{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Daybreak","title":"Optimist wants to reinvent the AC. Daikin and LG don’t need to","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/c2f4bd79\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":618,"description":"Your AC is running longer this year and the machines responsible may have been designed for a different climate entirely. Optimist, a two-year-old Gurugram startup, has built what it says is India's most energy-efficient residential AC. It is recalibrated for Indian humidity, sourced almost entirely from local suppliers, and engineered with components the industry has long considered too expensive to bother with.\nBut 70% of AC sales in India happen offline, shelf space belongs to brands with decades of dealer relationships, and Optimist is nowhere on the floor yet.\nHow long can a better product afford to wait?\nDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/uPitovxKRYBGX6AWg9UrET6s3nAdkS-Ci9uZvsZj7vk/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS85ODhl/ZWM4NmEwZTcxZjZk/MDRlYjAzNTNkMjJi/ZGQ2YS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}