Sam Altman admitted that OpenAI swooping in for a deal with the Pentagon after the Anthropic controversy was “opportunistic”. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.Also in the letter:■ Aman Gupta’s new venture■ Trai pulls up telcos on AI spam■ AI, the new maid of honourProgramming Note: There won’t be an edition of ETtech Top 5 tomorrow as we take the day off for Holi. Happy Holi to all our readers!OpenAI looked ‘opportunistic and sloppy’ in rushed deal with Pentagon, CEO Sam Altman admits 128973418Sam Altman acknowledged that OpenAI may have appeared “opportunistic and sloppy” after announcing a Pentagon contract shortly after rival Anthropic refused broader military use of its AI systems.What’s happening? Within hours of Anthropic declining to remove safeguards on Claude, OpenAI disclosed its own agreement to supply AI models for classified settings. The timing drew scrutiny.Altman said the move was intended to “de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome.” He also reiterated his criticism of the Pentagon’s move to label Anthropic a “supply chain risk”.Customer sentiment was telling. Data showed that ChatGPT mobile app uninstallation in the US surged 295% day over day on Saturday following news of the Pentagon deal.Deal amendment: Per Altman, OpenAI will revise the contract to explicitly bar use of its models for domestic surveillance. OpenAI’s tools will not be made available to agencies such as the National Security Agency.Any expanded use of intelligence would require a new contract.Some critics argued the initial terms gave military officials excessive latitude without adequate oversight.Meanwhile...: Bloomberg reported that Anthropic entered a $100 million Pentagon competition to develop voice-controlled drone-swarm technology.Claude would translate a commander’s instructions into digital commandsIt would manage drone fleets, but not make autonomous targeting decisions.Human supervision would remain mandatory, alongside joint safety research with the Pentagon.Also Read: Can Anthropic survive taking on Trump's Pentagon?A91 Partners, Xponentia, 360 One set for quick multiples from Sedemac Mechatronics IPO 128973673Automotive electronics maker Sedemac Mechatronics will launch its Rs 1,087-crore IPO on Wednesday, setting up strong markups for investors who came in less than two years ago.Late-stage gains: A91 Partners, which invested nearly Rs 300 crore in 2024, is poised for about 3.7X returns at the top end of the price band.It will sell shares worth Rs 326 crore in the offer-for-sale, while retaining stock valued at roughly Rs 760 crore.Xponentia and 360 One Asset Management are also sitting on 3.5–3.8X gains.Deal backdrop: The three funds had led a $100-million round in May 2024, buying out early backers including Nexus Venture Partners and TR Capital.Anchor interest: Ahead of the issue, Sedemac raised Rs 326 crore from anchor investors, including ADIA and leading domestic mutual funds.Aman Gupta, founder of consumer electronics brand Boat, to launch new venture 128973789Boat founder Aman Gupta is set to launch a new venture, Offbeat Studios, months after moving into a non-executive director role at the consumer electronics brand.Driving the news: Gupta stepped back from day-to-day responsibilities at Boat last September. His next move places him among a growing group of founders who have exited operational roles and started fresh ventures.“With every birthday, some grow older, I grow bolder. I am still hungry, still impatient and still driven. Aman 2.0 begins soon. Introducing my new venture,” he said in a post on X, without sharing further details. Rocking the boat: Boat has seen leadership churn ahead of a planned public listing. Its IPO roadmap came under scrutiny after its statutory auditors flagged discrepancies between quarterly statements it filed with lenders and the company’s books.Gupta rose to wider recognition through his appearances on Shark Tank India, becoming one of the show’s most visible investors.Oxyzo enters fund management, launches performing credit fund 128975624Oxyzo chief executive Ruchi KalraOxyzo Financial Services is diversifying into fund management with the launch of a performing credit alternative investment fund.Details: The lending arm of the SoftBank-backed business-to-business (B2B) commerce startup, OfBusiness, is looking to expand beyond its core lending business.The Oxyzo Credit Fund I (OCF-I), managed by its wholly owned subsidiary Oxyzo Investment Manager (OIM), will focus on secured investments in mid-sized, investment-grade companies seeking growth capital.AI-based spam data must be shared in hours, Trai to telcos 128973938The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has directed telecom operators to share data from their AI-based anti-spam systems on a common blockchain platform within hours of detection. Operators must also act against spammers, even without a formal complaint. More details: The receiving operator must use AI or machine learning tools to identify suspicious numbers.Such numbers must be tagged as “suspected spam” calling line identification (CLI).The flagged number must be shared with the originating operator via distributed ledger technology (DLT) or blockchain platform within two hours. Tell me more: If five or more numbers linked to the same sender are marked as suspected spam within 10 days, operators are required to initiate action against that sender.The directions were issued on February 27. Telecom companies have 30 days to comply with the new rules.Also Read: Budget smartphones under Rs 10,000 may disappear amid rising memory costsM(AI)d of honour: AI joins the entourage of the Big Fat Indian Wedding 128974009The sprawling, big, fat Indian wedding has a new maid of honour, one that doesn’t need to attend fittings for its outfits or prepare choreographies for the Sangeet. AI has now joined the wedding entourage of planners, decorators, photographers and cousins. 128975498Joining the party: For wedding video makers, AI helps sort footage, correct colour, clean up graphics and titles, and even produce music.AI also simplifies photography workflows. Harsh Mehta, cofounder at The Photo Lab, said AI now handles much of the initial image selection, allowing his team to edit up to 1,000 pictures a day.Couples are using Google Gemini to visualise themes for the ceremony or even design their wedding invite.Protecting emotion: Weddings are an emotional affair, after all, and not everything can be automated. Tina Tharwani, co-founder at Shaadi Squad, which has planned celebrity weddings including Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma and Farhan Akhtar-Shibani Dandekar, said, “When used thoughtfully, it protects the personal touch.”