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Matrix Partners India invests in Four Interactive
MUMBAI: Matrix Partners India (MPI) has invested in a mode startup Four Interactive. MPI claims to be India‘s first consumer services risk capital fund and focuses on early to growth stage businesses in the Internet, mobile, financial services, media and entertainment, food and beverage, hospitality, healthcare, travel and leisure sectors. MPI co-founded by Avnish Bajaj and Rishi Navani with Matrix Partners US, strives to be the trusted partner providing risk capital to build market consumer services companies. With this investment, Rishi Navani has joined the Board of Directors of Four Interactive, informs an official release. Four interactive founded by Kiran Konduri and Shriram Adukoorie. |
Navani said, “We are excited to partner with Kiran and Shriram, who bring a diverse set of experiences and complementary skills that form a strong foundation for the company.” Konduri said, “In Matrix we found a partner with common values and beliefs. Our partnership is focused on building easy to use services that are at the intersection of mobile,content and the web.” |
Adukoorie said, “Internet adoption is at the cusp of an inflection point in India. At Four Interactive we have set ourselves a simple goal of making the net more useful, relevant and inclusive for Indians.” Kiran Konduri was previously at Microsoft and has founded two companies‘ including Zephyr Software, which was acquired by Infospace. Shriram Adukoorie has been with Microsoft for the last decade and was previously country head for MSN India and South Asia. Most recently he managed Microsoft‘s portal in the Asia region |
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
