MAM
Restolex appoints Suresh Babu as CEO
Mumbai: Restolex, a sleep solutions company, has announced the appointment of Suresh Babu as chief executive officer. Bringing over 34 years of experience in the consumer goods and mattress industry, Suresh Babu is poised to leverage his extensive industry expertise and leadership to propel Restolex to new heights.
Prior to joining Restolex, Suresh Babu has amassed over 12 years of experience at Peps Industries, known for its spring mattress. As the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, his leadership played a pivotal role in the brand’s growth and positioning in India. Prior to this, he also had an impressive stint at Kurlon Enterprise Limited.
Restolex CEO Suresh Babu said, “I am happy and excited to join Restolex as Chief Executive Officer. A good night’s sleep is critical to empower individuals to achieve their fullest potential, and I have been fortunate enough to have gained extensive knowledge of sleep solutions over the past few decades. In this new role, our aim will be to help India sleep better through scientifically tested sleep solutions. Restolex boasts a rich legacy of creating high-quality mattresses and sleep products, and I look forward to being a part of the brand’s growth journey.”
Speaking on the appointment, Restolex director Daveed Kuruvilla said, “We are delighted to welcome Suresh Babu to the Restolex family. Restolex has been in the industry for the last 40 years, and we plan to aggressively scale our presence across India in the next few years. We are confident that his leadership will help usher the brand to new heights.”
In his new role, Suresh Babu aims to spearhead the brand’s pan-India expansion and boost its positioning as the mattress of choice for India’s discerning consumers. Leveraging the brand’s 40+ years of expertise in the mattress industry, Suresh plans to further expand the brand’s omnichannel retail footprint.
Digital
OpenAI drops Sora AI video tool, ends planned $1 billion Disney deal
Pivot to coding and AGI leaves media giant rethinking AI tie-up plans
CALIFORNIA: In a move that has sent ripples through both Hollywood and Silicon Valley, OpenAI has pulled the plug on its much-hyped AI video tool Sora, abruptly ending what was shaping up to be a landmark partnership with The Walt Disney Company.
According to media reports, the decision came with little warning. Teams from both sides had been working on a Sora-linked project when the shutdown was communicated, catching even those close to the collaboration off guard.
The fallout is significant. The move effectively scraps a proposed $1 billion, three-year agreement that would have seen Disney invest in OpenAI while opening up access to its vast library of characters for AI-generated short-form video content. The deal, however, had not been finalised and no funds had changed hands.
Sora, unveiled in early 2024, had dazzled the industry with its ability to generate cinematic-quality video from simple text prompts, triggering a wave of competing launches from AI players across the United States and China. Its sudden exit marks a sharp turn in OpenAI’s strategy.
The company is now redirecting its focus towards more commercially scalable areas such as coding tools, enterprise solutions and the long-term pursuit of artificial general intelligence. Internally, resources required to run the video model are understood to have weighed on other priorities, accelerating the decision.
Leadership roles are also evolving to match the shift. Sam Altman continues to steer the broader vision, while Fidji Simo’s remit has been realigned towards deploying AGI capabilities as part of a wider push to consolidate offerings into a unified platform.
For Disney, the setback is more strategic than financial. The company is said to be evaluating alternative ways to collaborate with OpenAI, even as it recalibrates its approach to generative AI in storytelling.
For the wider industry, the episode is a reminder that in the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence, even the most dazzling innovations can have a surprisingly short shelf life.
