Applications
LINE launches group call app globally on Android
MUMBAI: LINE has launched a free group call app called Popcorn Buzz that allows up to 200 participants to simultaneously converse on Android.
Popcorn Buzz offers group call functionality, which is being touted as a replacement for existing paid business-grade conference call services. For users that need to talk to multiple people at once, Popcorn Buzz accommodates both personal and business usage, all for free.
Anyone can get started with Popcorn Buzz by choosing a username and uploading a profile picture. By sending out each group call’s unique URL via email, text message, or another communication method of the user’s choice, they can start making group calls with friends without any delay. Additionally, existing LINE users can log in to Popcorn Buzz with their LINE account to immediately synchronize their friends list data and get started making group calls with their LINE friends right away.
During group calls, users can see all the other call members’ icons, and tell who is talking via the green dots that light up in the lower right-hand corner of current talking users’ icons.
An iPhone release is also planned, along with implementation of additional features like group video chat, interconnectivity with LINE groups, and more in the future.
The app supports multiple languages like Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
Applications
Canva acquires animation and AI startups Cavalry and MangoAI
The deals strengthen Canva’s push into enterprise and AI-led design workflows
AUSTRALIA: Global visual communication platform Canva has stepped up its acquisition drive, buying UK-based 2D animation platform Cavalry and US-based AI startup MangoAI to deepen its AI-powered creative stack.
Cavalry, whose tools are used by brands including Amazon, Meta, Google and Netflix, will strengthen Canva’s motion design capabilities. The deal builds on Canva’s 2024 acquisition of Affinity, which has crossed four million downloads since launch. With Cavalry, Canva now counts seven Europe-based acquisitions, underscoring its global expansion strategy.
MangoAI, an early-stage startup focused on video advertising optimisation, will integrate its reinforcement learning systems into Canva AI. The move aims to enable brands to generate personalised marketing content in real time, cutting production cycles while improving campaign performance. MangoAI co-founder Vinith Misra will join Canva as reinforcement learning lead in its research lab.
Canva co-founder and chief operating officer Cliff Obrecht said the acquisitions reflect the company’s ambition to make professional-grade creative tools more accessible without sidelining human creativity. The goal, he said, is to bring everything from vector to motion design into a single, integrated suite.
The company now reports 265 million active users, including 31 million paid subscribers, and $4 billion in annualised revenue, up 36 per cent year on year. The latest buys further position Canva against rivals such as Adobe and Apple’s Creator Studio as it pushes deeper into enterprise workflows.
Canva head of pro design marketing Liam Fisher, said AI is intended to act as a creative assistant rather than a replacement, reinforcing the primacy of craft and individual design judgement.
