iWorld
QYOU Media India and Maxamtech launch Q GamesMela
Mumbai: QYOU Media India, the fast-growing creator-driven media company has launched Q GamesMela, its first direct-to-consumer casual mobile gaming app. The launch follows the closing of its acquisition of mobile game developer, Maxamtech Digital Ventures in January of 2023. Q GamesMela (MELA translates to “CARNIVAL” in English) offers a variety of engaging casual mobile games and can be downloaded from the Google Play store for Android phone users. All games are free to the user and game players can win a variety of cash and sponsored product prizes by topping leaderboards that are regularly updated.
QYOU Media India acquired a controlling interest in Maxamtech Digital Ventures in early 2023 to facilitate a direct-to-consumer capability for casual mobile gaming for the QYOU business in India. The driving business strategy is to leverage the immediate reach of Q branded content offerings across broadcast TV, connected (Smart) TVs, and app-based platforms that collectively now reach approximately 125 million Indians each week. The gaming app will be initially promoted to this audience via a variety of marketing initiatives across the Q branded channels and content offerings. In addition, the company expects to create new ad sales programs on the app that will attract its vast universe of brand partnerships that now numbers over 100 advertisers across its various India business units.
The mobile gaming industry in India continues to experience massive growth with over 450 million casual mobile gamers today. Analysts expect that number to grow to 650 million by 2025. According to Business Today magazine, India is now the world’s largest online gaming market by app downloads with over 15 billion downloads in 2022.
QYOU Media Inc. CEO and co-founder Curt Marvis commented, “We are thrilled that our first gaming product is hitting the market only three months after we closed our acquisition of Maxamtech. We remain confident that fans of Q-branded content offerings across India are perfectly suited to become customers of our gaming products. In addition, with recently developed data mining capabilities taking shape we look to truly begin to leverage our audience data and influencer marketing capabilities to maximize stickiness and overall revenue generation. We view today as the kick-off of an entirely new revenue vertical for our business in India.”
Maxamtech Digital Ventures founder Xerxes Mullan adds, “This is exactly why we were so excited about joining the QYOU Media family. It provides a unique opportunity to get products to market quickly and with the ability to reach the right audience and build momentum. We have many more exciting plans going forward to grow the gaming business across a variety of user segments and business models. Q GamesMela is only the beginning!”
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
