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UFO to raise $25 million, taps VCs
MUMBAI: United Film Organizers (UFO) Moviez, a subsidiary of Apollo International Ltd, is in the process of raising venture capital (VC) funding of $25 million (Rs 1.13 billion). The company plans to spread its digital cinema network to 2,000 screens by 2007-08, for which it is going to invest Rs 3 billion. UFO has already invested close to Rs 800 million and its digital system runs across 550 theatres. UFO has mandated Ernst & Young to arrange the VC funding. “We are in talks with a few VCs. We will be raising $25 million. We have already pumped in around Rs 800 million. The balance will come from debt and internal accruals,” UFO Moviez CEO Sanjay Gaikwad tells Indianteleviievision.com. Apollo International holds 60 per cent in the company while 25 per cent is with the founder-promoters (including Gaikwad) and initial investors. The balance 15 per cent is held by Singapore-based DG2L Technologies. “After receiving the VC funding, all of our shareholdings will get diluted proportionately. We will know the new shareholding structure only when we finalise our VC partner,” says Gaikwad. UFO installs the digital equipment at cinema theatres which cost Rs 1.7 million. Theatres using the UFO digital system do not have to pay for the equipment but are charged Rs 450 per show. The company uses Mpeg 4 digital cinema solutions. “We plan to increase the fee to Rs 525 per show. We also expect the usage of digital systems in the theatres whiere we have installed them to go up from 60 per cent to over 90 per cent as the business matures,” says Gaikwad. UFO has competitors like Adlabs and Essel Group‘s E-City Digital Cinemas. “We expect our revenues to touch Rs 2 billion by 2008-09,” says Gaikwad.
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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.
