Gaming
India Today group unveils AI pop stars in groundbreaking musical initiative
MUMBAI: The India Today Group (ITG) has orchestrated another technological crescendo in its innovation symphony, launching a revolutionary new music genre called A-Pop featuring two virtual vocalists who promise to hit all the right algorithmic notes.
Just two years after introducing Sana, reportedly India’s first AI news anchor who has since evolved from digital debutante to virtual veteran, the media powerhouse is now harmonising human creativity with artificial intelligence in the musical realm.
“A-Pop is more than a genre — it is a fluid, evolving, and collaborative creative process,” explains ITG vice chairperson & managing director Kalli Purie. “It merges human imagination with AI capabilities, producing music that is unrestricted by conventional limitations.”
The virtual virtuosos making their melodic debut are Aishan and Ruh, each with carefully crafted personalities that blend the authenticity of human backstories with the boundless potential of digital existence.
Aishan, a 22-year-old musical wunderkind with roots in Bareilly and Jodhpur, has been fine-tuning his craft since 17. This digital dream weaver blends indie acoustic, pop and R&B into a sonic tapestry that reflects his fabricated yet relatable life experiences. When not composing computer-generated compositions, this binary Bieber can be found embracing mountain scenery, sporting designer trainers, and maintaining his “old-money” aesthetic.
Inspired by new people and sounds, his lyrics reflect his thoughts and experiences. An ambivert, he connects with fans but values his quiet moments. A Nainital soul, he’s drawn to the mountains, while also being a dog lover, bike enthusiast, sneakerhead, and food explorer, all with a classy, old-money style.
His virtual counterpart Ruh, a 24-year-old Delhi native, embodies the spirit of freedom in both personality and performance. This pixelated pop princess brings vibrant energy to new-age music while ostensibly travelling the world, absorbing diverse cultural influences that inform her distinctive sound. Her programming prioritises authenticity and self-expression, values designed to resonate with the group’s younger audience demographic.
With an extroverted, vibrant personality, she embraces adventure and travel, exploring new cultures to create new-age pop music. A passionate music lover, she uses it to express herself boldly and authentically. Driven by personal freedom, self-expression, and individuality, she inspires others to live authentically and pursue their passions without fear of judgment.
“Our latest foray into music is a sterling example of what the fusion of human creativity and AI can produce,” notes Purie. “A team of music professionals spent relentless hours over several weeks working with AI-led technology to create this pioneering work.”
The virtual vocalists represent a new movement where the boundaries between human and machine creativity become increasingly blurred. Their songs may feature human-written lyrics with AI composition, or machine-generated verses with human musical arrangements, all delivered through synthesised voices that never tire or demand royalties.
Unlike their flesh-and-blood counterparts, these digital divas can produce multilingual music, engage with fans around the clock, and personalise content based on audience preferences—offering a performance that’s literally inhuman in its consistency and availability.
For listeners keen to tune into this binary balladeering, Aishan and Ruh’s musical offerings are available across all major streaming platforms, including YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Saavn. Fans can also follow their carefully curated digital lives on social media, where these virtual performers will be hitting high notes and high engagement metrics for the foreseeable future.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
