Digital
Raj Nayak bets big on bold ideas with ‘House of IPs’ launch in tie-up with Yaap
MUMBAI: Raj Nayak, the maverick media man behind House of Cheer and ex-COO of Viacom18, is back in the game with a fresh innings, ‘House of IPs’, a first-of-its-kind venture studio focused on creating and scaling blockbuster properties in entertainment, sports, digital, and beyond.
Launched in strategic partnership with Yaap Digital, the new-age content and influencer marketing firm, House of IPs is being positioned as a creative powerhouse for India’s experience economy building original, ownable formats from scratch while also turbocharging existing ones.
Think of it as a factory for future cult brands: be it music festivals, sporting formats, branded content, or digital-first properties, the studio promises to take bold ideas from pitch decks to packed stadiums and everything in between.
“At a time when content is fragmented, attention spans are shrinking, and brands are seeking more immersive and ownable experiences, the need for strong, scalable IPs is more urgent than ever,” said Nayak. “This venture is about building cultural properties that connect deeply with audiences while delivering real value to brands and platforms.”
The tie-up brings together Nayak’s deep industry muscle and storytelling savvy with Yaap’s fluency in the digital matrix and monetisation models. The joint effort will cover content development, strategic brand advisory, commercialisation, and full-stack IP management.
Atul Hegde, Founder of Yaap, added, “At Yaap, we’ve always believed in the power of IPs to build lasting brand equity. Partnering with Raj to launch House of IP is a natural extension of our vision. With his creative leadership and our digital-first DNA, we’re excited to co-create iconic, scalable properties that will redefine how brands engage with culture and communities.”
With offices in the works across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Dubai, House of IPs is betting that in a world hooked to moments and memories, the real power lies in owning the story.
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Digital
Ethical AI must benefit society, not dominate it, says WFEB chief Sanjay Pradhan at IAA event
At Mumbai event, ethics expert urges businesses and governments to shape AI responsibly
MUMBAI: Artificial intelligence may be racing ahead at lightning speed, but its direction must still be guided by human conscience. That was the central message delivered by Sanjay Pradhan, president of the World Forum for Ethics in Business (WFEB), during the latest edition of IAA Conversations held in Mumbai.
The session was organised by the International Advertising Association (IAA) and the Artificial Intelligence Association of India (AIAI) in association with The Free Press Journal at the Free Press House on 7 March. Addressing a packed audience, Pradhan called for stronger ethical leadership to ensure AI remains a tool that benefits humanity rather than one that governs it.
“Artificial intelligence has rapidly become one of the most powerful technologies humanity has created,” Pradhan said. “It is unlocking breakthroughs in medicine, science and creativity at a pace unimaginable just a few years ago.”
But he warned that the same technology carries serious risks. AI, he noted, can amplify disinformation faster than facts can travel, compromise privacy, deepen discrimination and disrupt millions of livelihoods. Referencing concerns raised by AI pioneers such as Geoffrey Hinton, often called the godfather of AI, Pradhan stressed that the real challenge is not whether AI will shape the world, but whether humans will shape it with ethics and wisdom.
Structuring his talk around four guiding questions, why, what, how and who, Pradhan introduced the audience to WFEB’s emerging AI Ethics Partnership, a global platform aimed at advancing responsible artificial intelligence. He outlined four priority concerns that demand urgent attention: disinformation, bias and discrimination, data privacy and job security.
To make the idea of ethical AI easier to grasp, Pradhan offered a simple metaphor. Ethical AI, he said, is like a three layered cake. The outer layer represents the visible value ethical AI creates for businesses and society. The middle layer is organisational culture that moves ethics from written codes to everyday practice. The innermost layer, however, is the most crucial, the conscience of individual leaders.
Drawing from Indian philosophical thought through WFEB co-founder Ravi Shankar, Pradhan noted that while artificial intelligence can reproduce stored knowledge, true intelligence is boundless and rooted in conscience, creativity and compassion. Practices such as breathwork and meditation, he suggested, can help leaders develop the calm clarity needed for ethical decision making.
The event also featured a discussion with Maninder Adityaraj Singh, chief of staff and head of innovation at Rediffusion Brand Solutions Pvt Ltd, and Yash Johri, lawyer, Supreme Court of India.
Opening the session, IAA India chapter president Abhishek Karnani, highlighted the need for industries to understand and engage with AI responsibly.
“AI has to be befriended and understood,” added Rediffusion managing director and AIAI national convenor Sandeep Goyal. “Its ethical use will determine whether it becomes a friend or a foe.”
As AI continues to reshape industries and societies, Pradhan ended with a simple but powerful call to action. Businesses, governments and individuals must work together to ensure that the algorithms shaping the future reflect human values rather than just cold logic.
