BUSINESS
IndiGG owner Kratos Studios allocates Rs 50 crore to help studios bring their games to blockchain
Through its Kratos Games Network initiative, the Accel and Prosus Ventures-backed startup aims to identify the first set of 10-15 gaming studios by March 2024
BUSINESS
Nodwin Gaming CEO Siddharth Kedia steps down
Nodwin Gaming parent Nazara Technologies is also losing another executive from its senior management with the resignation of telecom business head Chirag Shah.
BUSINESS
Nazara Technologies unveils game publishing unit for Indian, global developers
Nazara Technologies plans to launch up to 20 games across mobile, web3, VR and PC over the next 18 months, with a minimum investment of Rs 1 crore per game.
BUSINESS
Elon Musk's X launches 2 subscription tiers, with prices starting from Rs 244
Elon Musk has sought to grow X's subscription revenue to diversify its revenue streams beyond advertising in recent months
BUSINESS
Meta’s Threads has nearly 100 million monthly active users: CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Threads has a good chance to become the next billion-user social network in Meta's suite of apps, that includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, Zuckerberg said.
BUSINESS
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says revenue from Click-to-Message ads in India doubled YoY
In February 2023, Zuckerberg had said that Click-to-Message ads had reached a $10 billion revenue run-rate globally.
BUSINESS
Google parent to make 'meaningful' investments to double down on its AI efforts, says CEO Sundar Pichai
Alphabet spent over $8 billion in Q3 2023, driven “overwhelmingly” by investments in AI compute and other technical infrastructure.
BUSINESS
Spotify posts profit in Q3 after price hike; user base jumps 26% to 574 million
Spotify's quarterly performance was helped by 16% YoY growth in its paid subscriber base to 226 million subscribers in Q3 2023
BUSINESS
ICC World Cup 2023: India vs New Zealand match helps Disney+ Hotstar set new global streaming record
India vs New Zealand match during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 drew in 43 million peak concurrent viewers on Disney+ Hotstar, breaking the 35 million viewership record set by the service last week.
BUSINESS
Google to scale up its Pixel smartphone business in India amid a booming premium market
Google's hardware chief Rick Osterloh believes the future of computing will be driven by generative artificial intelligence
BUSINESS
Google Pay launches consumer and merchant lending products, enables credit on UPI
The company said that it is collaborating with partners in the financial ecosystem, including banks and NBFCs, to create products aimed at addressing the credit gap in India.
BUSINESS
Make in India: Google to manufacture Pixel smartphones in the country
Pixel 8 will be the first device to be made in India, with the first devices expected in 2024.
TRENDS
ICC World Cup 2023: India-Pakistan match shatters global streaming record on Disney Hotstar
India vs. Pakistan during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 drew 3.5 crore viewers on Disney+ Hotstar, breaking the 3.2 crore viewership record set during the IPL finale.
BUSINESS
Dream11 parent launches its first mobile game Dream Cricket 2024 in India
Dream Cricket 2024 launch comes amid a maturing Indian gaming market that has reached an inflection point in terms of scale and the propensity to pay.
BUSINESS
Zomato forays into logistics, launches Xtreme for merchants
Zomato already has more than over 3 lakh delivery partners under Xtreme. The Xtreme app will also allow merchants to live track their shipments as is with food deliveries
BUSINESS
Spotify limits features for free users in India
Starting October 9, free users of Spotify will not be able to play songs in any specific order within a playlist, repeat songs, go back to previous songs, or select a specific part of a song to listen to.
BUSINESS
Truecaller acquires Bengaluru-based TrustCheckr to strengthen enterprise offerings
As part of this deal, TrustCheckr will bring existing customers such as IIFL Finance Limited and Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Limited along with other potential customers to Truecaller for Business
BUSINESS
Dream11 acqhires fantasy cricket stocks startup Sixer
Sixer is a fantasy cricket game where prominent cricket players are presented as stocks that people can buy and sell.
BUSINESS
WinZO forays into Brazil, to invest $25 million on expansion
WinZO will enable over 100 developers to offer their mobile games to users in the Brazil market. This launch comes after India implemented 28% GST on real-money gaming sector.
BUSINESS
Google Assistant is getting generative AI capabilities with Bard
Google Assistant with Bard combines the generative and reasoning capabilities of Google's AI chatbot Bard with Assistant's personalised help.
BUSINESS
Nodwin Gaming's Singapore unit buys 100% stake in Nazara-owned game marketing agency Publishme
Nodwin Gaming has made a series of acquisitions and investments to expand its offerings in India and International markets in the past year or so.
BUSINESS
BGMI maker Krafton announces up to $150k financial support for Indian gaming startups in debut incubator launch
Krafton India Gaming Incubator will provide game developers with guidance, mentorship, and financial assistance ranging from $50,000-$150,000
BUSINESS
28% GST on real-money gaming: AIGF urges govt to defer rollout
The 28% GST on real-money gaming sector is set to come into effect on October 1; some states are however yet to amend their GST laws
BUSINESS
Karnataka notifies ordinance for 28% GST on real-money gaming
Karnataka is expected to generate around Rs 1,500 crore, state Commissioner for Commercial Taxes C Shikha said. The move comes ahead of the Union government's planned implementation of the tax regime from October
