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Orangutan Gaming wins Valorant Challengers League South Asia: Split 1
Mumbai: Orangutan emerged victorious in the recent Valorant Challengers League South Asia: Split 1 held in Delhi by Nodwin Gaming, winning a grand prize of $14,000. To secure victory, the team competed against some of the best esports valorant teams in India.
The tournament was a challenging one, with numerous obstacles that the team had to overcome. However, their dedication and hard work paid off, and they were able to come out on top. The team members expressed their happiness and pride in their accomplishment, saying that it was a moment they would always cherish.
“We are thrilled to have won this tournament and taken home the grand prize,” said Sabyasachi ‘Antidote’ Bose, captain of the team. “It’s been a long and challenging road, but we’ve always believed in ourselves, and we knew that we could do it. This victory is a testament to our hard work and dedication.”
The team’s success is a proud moment for their fans and supporters, who have been following them throughout the tournament. The team has expressed their gratitude to their supporters and fans for their unwavering support.
“We couldn’t have done it without the support of our fans and supporters,” said Orangutan founder Yash Bhanushali. “Their encouragement and belief in us have been instrumental in our success, and we are grateful for every single one of them.”
The team is now looking forward to the upcoming Valorant Challengers League South Asia: Split 2, where they hope to continue their winning streak and make their fans and supporters proud. The winner of this tournament would further go ahead and represent the nation in the Asian Championship.
“We are excited about the upcoming championship, and we are confident that we will be able to perform at our best,” said Mathanraj ‘The Doctorr’ Munisparan. “We have a great team, and we are determined to continue our winning streak and bring home more victories.”
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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.
