This Week I Learned - Week #11 2025

This Week I Learned - 

* Since Windows 10 (version 1803) and later, curl comes pre-installed. You can use it directly in the Command Prompt.

* Google’s new Gemma 3 series of AI models are optimised for efficient performance on a single GPU or its tensor processing unit (TPU). These new open-source models incorporate both text and visual reasoning capabilities. Google said the models support over 35 languages and can be further fine-tuned to accommodate up to 140 languages. 

* Over the past few decades, as programming has moved from assembly language to higher-level languages like C, from desktop to cloud, from raw text editors to IDEs to AI assisted coding where sometimes one barely even looks at the generated code (which some coders recently started to call vibe coding), it is getting easier with each step. - The Batch

* Alibaba's LLM QwQ-32B is a version of Qwen2.5-32B that was fine-tuned to generate chains of thought using reinforcement learning (RL).

* DeepSeek’s initial model, DeepSeek-R1-Zero applied RL to a pretrained model. That effort produced strong reasoning but poor readability (for example, math solutions with correct steps but jumbled explanations). To address this shortcoming, the team fine-tuned DeepSeek-R1 on long chain-of-thought examples before applying RL. In contrast, QwQ-32B skipped preliminary fine-tuning and applied RL in two stages, first optimizing for correct responses and then for readability.

* Before the AI boom, startups generally burned $1mn to get to $1mn in revenue. Now, getting to $1mn in revenue costs one-fifth as much and could eventually drop to one-tenth, according to an analysis of 200 startups conducted by venture firm Afore Capital. The idea of AI-driven efficiency was bolstered by DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup that showed it could build AI tools for a small fraction of the typical cost. Its breakthrough, built on open-source tools that are freely available online, set off an explosion of companies building new products using DeepSeek’s inexpensive techniques. DeepSeek was a watershed moment.

Gamma, which makes software that lets people create presentations and websites  has hired only 28 people to get "tens of millions" in annual recurring revenue

Anysphere, a startup that makes coding software Cursor, hit $100mn in annual  recurring revenue with just 20 employees

ElevenLabs, an AI voice startup, did the same with about 50 workers.

The biggest bragging rights for these startups are for making the most revenue with the fewest workers. - NYT

* Travis Kalanick (born 1976) is an American businessman best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer (CEO) of Uber. He started Uber in 2009 with Garrett Camp, after a stint at Scour and co-founding Red Swoosh. Using his $2 million earnings from Red Swoosh, he became a startup "fixer" in San Francisco, investing in tech startups and hosting young tech enthusiasts at his "JamPad" apartment.

The idea for Uber sparked when Camp, frustrated with San Francisco's taxi services, envisioned a smartphone app to hail luxury vehicles. Kalanick jumped on board as a "mega advisor," and despite a cease and desist order, he fearlessly renamed UberCab to Uber and kept the company running.

However, life at Uber under Kalanick was intense. Employees worked tirelessly, and the culture was cutthroat. Kalanick's leadership style was often criticized for fostering a "bro culture" filled with toxic masculinity and misogyny. He even authorized industrial espionage tactics against competitors.

In 2017, Kalanick resigned from Uber but kept his board seat till 2019. Before stepping down, he sold 90% of his Uber shares, pocketing around $2.5 billion. His story is so dramatic that it inspired the Showtime series "Super Pumped," based on Mike Isaac's book with the same name, chronicling Kalanick's rise and fall at Uber.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

 played Travis Kalanick in the series Super Pumped

In a notable 2017 incident, Kalanick faced a stern warning from Apple CEO Tim Cook, who threatened to remove the Uber app from the App Store after discovering Uber was secretly tracking iPhones, even after the app was deleted, which violated Apple's privacy guidelines.

Kalanick, a self-proclaimed libertarian and Ayn Rand fan, left a lasting impact on Silicon Valley, for better or worse. His tale is a mix of innovation, controversy, and a whole lot of drama—almost like a real-life episode of the comedy series "Silicon Valley"!

* The new PM of Canada, Mark Carney became governor of Canada's central bank in 2008 at the age of just 42. In 2013, he became the first non-British governor in UK central bank’s three-century history, and the first person to ever head two G7 central banks. 

* John Snow solved London’s 1854 cholera epidemic by tracking its epicenter to a contaminated water pump.

* The high-growth diabetes therapy market is valued at nearly Rs 20,000 crore, up 43% from Rs 14,000 crore in 2021. India faces a staggering public health burden—10.1 crore people live with diabetes, according to International Diabetes Federation.

Metformin remains the first-line treatment for type-2 diabetes, but as the disease progresses, additional medications—such as Sulfonylureas (glimepiride, glyburide, glipizide, chlorpropamide), DPP-4 Inhibitors (sitagliptin, vildagliptin), and SGLT2 Inhibitors (empagliflozin, dapagliflozin, canagliflozin) —are added. Now, n ewer therapies like semaglutide and tirzepatide enhance management, offering improved glycemic control and cardiovascular benefits.

* Indigenous people, who comprise 5% of Canada’s population, account for about one-third of federal inmates. Indigenous children comprise over half of all children in foster care in Canada. 

* In Australia, incarceration rates are 15 times higher for aboriginal peoples.

* The US is among the top 10 importers for half of the 118 countries that export dairy products. Nearly 30 percent of India's dairy exports head to the US.

* India has 945 million broadband subscribers, of which million (95%) are wireless  

* In 2024, India's stock market delivered a modest 8% return, significantly lagging behind the strong performances seen globally. The U.S. market soared with a 23% return, while European markets ranged from 7% to 18%. West Asia led the way with an impressive 26% return, and established Asian markets like Japan and Hong Kong saw returns between 15% and 19%.

* Bengaluru has around 6,800 state transport buses, and its metro system accommodates up to seven lakh passengers daily. Delhi has around 6,000 buses and the most extensive metro network in India, with an occupancy of at least 78 lakhs. Hyderabad has only 2,500 state transport buses, and its metro accommodates four lakh commuters daily. Hyderabad’s poor public transport system, which has forced more residents to rely on private vehicles, worsening congestion and emissions. Currently, 90% of the vehicles in Hyderabad are privately owned. Despite a lesser number of vehicles (80 lakh) when compared to other metros such as Delhi (1.4 crore), Bengaluru (1.2 crore), and Pune (82 lakh), Hyderabad’s vehicular pollution levels are the highest. Nitrogen oxide concentrations in Hyderabad are at least four times higher than the WHO’s permissible limit of 10 µg/m3, with it hitting 48 µg/m3 on an average.   - ToI