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How two friends made art history buying a $70M digital work
It took a few minutes for Vignesh Sundaresan and Anand Venkateswaran to realize that they’d parted with $69.3 million for a digital artwork stored in a JPEG file, coincidentally securing their place in art history.
“We weren’t sure we won,” said Venkateswaran, describing the nerve-racking final moments of the online auction for a collage of 5,000 images by the artist known as Beeple. “We kept refreshing the page.”
The March 11 auction at Christie’s in London immediately made Beeple’s artwork one of the most expensive pieces ever sold by living artists, joining a well-known swimming pool painting by David Hockney and an iconic stainless steel rabbit sculpture by Jeff Koons.
Venkateswaran said he and his friend and business partner, Sundaresan, both in their 30s, are still coming to terms with their landmark purchase. They’ve also had to cope with outside concerns that the transaction could have been a convoluted scheme to inflate the value of the pair’s investment portfolio.
That’s because Venkateswaran and Sundaresan have invested heavily in a new form of digital collectible with the unwieldy name of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. Based on cryptocurrency technology known as the blockchain, these digital items function as exclusive certificates of authenticity, making it possible to turn easily copied digital files into unique collectibles — sometimes ones worth tens of millions of dollars.
The Beeple sale broke a record for the most expensive NFT ever sold and kick-started a global conversation about NFTs, their value and whether they are a lasting addition to the digital landscape. But the eye-popping sum involved drew global headlines and some suspicions that it could have been engineered for the publicity that drew more attention to NFTs, which could boost the value of the pair’s existing holdings.
The involvement of Christie’s, a centuries-old auction house, should be sufficient to reassure skeptics, Venkateswaran said in a call from his home in southern India. “I think the bigger problem here is that people thought this would be impossible.”
That’s certainly the case with Beeple himself, who in real life is a digital artist named Mike Winkelmann. “This whole NFT thing was not something I saw coming, at all,” he said. During the auction, the artist was in his living room near Charleston, South Carolina, surrounded by family and a video crew, and said it felt like a “bomb went off in the room” as the bids quickly rose. Another bidder and cryptocurrency entrepreneur, Justin Sun, lost in the final seconds after the bids exceeded his previously set maximum.
The NFT market was already taking off, with transactions last year quadrupling to $250 million, according to a report by NonFungible.com, a website that tracks the market. The Beeple sale turbocharged that growth and helped transofrm NFTs from niche tokens mainly appealing to cryptocurrency nerds to a new type of digital asset that’s drawn mainstream attention from the art world, the music industry, sports and speculators.
Not to be outdone, auction house rival Sotheby’s plans its own NFT sale, collaborating with the pseudonymous digital artist Pak in a sale next month.
Winkelmann began seeing the possibilities of NFTs for digital artists back in October when he tested the waters with an initial “drop” of his work. “People can actually own my art and collect it and, you know, pay good money,” he said in an interview this week.
It was after another sale late last year that he reached out to one of the losing bidders, Sundaresan, who uses the pseudonym Metakovan.
The art world was not a common talking point for Sundaresan and Venkateswaran when they first met in 2013 while working at The Hindu, a daily newspaper in Chennai, India. Sundaresan was a 20-something technology consultant; Venkateswaran was a journalist.
Both had humble upbringings. Sundaresan couldn’t afford a laptop when he was learning to code, so he’d walk around with a flash drive and borrow his friends’ laptops, Venkateswaran said.
But by 2020, Sundaresan, now living in Singapore, had made himself rich on a series of cryptocurrency ventures and investments. With Sundaresan’s money and Venkateswaran’s analytical eye, they began exploring NFTs with a new fund called Metapurse.
Sundaresan, who declined to be interviewed this week, created the persona Metakovan as a reference to his affection for virtual worlds known as the “metaverse.” The name means “King of Meta” in the Tamil language. Venkateswaran, who lives in Chennai with his wife and two kids, calls himself Twobadour. In a blog post last week the pair revealed their true identities and sought to dispel some of the mystery about their motivations.
“The point was to show Indians and people of color that they too could be patrons, that crypto was an equalizing power between the West and the Rest, and that the global south was rising,” they wrote.
It was in December that the Metapurse pair made their first big Beeple investment, buying 20 of his works for $2.2 million and gifting the artist with 2% of their new fund of NFT tokens, called B20s, that were designed so allow large groups of people to share ownership of an art piece.
That was the precursor to March’s historic sale of Beeple’s “Everydays: the First 5000 Days,” a digital file combining works Beeple had created each day from May 2007 to the beginning of this year. Many of them are grotesque and cartoonish takes on what was happening in U.S. politics or pop culture. The works also follow Beeple’s rise from a little-known graphic designer to an internet personality with a big Instagram following and multimedia projects with pop stars like Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber.
“If you look at each picture at face value, obviously not all of them are going to stand the test of time,” Venkateswaran said. “Not all 5,000 are masterpieces. That was never the argument. Not everything that Beeple puts out is gold. We don’t worship at his feet. That’s not what we were about. This is more about the combined narrative of what he represents.”
The purchase has shocked art and finance worlds, but in some ways was fairly conventional, said New York art lawyer Leila Amineddoleh.
“A lot of the art market is saying, ‘I own something unique, it’s scarce, I own it, look at me.’ This is not that different,” she said. “The whole value of an NFT is being able to say this is an original. You’re buying the bragging rights to say, ‘I own the token.’ But really, anyone can access the art.”
Amineddoleh said the blockchain technology that underpins NFTs and other cryptocurrency markets also provides a transparent ledger to record art transactions. But for skeptics of the largely unregulated world of cryptocurrency, the sale has invited added scrutiny.
Christie’s declined to comment on the details of the sale’s financial structure except to say that the total amount was paid in a cryptocurrency known as Ether Define, marking Christie’s first time accepting cryptocurrency as payment.
“There is obviously a money trail and Christie’s had a set of exchanges that they were willing to work with, that they vetted and approved,” Venkateswaran said. “And those are the exchanges that were used to make the payment. So Christie’s has all the information.”
Cryptocurrency exchanges can be prone to manipulative behavior, according to research co-authored by Friedhelm Victor of the Technical University of Berlin. But that typically involves investors who buy and sell the same assets repeatedly to create a fake sense of busy trading activity.
Such back-and-forth trading hasn’t yet become common with NFTs, in part because they typically carry higher fees, Victor said. “Crazy speculation is not unusual,” he said of the Beeple sale. “This is a really smart strategy to get some more attention to this whole space.”
That has most definitely happened. But Venkateswaran said the attention doesn’t mean he and Sundaresan are making a big profit off the tokens. “The math doesn’t add up,” he said.
By MATT O’BRIEN and KELVIN CHAN
Looking at societies nowadays, you will see that almost everything we do on a daily basis, be it for personal, educational, or even career purposes, is heavily intertwined with technology. This innovative approach to dealing with almost all life aspects can be simply achieved from the tranquility of any intelligent device at our disposal. The extensive reliance on these devices has put us in awe of the endless possibilities technology can deliver to humanity. Technological innovations are no longer confined to entertainment limitations, such as social media, communication, or even transportation. The extensive incorporation of technology is re-shaping how societies and communities function, shifting the dynamic to make technology a way of living instead of a means of entertainment. A tech career is now considered one of the best career paths as the world, as a whole, takes a technological shift with the global embrace of digital transformation. So, is technology a good career path?
Is Tech Worth Getting Into?
The tech industry has been on exponential growth, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is expected to maintain its rise in the years to come. Almost every company is embracing the digital transformation wave, increasing economies’ reliance on the tech industry. And with this widespread reliance comes a more considerable responsibility for the tech industry to meet expectations. This means providing the proper support for the driving force behind technology adoption and advancement by increasing the demand for specific tech-related jobs and supporting individuals seeking such career endeavors.
Since its emergence, technology has maintained a fast development, and with the hasty adoption of digital means, it will maintain its growth. Nowadays, various technologies are considered the pillars that will help shape countries’ economic growth. From cloud computing, AI and machine learning to blockchain and much more, technology has become a key pillar in almost all sectors, such as finance, engineering, manufacturing, health, and others.
From there, it is only rational to conclude that technology will drive the need for a more expanded tech career path. In 2018, it was recorded that the need for an AI-based workforce doubled since 2015, with the openings increasing by an estimate of 119 percent.
The need to further encourage innovations and critical thinkers will drive economic sectors’ growth and, in return, answer to the 21st Century’s accumulating financial problems. And for that to come to fruition, pursuing a career path in some of the leading global technologies such as data science, AI, and even software development will be vital in reconceptualizing the tech industry.
Why is Tech a Good Career Path?
There are many reasons to consider when asking the question, is technology a good career path? First and foremost, when pursuing the option of a tech-focused career path, one must understand why entering the tech industry could hold a wide range of benefits to the pursuer.
Even though the pandemic played a fundamental role in extending the need for the tech industry, this need will indefinitely linger on. Even though the volume of tech positions plummeted during the pandemic, some of the world’s most influential and prominent economies shifted their hiring strategies toward tech graduates. This hiring drive is expected to linger till 2030 to accommodate the global shift towards adopting more innovative approaches such as cloud storage, as well in support of implementing sustainable strategies worldwide.
The shift following the pandemic, accredited to the heightened fixation on accelerating digital transformation, will further increase the demand for specific technology jobs, intensifying the demand for such positions. This means in the future, almost any traditional profession will be replaced with the digital or tech-associated one to meet the digital needs of the market.
This will lead to a wide variety of career opportunities in numerous industries, such as a programmer in health, education, transportation, communication, financial services, and even retail.
What are the Benefits of Having a Career in Technology?
As the tech industry is rapidly evolving and manifesting into a colossus of opportunities, its deliverance of progressive career prospects holds notable personal significance for individuals seeking to enter the field. Companies are transforming their frameworks to keep up with the technological aspect of the future of work. And to those planning to join the tech market soon, the industry holds diversified opportunities as long as they are willing to accommodate the industry’s instantaneous change to obtain its big rewards while competing with new and rising talents.
Choosing the right career path in the tech industry is pivotal as it will adequately direct the person to their future with a high-paying salary. There is money to be made when working in the tech industry, given that the industry itself generates a hefty capital to invest in its innovations and projects.
For most tech jobs, experience is associated with money. The more a person attains knowledge and expertise in their tech career, the higher the salary will be. Some of these careers focus on machine learning, AI, and developing data models.
Another beneficial factor lies in understanding the importance of the job you are seeking within the industry. It is no surprise that technology is one of the pillars shaping the modernization of the world’s revolutionizing advancement. For instance, careers focusing on AI are in high demand, as the sector is expansively growing year-over-year, primarily since machine learning provides deep profundity for other sectors to leverage its endless possibilities, such as energy, management, retail, marketing, software development, and more.
Closing Thoughts
A career in technology is worth the effort and time invested in it. But, unless the pursuer of such a path is genuinely interested and intrigued by its possibilities and ready to face its challenges, this may not be the right path to pursue. A career in technology is based on a passion for technology and innovations. It can be endorsed with the willingness to learn new technologies and develop the right mentality to find the right solutions for complicated problems that have not existed. While there are many pros and cons to working in the tech industry, saying “is technology a good career path?” might come off as relatively vague and generalized. The main question should be, what career path within the tech industry do I want to seek, and is that direction suitable for my career needs.
Inside Telecom provides you with an extensive list of content covering all aspects of the Tech industry. Keep an eye on our Community section to stay informed and updated with our daily articles.
Over the past few years, India immensely benefited from Western technologies in various aspects. For a country with a relatively fractured economy, technology swooped in to simplify and accelerate mass production for an extensively increased population, allowing them to improve their production of raw materials, typically traded in global economies. Adopting western technology in India is becoming a significant factor driving the country’s economy and achieving its economic growth goals. In this piece, So, how did India benefit from western technology?
Science and Technology in India
The history of science and technology in India emerged when the country was under the influence of the British regime that lasted almost 150 years. Science and technology in India flourished the country as it accounts for some of the most prominent scientists and mathematicians, which in return, with time, delivered the famous Indian numeral system creating today’s mathematics, and modern accounting, and made computer technology a plausible future.
Yet, India flourishing in terms of its scientific and technological development was heavily influenced by British colonialism, as the colonial experience was solemnly based on imposing a certain level of control on Indian territory and resources. British colonialism did not leave room for Indian knowledge and expertise to flourish, limiting accessibility to proper education and scientific opportunities that would’ve contributed to the country’s independent economic growth.
India’s experiment with socialism and colonialism that lasted almost four decades brought on local innovation based on domestic innovations. This halted India’s economic growth until the 1900s. During that time, companies were nothing but modest small enterprises taking over small projects with primary technologies that lacked a supportive capital efficiency.
Throughout that period emerged the era of pre-liberalized India, where foreign technologies were not accessible, mainly driven by the lack of the needed resources to support economic growth. This led to what is today known as India’s path of ”techno-nationalism” where the country finally reached a level of self-reliance in terms of developing its own technologies for both public and governmental sectors, such as nuclear, defense, energy, and much more.
What Technological Advancements did the British Bring to India?
British colonialism heavily affected India’s technological adoption in terms of textile technologies. The country’s vague influence by the imposed colonialism can be attributed to India’s organizational and institutional environments where most of the development was mainly associated with the mercantile families with almost no knowledge or expertise-based in managing modern tech. The lack of interest in technological development derived from the fact that such families focused on financial dealings; therefore, the British were in charge of the country’s technological development.
At the time, critical technologies such as the railways, electric telegraph, and steamer were some of India’s most significant alterations, creating the pillars for the country’s growth in the 21st Century. These big technologies attracted the attention of some of the most renowned scholars, which positively affected the fundamental fabric of societies, revolutionizing today’s day-to-day lives.
Such technologies enticed further awareness from important figures that could contribute to the country’s economic growth than those relatively smaller technologies. While weaving looms, spinning wheels, rice hullers, bicycles, steel pens, and even typewriters did endorse India’s modernization, it did so slowly, unlike the overspread of significant technologies.
India’s Western Culture
As a secular country, where people have the utmost freedom to practice whatever ancient religion they choose, the country’s extended its embrace of the westernized culture established by British colonialism. As one of the richest cultures in the world, the country’s history dating back to several thousands of years, was abruptly changed throughout time due to the conquest of European power intertwined with the British rule of Indian territories.
The westernization of the Indian societal culture created westernized subcultural patterns in a minority of Indian territories which later on branched out to emerge as a newly synthesized western Indian culture.
The westernization of India brought forth the establishment of new economic, political, and cultural branches in the country’s societal ecosystem. And with the country’s open mindset and attitude toward scientific discoveries and emerging technologies, scientific and technological means were no longer a symbol of British colonialism but rather a means to consolidate their ruling.
How did India Benefit from Western Technology?
The establishment of British technologies in Indian territories introduced a new world to an ancient culture through an imperialistic establishment in the country. The introduction of big western technologies during that period birthed a remarkable development in the country’s infrastructure, creating diversified job opportunities branching into various sectors.
India’s adoption of western technologies played a fundamental role in hastening the country’s independence from the imposed ruling. Numerous technologies associated with industries, factories, mines, and ammunition centers rose, supporting the country’s future freedom while creating a suitable base for a robust relationship with the western world, notably Europe and the U.S.
Such relationships account for India’s current arms and ammunition power, in addition to its technological and internet growth, resulting in some of the most prominent companies in the world setting operations in the country, such as Big Tech giants Google and Amazon.
Summary
The answer as to how did India benefit from western technologies lies in the the introduction of a capital-intensive and labor-saving technology in a country that holds significant symbolism concerning the direction of its economic growth. India’s beneficiating of the western technologies brought forth endless opportunities for a once colonized country and faced persistent challenges when seeking its independence. Technology plays a remarkable role in directing India on that path. Now, India is considered the new Silicon Valley as it has established a robust technology-based economy.
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Urbanization has been taking over worldwide for the past few decades, with people moving to cities planning to be sustainable cities of the future.
The UN-Habitat estimates that since 2009, over three million people have moved into cities every week. Urban areas have been attractive destinations for migrants hoping to find a higher standard of living and better jobs.
The UN has dedicated a sustainable development goal (SDG) to slow down human-induced climate change. While migrants contribute significantly to the economies of cities, increasing populations introduce problems of distribution of resources, congestion, and increased pressure on waste management healthcare, infrastructure, and education.
It is estimated that by 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities, making the concept of sustainable cities an efficient resolution to the growing population.
Sustainable Cities with a Cleaner Future
Sustainable cities with a cleaner future have a role in the urbanization movement to enhance residents’ lives by focusing on futuristic and environmental initiatives. The aim is to have eco-friendly cities focusing on restricting CO2 gas emissions in the air, employing renewable energy sources, or conveying awareness of ecological issues.
Considering that outdoor pollution kills around three million lives yearly, mostly in cities, it is evident that urbanization can increase the environmental effect on towns. Many cities worldwide have redesigned their city planning strategies and started with initiatives to target these issues directly.
Arcadis, a leading global design and consultancy firm for natural and built assets, created a list of 100 sustainable cities worldwide that have contributed to projects and initiatives to resolve urbanization’s effects on the environment.
According to Arcadis’s Index, examples of innovative, sustainable cities of the future and one of the sustainable cities in the world are:
Zurich
Taking first place with a total score of 87.9 percent. Zurich started many projects that ranked its first place, such as their long-term goal to become a 2000-watt society by 2050.
Another project was the Green City Zurich project, which seeks to maintain and improve all green spaces. These challenging goals are achievable when the government gives investment funds, focuses on renewable sources and energy efficiency, and increases the public’s awareness of sustainability.
Sydney
Also, one of the most sustainable cities that had considerable impact on battling climate change for their residents is Sydney. Coming out in the top 10, Sydney started the Sustainable Sydney 2030 initiative to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 70 percent.
This plan will help the residents because breathing air quality will improve and restore dying ecosystems. In addition, Sydney pictures a Smart City for the future to enhance public transportation, bring its citizens together and make the city more sustainable.
Copenhagen and Rome
On another note, the most eco-friendly city in the world is Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen which has been voted the most eco-friendly city many times because of its dedication to creating green ways of living and sustainability. Biking is the most fashionable means of transportation in this town, and it strives to have half of its people cycling to work or school this year.
Politicians, city planners, and other organizations developed initiatives and sustainability projects for cities; however, many ideas have been embedded in the public. For example, ranking seven in Arcadis, Rome began the Participate 3- Year Project that allows citizens to contribute to potential solutions for urban problems. Sustainable and innovative solutions like this will enable the public to engage in the transformation of their cities and develop practical answers.
Sustainable cities and communities are a great way to combat urbanization issues; Smart Cities improve the quality of life through better communication technologies and efficiency of urban operations while enveloping sustainable cities’ core values.
Smart Cities and Related IoT Projects
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) which is vigorously contributing to transforming Dubai into the most innovative city globally. DEWA developed a broad strategy to implement smart electricity and water infrastructure to support this objective; it is called a “Smart Grid.”
It will deliver state-of-the-art components and includes automated decision-making and interoperability across the entire water and electricity network. DEWA’s Smart Grid Programme, with investments totaling $1.9 billion, supports the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the most innovative and happiest city in the world.
The program is a critical element of DEWA’s strategy to develop an advanced infrastructure. It sustains the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Emissions Strategy 2050 to deliver 100 percent of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.
Summary
The concept of sustainable cities is pivotal to having more people live in those cities that will be less polluted than before. This process will guarantee the “sustainable” move of the people to cities without reconsidering moving out the fact that they will feel comfortable staying there. For example, renewable energy industries continue to reach unprecedented growth worldwide. For that reason, not only cities are becoming ecofriendly but different communities and industries around the world, taking the world to another aspect.
Inside Telecom provides you with an extensive list of content covering all aspects of the Tech industry. Keep an eye on our Technology news section to stay informed and updated with our daily articles.
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Ian Terblanche, Global Strategic Sales & Channel Director at Sigfox
