A lot of the noise around Elon Musk's leadership of Twitter after his $44 billion purchase has centred on the drastic staff cuts that took place.
But while many thousands are said to have headed out of the Twitter door, there has been a lot less discussion on who Mr Musk has brought in to hold the company together during this period of upheaval.
What we do know is that Sriram Krishnan is involved, but who is he, and what is he doing at Twitter?
Working with Elon Musk …
It came to light that Mr Krishnan was involved with the “new Twitter” on October 31, when he tweeted confirmation and also praised Mr Musk.
“Now that the word is out: I’m helping out @elonmusk with Twitter temporarily with some other great people. I (and a16z) believe this is a hugely important company and can have great impact on the world and Elon is the person to make it happen,” he said.
He said he was still “very much in my day job at @a16zcrypto. If you’re a crypto founder, you know how to find me!”
Current day job and previous spell at Twitter
The day job is working for Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which is also known as a16z, and backs entrepreneurs building the future through technology.
His profile on the Andreessen Horowitz website says he is a general partner at the company and invests in early stage consumer start-ups.
“I previously had leadership roles running product and engineering at Twitter, Meta and Snap,” Mr Krishnan's LinkedIn profile says.
He said he drove Twitter user growth to more than 20 per cent, year on year, in two years and launched several products, including a redesigned events experience.
Andreessen Horowitz provides some more detail on his time at Twitter, where he was said to be responsible for products including the home timeline, new user experience, search, discovery and audience growth.
“Before this, Sriram created and oversaw various mobile ad products for both Snap and Facebook, including Snap’s Direct Response ads business and the Facebook Audience Network, one of the largest networks in display advertising,” it says.
When he became the newest general partner to Andreessen Horowitz in February 2021, co-founder Marc Andreessen gave him a glowing write-up on the company website.
“I have now known Sriram for years, as have much of the firm,” he writes.
“In that time, I have grown to respect his optimism and ability to look for the good in people — which is critical in a job like ours, where most companies fail; teams may pivot many times on their journey to product-market fit; and where it is hard to be focused on what can go right vs what can go wrong.”
Mr Andreessen said Mr Krishnan, who graduated with a Bachelor of Technology from the SRM Engineering College at Anna University in Chennai in 2005, is “perhaps the only person in the world to have served in senior product positions in the three biggest social platforms of our time” — Facebook, Snap and Twitter.
How does he know Mr Musk?
So, Mr Krishnan and his wife, Aarthi Ramamurthy, were doing a Clubhouse talk show and Mr Musk appeared on it in February 2021. During that interview, Mr Krishnan mentioned that Mr Musk had earlier taken them on a tour of SpaceX.
“A few years ago, I got to know Elon through Twitter — I helped him out with something Twitter-related and we went down to SpaceX and we got to know him a little bit through that,” he said in an interview with Marina Mogilko on her Silicon Valley Girl YouTube channel.
“He is one of the most iconic founders of our generation and we got to build a bit of a relationship.”
He said he didn't think Mr Musk would be interested in doing the Clubhouse talk show but having sent him a text message, Mr Musk replied that he “was busy but let's try tomorrow”.
“He actually tweeted that he was going on Clubhouse before he replied to me.”
He said that it was like “having an out of body experience as I could watch the conversation happen on Twitter and there were all of these streams on YouTube.
“He was amazing, funny and very generous with his time.”
Aarthi and Sriram's Good Time Show continues to be popular on YouTube.
“We [Aarthi Ramamurthy and Sriram Krishnan] believe the stories of people building and creating things need to be told,” it says in its description.
“We host conversations with CEOs, athletes, musicians and more sharing what it means to make it to the 'inside'.”
Has he said anything else about Twitter since Mr Musk bought it?
He has spoken out on the controversial verification changes unveiled by Twitter during the past week.
Mr Musk is introducing the Twitter Blue subscription plan, which requires users to pay $8 a month for their verified check mark.
He touted the subscription plan as a way to contend with plummeting advertising revenue, as well as to weed out bots.
Meanwhile, Mr Krishnan labelled critiques of the $8 verification as “logically inconsistent”.
“1. using a CC/mobile checkout dramatically increases friction. And everyone caught impersonating will lose their money,” he tweeted.
“2. there are lots of people who should be verified (and often impersonated) and aren’t. And vice versa. The current path on any social network is opaque and easily gamed. $8 gives a consistent path for anyone, regardless of their level of notability (which is subjective).
“3. the current model also has severe spam issues (check out any reply to @VitalikButerin or @elonmusk and you will see lots of hacked blue check accounts). $8 and giving everyone makes those attacks less valuable.
“4. Finally, verification on social media was originally meant to solve for 'this person is who they say they are”. It was NOT meant to say 'we judge this person to be notable'. This brings it back to the original spirit of the design. No more DMing employees for a favour.”
He signed off from his Twitter thread by saying that as with any launch, he is sure there will be room for improvement.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Carzaty%2C%20now%20Kavak%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarzaty%20launched%20in%202018%2C%20Kavak%20in%20the%20GCC%20launched%20in%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20140%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Automotive%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarzaty%20raised%20%246m%20in%20equity%20and%20%244m%20in%20debt%3B%20Kavak%20plans%20%24130m%20investment%20in%20the%20GCC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
'Of Love & War'
Lynsey Addario, Penguin Press
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Copa del Rey
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Squad: Majed Naser, Abdulaziz Sanqour, Walid Abbas, Khamis Esmail, Habib Fardan, Mohammed Marzouq (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalid Essa, Muhanad Salem, Mohammed Ahmed, Ismail Ahmed, Ahmed Barman, Amer Abdulrahman, Omar Abdulrahman (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif, Fares Juma, Mohammed Fawzi, Khalfan Mubarak, Mohammed Jamal, Ahmed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Ahmed Rashid, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Wahda), Tariq Ahmed, Mahmoud Khamis, Khalifa Mubarak, Jassim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Yousef Saeed (Sharjah), Suhail Al Nubi (Baniyas)
THE POPE'S ITINERARY
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Company Profile
Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi
The Lost Letters of William Woolf
Helen Cullen, Graydon House
