Business

Flipkart-owned Shopsy on Thursday launched its new AI-powered shopping app, positioning itself as an engagement-led hypervalue commerce platform aimed at Gen Z consumers and Bharat’s next 100 million online shoppers. The company said the revamped platform moves beyond traditional offers-led e-commerce by integrating AI-native discovery, video-first product experiences and gamified shopping into a single ecosystem. Shopsy said the app has been designed for young, aspirational and value-conscious consumers across metros and tier-2 and smaller cities, amid rising digital adoption in India. According to the company, Tier-2+ cities now contribute nearly 65 per cent of new online shopper growth, while Gen Z makes up around 40-45 per cent of India’s e-retail market. The platform uses AI-power...

A powerful explosion reportedly rocked a test facility of Blue Origin as its next-generation New Glenn rocket suffered a catastrophic failure during a ground testing operation. The incident occurred during a routine pre-launch test when the heavy-lift rocket, part of Blue Origin’s ambitious deep-space program, unexpectedly exploded, sending a massive fireball and thick plumes of smoke into the air. The rocket, identified as the New Glenn, is designed to compete in the global commercial space launch market and carry satellites and payloads into orbit. No immediate reports of casualties have been confirmed, and the company has not yet released a detailed technical assessment of the failure. Initial observations suggest the explosion took place during a systems check, though the exact cause ...

Swedish beauty and wellbeing company Oriflame has successfully concluded its Northeast Yatra, a large-scale influencer and community engagement initiative conducted across Northeast India and West Bengal in partnership with Whosthat360. Spanning more than 5,000 kilometres through April and May, the campaign covered 13 cities and engaged over 300 influencers, creators and entrepreneurs. Beginning on April 7 at Lady Keane College in Shillong and concluding with a grand finale in Kolkata on May 10, the yatra travelled through Agartala, Aizawl, Dimapur, Kohima, Guwahati, Nagaon, Dibrugarh, Itanagar, Siliguri and Durgapur. The initiative featured on-ground activations through the Oriflame Beauty and Wellness Partner Truck, including beauty masterclasses, skincare workshops and creator au...

Russia’s newly revealed Oreshnik ballistic missile has drawn international attention due to its advanced multi-warhead capabilities and potential impact on modern warfare. The missile, reportedly capable of carrying multiple independently targetable warheads, is being viewed by military analysts as a significant addition to Russia’s strategic arsenal amid growing tensions with Western nations. According to reports, the Oreshnik system is designed to penetrate sophisticated air defence networks and strike multiple targets simultaneously, making it harder for enemy forces to intercept. Russian officials claim the missile combines high speed, precision targeting, and enhanced manoeuvrability, features that could strengthen Moscow’s deterrence strategy in the ongoing geopolitical standoff wit...

Allied Blenders and Distillers Limited (ABD) has launched its ‘TRUE BLUE’ trust initiative in Meghalaya for its flagship brand Officer’s Choice Blue, aiming to strengthen consumer awareness around product authenticity, quality assurance and responsible consumption. As part of the initiative, ABD has introduced a specially designed ‘TRUE BLUE’ mark etched on the bottle cap of Officer’s Choice Blue bottles. The company said the mark, created using advanced technology that is difficult to replicate, allows consumers to verify product authenticity through a simple visual check and acts as a visible assurance of genuineness and quality. The initiative encourages consumers to adopt bottle cap verification as a regular and responsible habit. ABD said the upgraded cap design reflects the co...

Airbnb has expanded its global travel platform with the launch of car rentals, grocery delivery, airport pickups, luggage storage, boutique hotels and exclusive FIFA World Cup 2026 experiences, marking a significant push toward becoming a full-service travel ecosystem. The company said the 2026 summer rollout builds on the success of Airbnb Experiences and Airbnb Services launched last year. New offerings include grocery delivery through Instacart in over 25 US cities, airport transfers via Welcome Pickups across 160 cities, and luggage storage through Bounce in 175 cities worldwide. Airbnb will also introduce car rentals directly through its app later this summer. The company is expanding its Experiences category with more than 3,000 landmark tours and over 2,500 food culture progr...

At Google I/O, Google officially unveiled the next phase of the AI wearables race, announcing its new Android XR “intelligent eyewear” platform. The new smart glasses, developed as part of a large hardware partnership with Samsung and powered by Qualcomm chips, are set for retail launch later this fall. Instead of repeating the mistakes of the bulky, display-happy Google Glass days, the company is opting for a more streamlined, audio-first approach. Doing away with internal lens displays makes the hardware lighter and more like regular eyewear, so Google can focus on all-day comfort and mainstream consumer adoption. Google and Samsung have also teamed up with big eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to make sure the tech fits in with everyday fashion. The resulting collection...

Vi has announced the launch of a new range of flexible International Roaming (IR) plans for its postpaid customers, aimed at enhancing convenience, flexibility and value for international travellers during the peak summer travel season. The telecom operator has introduced new 7-day, 14-day and 21-day IR packs, expanding its existing portfolio to 17 distinct roaming offerings. The plans are designed to cater to varied travel requirements including business visits, medical tourism, education, leisure travel and extended overseas stays. Vi said the plans offer coverage across more than 120 countries with both limited and truly unlimited data, voice and SMS benefits. Customers can choose pack validity ranging from one day to 30 days. The company also stated that it remains the only telecom...

Anthropic has completed a major structural acquisition by purchasing the developer tools startup Stainless for more than $300 million, seizing control of a vital software pipeline that its top market rivals depend on. Stainless, a highly specialized four-year-old startup founded by a former Stripe engineer, automates the complex process of compiling OpenAPI specifications into high-quality, production-ready software development kits (SDKs). Because maintaining multi-language SDKs internally requires substantial engineering resources, major foundational model providers—including OpenAI for its GPT series and Google for its Gemini API surface—outsourced this crucial developer-facing infrastructure directly to Stainless. This blockbuster deal effectively puts Anthropic in a structurally adva...