e-commerce
Alibaba Group to invest $193.6 million in SMG’s China Business News
MUMBAI: Alibaba Group has signed a strategic agreement with Shanghai Media Group (SMG) to leverage both companies’ Internet technology and media resources in order to penetrate China’s financial information services industry.
As part of the strategic agreement, Alibaba Group will invest $193.6 million (RMB1.2 billion) into China Business News (CBN), a Chinese financial media company under SMG, to create a financial data and information services company that will help Chinese small and medium enterprises tap a rich mine of financial data.
By utilizing Alibaba Group’s big data and cloud computing capabilities, both companies will jointly develop a comprehensive financial data and information platform that will provide users with timely financial news and information in order to enhance their investment and financial decision-making capabilities.
The aim of this platform is to raise the bar on enterprise efficiency in China by leveling the information playing field. By giving a greater number of Chinese enterprises access to precious financial data that can be easily mined and analyzed for actionable investment and business decisions, this platform is expected to help these enterprises scale and expand their businesses.
Currently, Alipay and CBN are collaborating to provide users with stock quote information and CBN’s wealth management information product will also soon launch on Mobile Taobao. Alipay is part of Ant Financial Services Group, a related party of Alibaba Group. Alibaba Group and SMG will also work toward enhancing digital and traditional media convergence in the industry through the launch of innovative new media products for the market.
“The era of Data Technology is here and it will surpass the Information Technology era. The DT era is about transparency, sharing of information and enabling others. Alibaba is excited about the possibilities of the DT era and how it can bring value to society,” said Alibaba Group founder and executive chairman Jack Ma.
This strategic agreement with SMG is expected to help Alibaba Group develop DT-era products and services to enrich the lives of Chinese users, be it in academia, business or media sectors.
Through this tie-up, CBN is well-poised to expand its financial media information services and continue to innovate in China’s traditional financial media industry. CBN is China’s leading financial media group with a variety of media assets, such as television, radio, newspaper, magazine and news agencies.
e-commerce
Instamart and Duolingo launch street spell check campaign for Instaprint
Duo the owl fixes signboard typos across cities to showcase instant printing.
MUMBAI: If spelling mistakes had a sworn enemy, it might just be a bright green owl with a printer. Instamart has teamed up with language learning platform Duolingo for a quirky nationwide campaign that turns everyday spelling errors into a public spectacle while promoting its instant printing service, InstaPrint. The playful activation takes aim at the many misspelled shop boards and public signs scattered across Indian streets. From “saloons” that promise haircuts rather than drinks to menus and posters peppered with punctuation mishaps, the campaign sends Duolingo’s mascot Duo on a mission to restore linguistic order.
Armed with Instamart’s instant printing feature, Duo prints corrected versions of the mistakes on the spot and pastes them over the originals. The result is a series of humorous street interventions that have quickly begun circulating on social media.
Photos and videos of the grammar correcting owl have been widely shared online, with amused users reacting to the unexpected spell check patrol. One user joked, “Ab ayega na maza bhidu,” capturing the internet’s delight at the unusual campaign.
Behind the humour lies a practical message. The activation is designed to showcase the capabilities of Instaprint, Instamart’s printing service that allows users to print documents and posters almost instantly.
The company says the feature is meant for everyday needs such as printing resumes, visa documents or last minute posters without the usual scramble to locate a print shop.
Instamart introduced Instaprint in 2025 across select metropolitan cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. The service allows users to order printed materials directly through the platform, extending the quick commerce model beyond groceries and household essentials.
By combining Duolingo’s famously persistent owl with India’s street level spelling quirks, the campaign taps into the internet’s long running fascination with grammar mistakes while demonstrating a real world use case for instant printing.
After all, in a world full of typos, sometimes what you really need is a quick printer and a very determined language teacher.
