.

Ministers and all bigwigs, it was said, had to rush to Kochi for the Design Week starting on December 16, the day the Huddle was ending. Scheduling events without them overlapping is not, it seemed, our strong point.

Here is something organisers of mega events like this should keep in mind. Conferences are like airports. Just ensuring runways are fit for planes to land and take-off alone doesn’t make an airport. From the time planes make contact with the control tower until passengers in that plane leave the airport, it is one long chain of services. Any slip-up, even minor, anywhere in between can dent the visitors’ first impression. So, attention is needed to the details at every turn to lift your game during events like this. 

The vibrant actions of participants that began unfolding at the Huddle offset the organisers’ lukewarm approach. Aside from the excitement over the event resuming after two years break, investors, startup founders, and students rubbing shoulders under one tent, pursuing their dreams added much impetus. 

Rajesh Sawhney, the co-founder, and CEO of InnerChef and Super Angels, who moderated a discussion on the funding lookout for the coming year, exhorted the audience to work towards making Kerala the next California, which though a state in the US would rank as the world’s fourth largest economy if it were a nation. “Some of the southern states like Kerala already have a GDP which is probably more than countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh,” he said.

Delegates from outside the state pointed out several strengths that bode well for Kerala to foster an IT sector: education, a wealthy and healthy society, a cleaner environment compared with other IT hubs like Bengaluru and Gurgaon, and the presence of Kerala professionals across the globe. 

Tamil Nadu minister Thangaraj took it a step further by urging southern states to work together in IT and make a collective effort to complement each other and develop a larger IT base.

Making Kerala India’s California may seem a tall order. But, perhaps, the southern states could consider China’s Greater Bay Area as a model.

Beijing is linking nine cities in the southern Guangdong province with former foreign colonies, Hong Kong and Macau, to create an economic and technological powerhouse. By last year, the combined GDP of this new economic zone almost equalled South Korea’s. The area is fast becoming the global hub of AI, drone technology, robotics, and other futuristic industries, attracting billions of dollars as investments and creating millions of jobs.

If our southern states put their heads together, they can mobilise the resources and capability to create a similar mega IT hub. Kerala, for example, can focus on space, health and education sectors for such a hub. Developing a plan complementing each other’s strengths is all that is needed.

Every grand plan starts with a baby step. So, let us begin by adding email contacts and some telephone numbers that actually work on KSUM’s website.

Robotic vacuum cleaners can make a mess too

Peeping Toms are a scrouge in any society, and it is shocking to realise that a robotic vacuum cleaner at your home can act as one. In a disturbing story, MIT Technology Review revealed that RoombaJ7 took the picture of a woman using the toilet. The photo was later leaked to social media. It is a long story, but worth a look if you are as worried as we were when we read the news.

This also highlights the work unskilled, and semi-skilled workers do to create data for AI programs for some fancied users, from car entertainment to brain surgery. Fiftytwo.in published earlier this year, an excellent piece about it. It profiled a sector in India that employ tens of thousands, mostly in rural and semi-rural areas. One of the units that work to provide data for the glamorous techies of the AI world is located in Mannarkad, Kerala. A highly recommended read.

Time for startups to tackle this sky-high problem

Garbage piling up on streets is common in almost every Indian city. But now we have one more thing to worry about. The sky above India is said to be getting filled with space junk. According to Analytical India Magazine, ISRO monitored 4,382 events when space junk came too close for comfort. As the space sector opens up to private ventures, removing junk adds one more avenue for startups to look at. That has set us thinking: Thiruvananthapuram is the seat of some of India’s premier space facilities. No other city probably has as many retired space scientists as its residents as Thiruvananthapuram has.

So there should be dozens of space-tech startups in Kerala. If not, why not? Watch this space.

Google gets ready to defend its crown

More on the ChatGPT chatter. Google chief Sundar Pichai was in India last week announcing plans to boost his company’s activities, from agriculture to AI ethics. His calm and confident approach during the Google for India event was at odds with the company’s red code over the arrival of ChatGPT and its impact on its search engine dominance. According to the New York Times, Google has directed numerous groups to refocus efforts on addressing the threat of ChatGPT. The report said they had been asked to develop and launch new AI prototypes and products. The game is on now.

Lionel Messi beats an egg in popularity

The World Cup fever is now over in Kerala, but the local fans’ enthusiasm made headlines worldwide. Even Seleccion Argentina, the official Twitter handle of the Argentina football team, hailed the Kerala fans for supporting Lionel Messi and his boys. Messi, meanwhile, continues to add to his collection of crowns, including the record as the person with the most liked post on Instagram, reported The Verge. His picture with the golden trophy got more than 70 million likes so far. The article also links other popular Insta posts of the football hero. The record holder of the most-liked Instagram post till then was an egg. Yes, check this out if you don’t believe us.