Why did Google buy a four-month-old AI startup? For Pankaj Gupta

The real reason for Google’s acqui-hire of Bengaluru-based Halli Labs may not, after all, be artificial intelligence. Instead, it is about an ambitious, global programme

Halli Labs is Google's 12th AI acquisition across the world and the first in India

Gupta built Twitter's 'Who To Follow' recommendation engine

He is set to play a key role in Google's Next Billion Users programme

Google has been trying to hire Gupta for seven years

It was muttered curiously by people in Bengaluru at a popular coffee shop. “Did you hear about the company Google acquired,” one told another. “They used to work right across the road.” Right across the road is Investopad. A co-working space and an incubator.

What they were talking about is the acquisition of Halli Labs by Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, on 12 July. Halli Labs was four months old. It was working, according to a few people familiar with the company, on a speech-to-text system, which was shelved soon after it was developed.

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Patanjali Pahwa

Patanjali has spent over seven years in journalism. He last worked at Business Standard as Principal Correspondent, where he wrote on startups, e-commerce companies and venture capital. He has worked at an array of institutions, which include Forbes India, Caravan and Outlook Business. He is a Mumbaikar, born and brought up. Patanjali did his BSc in IT from Mumbai University and then got his journalism degree from IIJNM in Bangalore. He is enamoured by Ernest Hemingway and Tom Waits and may try to sneak in references to them in his stories.

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Venkat Ananth

Venkat is currently in his tenth year in journalism. Prior to The Ken, he was Deputy Content Editor at Mint as part of the newspaper’s digital team. He also wrote in-depth features on the business of sport for the newspaper. His earlier assignments include Yahoo! (as a columnist) and the Hindustan Times, where he began his career. Born in Mumbai, Venkat holds a Bachelor of Mass Media (Journalism) degree from SIES College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai and a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London. He currently resides in New Delhi, where he moved nearly five years ago.

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