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ITW Playworx bags the most innovative act of the year at EMMA Spotlight Awards 2018
MUMBAI: ITW Playworx, the Entertainment, Media and Communication arm of ITW Consulting Pvt. Ltd. won the “Most Innovative Act of The Year” award at the 2018 edition of EMMA Spotlight Awards that was held at Jaighar Fort, Jaipur recently. The team was honored with the gold award in the most innovative act of the year for the longest ever Alpona (Rangoli) at the Samaj Sevi Puja Pandal of South Kolkata.
The award was given for executing the longest ever Alpona (Rangoli) at the Lake Road of South Kolkata during Durga Puja 2017. The jaw dropping Alpona, spanning a staggering 1.23 km approximately in length is arguably one of the longest ever street rangoli to have been executed. The events team of ITW Playworx, Kolkata in association with Pantaloons, came up with this idea of celebrations in the most unique manner possible. The mega rangoli saw participation from more than 322 students from Indian Art College and Government Art College of Kolkata, along with a batch of special children who all worked meticulously and tirelessly on this project.
EEMA Spotlight Awards 2018 was given to the top honors in 32 categories. The jury comprises the pioneers from the events and experiential industry. The awards have been designed to applaud and honor all the backstage partners, associates, and personnel who carry out tasks behind the scenes to bring the best out on stage. For 2 years now, the Spotlight Awards by the Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) has become an integral part of the annual EEMAgine Convention.
MAM
Three senior OpenAI infrastructure executives join Meta
Key members of Stargate project move to rival amid aggressive AI spending race.
MUMBAI: Three key architects of OpenAI’s ambitious data centre plans have switched sides and joined Meta Platforms, according to people familiar with the matter. Peter Hoeschele, who played a central role in OpenAI’s high-profile Stargate initiative, is among the new hires. He is joined by Shamez Hemani, who focused on computing strategy and business development, and Anuj Saharan, another leader in the computing organisation. The Information first reported their departure from OpenAI on Thursday.
The moves come as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to spend aggressively on AI infrastructure. The company is projecting capital expenditure of up to $135 billion this year alone, with hundreds of billions more expected before the end of the decade to support its Meta Superintelligence Labs and new models such as Muse Spark.
OpenAI, which is pushing ahead with massive data centre expansion, had described its early lead in securing computing power as a competitive advantage. Stargate, originally announced last year as a $500 billion venture involving OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, has since become an umbrella term for the company’s broader data centre ambitions. However, the project has seen recent adjustments, including a pause on its UK plans and the decision not to expand the Abilene, Texas site.
A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment, while Hoeschele, Hemani, and Saharan also declined to comment. OpenAI said it was grateful for the contributions of the three employees and remains focused on hiring talent for its infrastructure plans. The company recently brought in former Intel executive Sachin Katti to lead its industrial compute efforts.
In the high-stakes race to build the future of artificial intelligence, talent is proving to be as valuable as computing power itself. Meta’s latest hires suggest the competition for top infrastructure minds is intensifying, even as OpenAI continues to scale its own ambitious projects. The move highlights how quickly the AI talent war is heating up across Silicon Valley.
