Digital
Infectious Advertising launches its content arm – Epidemik Content
Mumbai: Infectious Advertising has launched its content arm – Epidemik Content – with veteran industry producer Shabbir Motiwala at the helm.
Epidemik Content is committed to delivering top-notch content with best-in-class production that’s value for money. It will embrace AI and new-age storytelling while collaborating with the best new talent to push the envelope and redefine industry standards.
Epidemik Content head Shabbir Motiwala said: ‘My challenge is to make Epidemik Content the ‘talk of the town’ with best-in-class production and innovative storytelling. The red speech blurb in the logo will be a constant reminder to me and Team Epidemik of that objective. Of course, I am thrilled and honoured to be entrusted with this responsibility.’
Infectious Advertising co-founders Nisha Singhania and Ramanuj Shastry added, ‘With Epidemik Content, we now have skin in the content game. Our mission is ‘Virality’ – to create content that is both memorable and shareable. Epidemik Content will create bespoke solutions for the ever-evolving content needs of brands in the digital age.’
Shabbir joined Infectious Advertising last year. Prior to this, he was an independent producer and won the Cannes Lions Grand Prix in 2022 for the Killer Pack campaign. He started his career in advertising as an assistant director at UTV in 1993. Later he was appointed as an agency producer at Ambience Advertising; he then became a director and made more than 50 commercials. Subsequently, Shabbir was appointed the head of production at BBH India, working with talented creatives from across the globe, including the great Sir John Hegarty to eventually settling into the role of an executive producer.
Digital
OpenAI’s Stargate lead Peter Hoeschele exits with two senior leaders
Trio behind compute push set to join new startup amid leadership reshuffle
SAN FRANCISCO: Peter Hoeschele, a key figure behind OpenAI’s early Stargate data centre initiative, has exited the company, according to a report by The Information.
The departure is part of a broader leadership shift, with two other senior executives, Shamez Hemani and Anuj Saharan, also set to leave in the coming days. All three are expected to join the same new startup, although details about the venture remain under wraps.
The trio played a central role in OpenAI’s Stargate effort, an initiative aimed at building large-scale data centre capacity in-house to reduce reliance on external infrastructure providers. Their exits mark a notable moment for the company’s compute strategy as it continues to scale rapidly.
OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement to The Information, “We’re grateful for the contributions Peter, Shamez, and Anuj have made to OpenAI and wish them the very best in what comes next.” The company also pointed to the recent appointment of Sachin Katti to lead its industrial compute organisation, signalling continuity in its infrastructure roadmap.
OpenAI has indicated that it does not plan to directly replace Hoeschele’s role, suggesting a possible restructuring of responsibilities within the team.
As competition intensifies in the race to build next-generation AI systems, leadership changes in core infrastructure teams are likely to draw close attention. For now, the spotlight shifts to what this departing trio builds next, and how OpenAI adapts as it scales its ambitions.
