iWorld
Sportiqo’s user base grows 4x during IPL 2023
Mumbai: Sportiqo, a blockchain-based fantasy cricket platform that was launched in India in February 2023, with a unique choice for users to invest or trade in players, just like stocks saw exceptional revenue growth with an increase in the user base and influx of transactions during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
The IPL 2023 season was a turning point for the company, as it witnessed a whopping four-fold increase in its user base. This surge in popularity translated into a gross trading volume of Rs 18 crores, with an average of over 10,000 transactions per day.
During the course of the 2023 IPL, Sportiqo also announced the launch of its exciting new digital campaign featuring renowned cricketer Robin Uthappa. The company has also partnered with over 75 creators across various genres which aided Sportiqo to generate substantial buzz about its platform among its target audience. This collaborative effort helped increase brand awareness and garner a larger user base, contributing significantly to the overall revenue growth.
Capitalising on the massive popularity of the IPL, Sportiqo planned various initiatives to attract and retain more users. Throughout the tournament, the brand introduced exciting promotional campaigns, such as the super trader contest and the consistent trader bonus to motivate users to return to the application and trade regularly. In addition, Sportiqo’s AI-powered pricing and trading algorithms led to exciting gameplay and high user engagement during live IPL matches.
Looking beyond the IPL, Sportiqo’s daily active user count on the app has reduced slightly after the tournament. However, it remains significantly higher than the pre-IPL period. The success and growth witnessed during the IPL have undoubtedly expanded Sportiqo’s user base and positioned the company as a leading player in the virtual stock market space.
“I am happy that our revenue and user base has grown. These pillars stand as a testament to our commitment to creating value and revolutionising the way people stay connected with our application. I am sure that going forward, our numbers will only grow from here,” said Sportiqo chief product officer and co-founder Anindya Kar.
Sportiqo marked the beginning of its operations in India in the month of February and has amassed 150,000 active users following its beta launch. The company has raised $1.25 million (Rs 10 crores) in the seed round from angel investors with a focus on product development user acquisition in its first phase post-launch. The cricket stock market has already covered the International League T20 (ILT20), Pakistan Super League (PSL) and Indian Premier League (IPL).
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
