MAM
JioHotstar hires top tech leaders to boost AI-powered streaming
Senior leaders from Google, Flipkart, CRED and others join as platform bets on personalisation and scale
MUMBAI: JioHotstar is bulking up its technology muscle, snapping up senior talent from Google, Flipkart, Amazon Pay, CRED and other consumer-tech names as it pivots towards AI-driven, personalised streaming at scale. The hiring spree signals a clear shift: the streaming wars are no longer just about content, but about intelligence, discovery and monetisation.
The platform said it is strengthening product leadership and engineering depth to build what it calls the next phase of “intelligent, personalised streaming”. The new team spans discovery, viewer experience, marketing intelligence, adtech and platform engineering, areas increasingly critical as competition intensifies.
Among the key hires, Shrinivas SG joins as svp for discovery and personalisation. Previously at Flipkart, Shrinivas SG worked across search, catalogue and trends, and helped build GenAI-powered conversational commerce with a focus on vernacular, voice and video-led discovery.
Naveen Prashanth comes in as svp for consumer marketing from Google, where he led YouTube Shorts, creator and artist marketing in India, driving brand, performance and monetisation at scale. Earlier, he worked at McKinsey & Company advising FMCG and B2C firms on growth and transformation.
On the engineering side, Abhishek Sharan joins as svp for engineering, viewer experience. With over 15 years’ experience, he has built and scaled high-traffic consumer platforms across the Flipkart group and Myntra, working on search, recommendations, applications, advertising systems and trust and safety. Most recently, he was head of engineering at SuperMoney.
Adtech gets a boost with Abhishek Varshney as principal engineer. He arrives from CRED after nearly five years building payments, ordering and financial engineering products. His earlier stints include Razorpay and Flipkart, where he worked on application and infrastructure platforms.
The wider product and engineering bench is reinforced by Chandramauli Singh and Nishant Paliwal, from ShareChat and Cleartrip respectively, bringing expertise in recommendation systems, scalable architectures and user engagement frameworks. Chandramauli Singh also joins the product team.
The data backbone is being tightened too. David Zakkam had earlier joined to lead analytics and data strategy, pushing data-led decision-making across the platform. The latest appointments were shared internally, underlining a sustained focus on tech capability.
At the group level, JioStar recently brought in Emmy Award-winner Stephen Bugaj as svp for GenAI content and technology, with a mandate spanning intelligent content pipelines, interactive storytelling and scalable creative frameworks.
Scale is already on JioHotstar’s side. The platform claims 450 million monthly average users and a library exceeding 300,000 hours of programming across 19 languages, covering films, originals, live sport, events, anime, kids’ content and shows from more than 100 JioStar channels.
As streaming matures, the battleground is shifting from who has the most titles to who knows the viewer best. JioHotstar’s message is blunt: in the attention economy, algorithms are as important as actors. And the next big hits may be coded as much as they are created.
MAM
McDonald’s India NE names Sara Arjun brand ambassador
Actor returns for nostalgic Buddy Meal campaign at Rs 119 for two.
MUMBAI: Sara Arjun just came home to McDonald’s because some love stories start with a childhood ad and end with sharing fries as grown-ups. McDonald’s India – North and East has appointed actor Sara Arjun as its brand ambassador, bringing her back to the brand that first captured her on screen as a child. The collaboration launches with a playful TVC introducing the Buddy Meal, a value offering priced at Rs 119 for two burgers (McAloo Tikki or Veg Surprise), two Cokes and one medium fries.
The film recreates the classic “girlfriend-boyfriend” banter from her original McDonald’s ad, with Sara joking about today’s “demanding” relationships before her buddy admits he just wants a simple McAloo Tikki. The voiceover lands the punch: “Shukar hai McDonald’s Buddy Meal for 2 hai… starts at just Rs 119,” closing on the tagline “Khao Meal, Baat Karo”, a celebration of uncomplicated joy and shared moments.
MMG Group and CPRL vice chairman Anant Agarwal said, “Sara’s return to McDonald’s is a wonderful reminder of the deep emotional connections many customers have grown up with. With the Buddy Meal, we are celebrating friendship, nostalgia and the simple joy of sharing a McDonald’s meal together at great value.”
Sara Arjun added, “McDonald’s has been a special part of my journey since childhood. Returning to the brand for this campaign feels incredibly nostalgic. The Buddy Meal captures the simple joy of sharing food and laughter with friends.”
Available for a limited period across McDonald’s restaurants in North and East India via dine-in, takeaway, drive-thru, the McDonald’s App and leading delivery platforms, the Buddy Meal taps into the brand’s legacy of creating relatable, feel-good moments.
In a fast-food world chasing trends, McDonald’s brings back a familiar face and a simple truth: sometimes the best dates don’t need grand gestures just good burgers, cold drinks and great company at a price that leaves everyone smiling.
