Latest news with #vernacular
New York Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
What Does It Mean to Be Chopped?
First came ate, served and cooked. Now chopped has found its way from the kitchen to the vernacular of Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Before you start using it, one thing should be made clear: It's not a very nice thing to say. Simply put, chopped has been adopted by many as a synonym for ugly or unattractive, said Morgan Ugoagwu, who posted a video on TikTok on the 'six signs you're a chopped woman.' It has been viewed more than 1.5 million times. 'There's mid and that's like someone who's maybe like a 5, like average looking,' she said in an interview. 'Chopped is like, it's worse than being what's considered mid.' 'Chopped is like maybe you're like a 1 or 2, just straight ugly,' she added. There is no clear answer to how the word morphed from its dictionary definition into a meanspirited adjective. As with a great deal of internet slang, early uses of it seem to have come in African American Vernacular English, but multiple social media users said they began seeing it used more frequently this year, thanks largely to popular memes and content creators. Ms. Ugoagwu, 22, said she felt the term was still mostly reserved for social media, rather than for in-person communication. 'It's definitely one of those TikTok brain-rot terms,' she said. Stella Wang, 24, who posted a video on TikTok about what she called the 'chopped man epidemic' (voicing her observation that she had not been seeing many men she thought were attractive), said the term was 'chronically online.' In her case, however, chopped is creeping into casual conversation with friends. 'Like, 'That guy's chopped'' she said of how she and her friends used the word. 'Basically, just like unattractive, ugly, not good looking,' she added. Philip Lindsay, a middle-school teacher who frequently discusses the evolution of slang in social media videos, said Gen Alpha was far more likely to use the term in everyday speech. His students began using it regularly in the previous school year, he said, with it evolving from other phrases to the point where it now stands alone. With his school a few weeks into its new year, he said he had noticed even more evolution, with some students using the word in a more general way — still with a heavily negative connotation. 'It's not just referencing something's aesthetic or physical appearance,' he said. 'It's been like, 'Oh I have to write all these notes down, that's chopped.'' The question now is whether the usage will have staying power, and if it will be adopted by a wider (i.e., older) demographic, which has recently happened with terms like 'crashing out.' Despite the popularity of her video, Ms. Ugoagwu said she felt that a word like chopped could be confusing, especially when used around people who spent less time on the internet. 'If someone's chopped, just say that they're ugly or something,' she said. 'Or better yet, don't call anyone ugly.'
Entrepreneur
28-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Is Voice AI Becoming India's Next Digital Backbone?
According to NASSCOM, the Indian voice AI market is projected to reach USD 1.82 billion by 2030 Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Voice AI is quickly becoming the new battleground in shaping the future of human-machine interactions. The recent USD 45 million acquisition of a voice AI startup Play AI by Meta brought renewed attention to the space. But why the Sudden Rush in India? "There's a rush towards voice tech startups because the country's vast linguistic diversity and rising demand for high-quality, real-time voice translation have made voice AI a natural solution," explains Ganesh Gopalan, Co-founder & CEO of Gnani AI. "With the rapid adoption of smartphones and consumers increasingly expecting seamless, human-like interactions, voice is emerging as the preferred interface for digital engagement." According to NASSCOM, the Indian voice AI market is projected to reach USD 1.82 billion by 2030. While India has 22 official languages, it is home to over 400 living languages. English, often assumed to be the digital default, is neither the first spoken nor written language for the majority of Indians. Until now, much of emerging tech has catered only to metro markets and English-speaking audiences. Voice-led AI startups, however, are disrupting that trend. Indian entrepreneurs are now tapping deeper into Tier 2/3 markets, targeting vernacular language speakers and building inclusive solutions for non-English and non-Hindi audiences. Where the action is Gopalan notes that sectors like banking, finance, and insurance (BFSI) have seen the most traction. "Voice AI is being used for customer support, lead qualification, EMI collections, policy renewals, and reminders. This growth ties closely to India's digital inclusion push, enabling businesses to engage a much wider audience in their native languages." India is also becoming a strategic growth market for global Voice AI firms. ElevenLabs, for instance, recorded a 50 per cent growth in usage in India between November and January, making the country its fastest-growing market globally. Siddharth Srinivasan, GMT–India at ElevenLabs, observes, "India was always a market waiting for a solution in this space. We're inherently multilingual, most of us are bilingual or trilingual. The need for high-quality, real-time voice solutions has always existed." Still early days? But is this rush solving meaningful, scalable problems, or are we still in an experimentation phase? Arjun Malhotra, General Partner at Good Capital, believes the sector is at "an interesting middle ground." "In BFSI, voice AI is solving real operational challenges around lending and collections at scale. Companies are successfully reaching lakhs of customers simultaneously. However, the broader ecosystem is still evolving. While enterprise applications have found clear product-market fit in certain use cases, consumer applications remain largely in the discovery phase." From an investor's perspective, technical differentiation is key. "Given the competitive landscape, we evaluate whether startups are building foundational technology or merely implementing existing solutions," Malhotra explains. "Companies that differentiate on the core mechanics of voice AI rather than just the application layer have stronger moats." He also emphasises the importance of domain expertise. "Voice AI requires deep technical expertise combined with domain knowledge. We look for teams that understand both the technology's limitations and the specific market needs they're addressing." The bigger question still remains. Can Voice AI become foundational digital infrastructure? Malhotra thinks the answer depends on the use case. "In enterprise contexts, we're seeing voice AI evolve from a feature (like automated calling) to a platform that can handle complex workflows and multiple touchpoints." The opportunity, he adds, lies in companies that can expand beyond single-use cases and integrate deeply into business workflows. What's next for voice AI in india? Looking ahead, Malhotra sees the next 24 months as pivotal. "Voice AI will likely become deeply embedded in workflows rather than remain a standalone tool. Companies that can demonstrate this workflow integration will command premium valuations." He also foresees the emergence of breakthrough consumer applications such as voice companions, therapy, and coaching tools where Indian startups could potentially create globally competitive products, especially given the market's natural comfort with voice-based interactions. Finally, Malhotra believes we'll see the rise of foundational voice AI infrastructure startups that provide the "picks and shovels" enabling the entire ecosystem.
Entrepreneur
20-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Krutrim Acquires BharatSahAIyak to Expand AI in Public Sector
Krutrim plans to integrate BharatSahAIyak's vernacular, AI-powered solutions into its own suite of offerings, leveraging its proprietary Large Language Models (LLMs), cloud infrastructure, and the Kruti agentic AI assistant platform. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Bhavish Aggarwal-led AI startup Krutrim has acquired BharatSahAIyak, a public-sector-focused AI company, from consulting firm Samagra, in a strategic move to deepen its footprint in government and citizen services. While the financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed, the acquisition marks a significant step towards Krutrim's mission of democratising AI across India. Krutrim plans to integrate BharatSahAIyak's vernacular, AI-powered solutions into its own suite of offerings, leveraging its proprietary Large Language Models (LLMs), cloud infrastructure, and the Kruti agentic AI assistant platform. The merger also includes onboarding Samagra's core AI team to ensure continuity and innovation. A Krutrim spokesperson said, "Integrating BharatSahAIyak into the Krutrim ecosystem widens its offerings, lending cutting-edge AI-centric assistance and support to a range of government initiatives, programs, and schemes. This integration enhances our ability to build AI that is inclusive, intuitive, and deeply rooted in the lived realities of India." Founded in 2023, Krutrim has developed full-stack AI capabilities in language, vision, and speech. Its latest innovation, Kruti, is India's first agentic AI assistant capable of handling tasks like cab bookings, bill payments, voice interactions, and image generation. BharatSahAIyak, on the other hand, specialises in Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) based AI bots that provide multilingual, voice-led experiences tailored to Indian users. Its successful implementations include: KumbhSahAIyak – India's first AI chatbot for Maha Kumbh 2025, offering pilgrims 24/7 assistance. – India's first AI chatbot for Maha Kumbh 2025, offering pilgrims 24/7 assistance. AMA Krushi AI – a voice-led agriculture advisory chatbot for Odisha's farmers in local languages. With Krutrim's infrastructure, these applications can now scale to more sectors, including healthcare, education, and governance, reaching even last-mile users. The acquisition follows several ambitious announcements from Krutrim, including its Krutrim AI Lab, the BharatBench open-source initiative, and a plan to scale data center capacity to 1 GW by 2028. The company has also committed up to USD 1.2 billion in AI development funding in the coming years. Krutrim became a unicorn in January 2024 after raising around USD 75 million from investors like Z47 (formerly Matrix) and the Sarin Family. While recent media reports hinted at another fundraising round, the company has denied any ongoing discussions.
