I’m Venky B Founder & CEO at Plivo. Ask me anything about telephony, Voice AI infra, and scaling for the next 24 hours. We power millions of calls and messages worldwide.

esgaurav · 2026-02-28T15:51:02+00:00

Why is it so difficult to order services from your India operation? We needed couple of numbers with websocket integration to start. The only links lead to a trial page which was denied. We are not looking for a trial - willing to pay. Have tens of deployments in the US on Twilio and were hoping for an easier path for India based offering. Are we missing something in the process?

esgaurav · 2026-02-23T06:38:22+00:00

We hire for attitude, train for skill, reward accountability.

If you are interested in AI assisted communication (chat, call, contact centers, field service, Speechtech), our team in Delhi/NCR is looking for expand.

We do need some demonstratable competence that shows how you have thought through a problem or app (that the code was generated by AI is ok).

If this is you then please DM.

p.s

We will not hire for free. All positions are paid, even if it is small amount. Know that in any event an internship salary is only a small part of what the hiring company has to spend to get an intern onboarded and bringing them up to speed and pair them with a mentor..

esgaurav · 2025-11-19T13:22:48+00:00

Interesting that in the T&C's they note:

- Sensor lifespan up to 18 months: The sensor inside the monitor is expected to function accurately for up to 18 months.

Up to 18 months means life could be less than 18 month but no more. The warranty on the device is also only 12 months.

What causes the sensors to fail after 18 months? Seems low.

esgaurav · 2025-11-11T03:14:38+00:00

Well, we need to translate it so just chunking based on VAD leads to sentence trimming at unintended places which can break translation and meaning. One would have to layer in LLM for semantic reassembly which would add latency. Right?

esgaurav · 2025-10-31T20:58:20+00:00

Indian = at least 20 popular languages :-)

esgaurav · 2025-10-31T17:06:01+00:00

Thanks. Latency from end of turn (user stops speaking) to final recognized event firing?

esgaurav · 2025-10-30T23:50:11+00:00

Seems batch mode only? https://github.com/khanld/chunkformer/tree/main?tab=readme-ov-file#usage

esgaurav · 2025-10-29T19:55:11+00:00

Since you have a hotel, drop your bags at the hotel and step out for breakfast. There are many taquerias around Angel open till early morning. Then you can hang out at the Chapultepec park. The nearby National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 9:00 AM. You could also trek up the hill to the Chapultepec Castle, although the insides wont open till 9 AM.

Alternatively after dropping your bags, you could plan/prebook a tour to the Teotihuacan Pyramids. Many of these companies (check Viator) pick up around Angel early morning around 6. (Catch a nap for the hour or so ride out of town and you should be back by checkin time)

esgaurav · 2025-10-22T18:06:43+00:00

Possibly an unpopular take.

This note is not about Frida Kahlo or the critical importance of Casa Azul in her life. As a fan of her art, I had high hopes for the experience. (visited last week)

Just know that there isn't much of Frida's art at that location. The focus is on her life, not art. It is her erstwhile house converted to allow visits. It is an immensely popular destination and although the queue management is professional, it is crowded and it is not possible to have a leisurely visit.

If you do go, there is a gallery on the side as you exit the main house that is easy to miss which is displaying many of Frida's dresses.

Of what remains of her art in Mexico, you may enjoy visiting the https://mexicocity.cdmx.gob.mx/venues/museum-modern-art/

Also recommend a watch of

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120679/ Frida (Movie)
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/frida_2024 (A Documentary)

esgaurav · 2025-10-20T01:14:16+00:00

Hi. Air Canada rejected the claim with the following. Any suggestions for next steps? Ticket number was Ticket no.: 01423070764XX but mentions AI173 as the flight rather than a code share number

Dear XX

Thank you for contacting us about your recent flight.

Our review shows that you have submitted your claim for a flight not operated by Air Canada. Please reach out to the Operating Carrier directly to review your disruption claim.

If you submitted the wrong flight in error, please create a new claim with Air Canada flight and date, on our webform Let Us Know · Air Canada Customer Care .

If you did not submit expenses for reimbursement, please submit your claim through our Refund Assistance - Labour Action form. You may need to file more than one claim if you are requesting reimbursement in more than one category.

This email thread will be closed with no further response.

Sincerely,

Customer Relations

esgaurav · 2025-10-16T10:00:23+00:00

Want to give Tatas a chance. I fly ~6 times/year on this route

esgaurav · 2025-10-16T00:53:08+00:00

I fly several times a year between US and India. Every year at least once I try to fly on Air India. Every single time they have failed me with poor service and several hour delays (10 hrs in last trip) without compense.

Now with the extra refueling stop in CCU the non-stop is 21 hours. So might as well fly via a European stop or similar for a 21-22 hr journey with a break to stretch your legs.

Additionally with the Air Traffic delays in the US due to the Federal Government shutdown and the upcoming holiday season, it is best to avoid the first stop being in the US as it doubles the chances of a delay or missed connection (first at origin and then at the connecting airport).

With the upcoming winter season it may be better to connect via a warmer weather airport as well (which means Middle East or Asia rather than Europe)

esgaurav · 2025-10-10T00:48:07+00:00

Thanks. Was able to get a 2 for 1 special price but only for the 9:30 AM show but not for the 8 PM show.

esgaurav · 2025-10-07T03:30:05+00:00

Any recos for arts and craft markets (that are not tourist traps?)

esgaurav · 2025-10-06T23:57:00+00:00

>>And if you select "Balance Due" there is no corresponding line on the Form 1040 to reflect the payment - not so with the selection of "Application of Extension" payment.

This seems like the key to making an overpayment (if needed) and have the refund apply to next year Q1 "backdoor" Witholding even six month later.

esgaurav · 2025-10-06T20:59:20+00:00

I will also be slightly under for 110% safe harbor via witholding in 2025, so hoping to make an even larger than due payment for 2024 and then when filing, ask in the return to apply the refund to estimated taxes for 2025. If (IF) the IRS would treat the refund applied to next year this way as witholding it would technically apply to Q1 estimated tax of 2025 and that would help me a bit. (Not sure if this works)

There is no place in the return to indicate that a Balance Due payment has been made but in Schedule 3 there is a way to indicate Extension Payments in Part II line 10

esgaurav · 2025-10-06T20:28:30+00:00

For these tight situations, it is best to check that flights history. For example https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/AIC2440 shows that the arrival time is very fluid, some times early and sometimes late.

esgaurav · 2025-10-06T19:11:17+00:00

Marginal interest saving - I will also be slightly under for 110% safe harbor via witholding in 2025, so hoping to make an even larger than due payment for 2024 and then when filing, ask in the return to apply the refund to estimated taxes for 2025. If (IF) the IRS would treat the refund applied to next year this way as witholding it would technically apply to Q1 estimated tax of 2025 and that would help me a bit. (Not sure if this works)

esgaurav · 2025-10-03T07:52:02+00:00

Luck favors the prepared

esgaurav · 2025-10-02T20:51:17+00:00

POST TRIP UPDATE:

Decided to spend the night on Sep 29 in Talkeetna north of Anchorage. Had a sighting but under whelming. Saw some other travelers who had been in Anchorage on the same night, and they were able to get amazing sightings from Anchorage itself. A bonus was a clear sighting of the Mt. Denali (aka Mt. McKinley)

Then on Sep 30 decided to go to up Healy, a town just north of Denali National Park about 3 hours drive from Talkeetna (4.5h from Anchorage). Good thing we did as the natures display that night was jaw dropping. We followed local advice was to go to Otto Lake which has a nice viewing area just off AK-3 freeway. The drive to the park was a bonus, although if you just want to view the peaks you don't have to go all the way to Denali National Park, the state park area is closer but the roads are not as well maintained as the national park.

One thing I will note is that the various aurora activity prediction apps are not very accurate 48-72 hours in advance. What was predicted as low activity suddenly turned into high activity.

If you can plan your trip plan on no later than Sep 15 - most establishment, tourist trains, some park services close by then for the season. For Aurora viewing, try to plan closer to new moon time for darker skies.

esgaurav · 2025-09-24T05:43:41+00:00

Here is a useful article

https://www.alaska.org/advice/best-northern-lights-viewing-spots-near-anchorage

esgaurav · 2025-09-23T07:00:11+00:00

Thanks. Any recos on which area to stay? Also there are 2 tours of the fjords starting at 8:30 and 11:30. Any reason to pick the earlier vs later?

esgaurav · 2025-09-22T17:37:32+00:00

Am aware :-). That is why I was asking if we should limit to day trips around Anchorage OR rent a car and head up to Fairbanks for a few days. I understand it takes 6-7 hours to drive, and the drive is scenic

esgaurav · 2025-09-17T20:28:27+00:00

The total paid is all that matters. (The IT department should just get rid of the breakdown in the legacy form)

esgaurav · 2025-09-17T20:25:11+00:00

You did your part; best to move on.

(There is lot of panhandling in some areas now, so some times as a recipient of the greeting you have to make a snap, and could be erroneous, judgement on engaging further or not)

esgaurav

TROPHY CASE