iWorld
2 Crore Users Celebrate Diwali and 11.11 Shopping Fest with UCWeb
MUMBAI: Around 2 crore UC users celebrated Diwali and 11.11 UC Shopping Fest with UCWeb over the past 3 weeks. This year, the UC Shopping Fest in India, as a part of Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Festival, offered Diwali surprises with Paytm. In the 20-day campaign, lucky users have won gifts and Paytm coupons worth 1.2 crores in total.
Diwali is the peak shopping season for Indians throughout the year with as much as 45% of the annual sales of some consumer goods are made during Diwali. To help its vast user base shop better this Diwali, UC set up a new channel “Shopping”, where users learned to make smart shopping choices. UC also invited its 130 million users to participate in the in-app card collecting game. Sponsored by Paytm, lucky users got their Diwali shopping wish lists come true and shared the Paytm coupons worth 1 crore in the elated festival.
“The 11.11 online carnival is an example of UC’s glocalisation strategy for its business,” said Damon Xi, General Manager of UCWeb India and Indonesia, Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group, “Taking local user habits and demands into consideration, we launched this online festival for Indian users.”
Apart from extravagant presents from UC, users learned practical shopping tips from two Bollywood stars. Karishma Tanna and Bharti Singh, who were invited by UCWeb as Diwali shopping icons, were engaged in an online battle since October 22. Bharti Singh took the crown and claimed the title of “UC Shopping Queen”. In their last Live Chat battle on November 9, they competed fiercely to win Honor 8X phones for their fans. Before the crown fight, Karishma Tanna was in for a pleasant surprise when renowned astrologer, Acharya Indu Prakash Ji, predicted her to get married between December 2018 and February 2019 during the astrology live chat. Meanwhile, Acharya gave a charm to Bharti to help give birth to twin boys and maybe more!
Live chat is a fraction of the online Diwali carnival and 11.11 Shopping Fest on UC. In sight of more than 9 million users in the live chat in Asia Cup 2018, UC deems live chat as one of the most preferredways for its users to engage in trendy topics. This time, UC converged Diwali, shopping, astrology, and celebrities into the live chat. This interactive and entertaining session has generated millions of engagement and become a social buzz. During the live chat, viewers also got astrology predictions from Acharya Indu Prakash Ji. At the same time, users got their astrology report via the in-app activity called “Test Your Luck”.
“We are impressed by the active turnout rate of users. UC users enjoy casual, entertaining contentalong with keeping abreast of trendy topics,” said Damon Xi. According to a joint report by Cheetah Lab and UC Media Lab, entertainment is the most consumed category on UC. “As a content platform, we are leading with providing tailor-made content in the Indian market. We will continue to connect users to quality content and enhance their browsing experience.”
e-commerce
American Express to acquire AI startup Hyper to boost automation
Deal targets expense management as AI reshapes corporate spending tools.
MUMBAI: From receipts to robots, the expense sheet is getting a brain upgrade as American Express moves to bring artificial intelligence into the heart of corporate spending. The company has announced plans to acquire Hyper, a relatively young but fast-rising startup founded in 2022 that builds AI-powered agents capable of organising expenses, generating reports, verifying compliance with budgets and policies, and nudging users with timely reminders. The deal, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, underscores a growing shift among financial institutions to automate traditionally manual, time-heavy workflows.
Hyper counts Sam Altman among its backers, adding a layer of Silicon Valley credibility to the acquisition. While financial details remain undisclosed, the strategic intent is clear: deepen automation capabilities and sharpen American Express’s position in the competitive corporate spending ecosystem.
The two companies are not strangers. They previously collaborated in 2024 on a co-branded credit card product, suggesting that the acquisition is less a cold buy and more an extension of an existing relationship. With this move, American Express is effectively bringing that capability in-house, aiming to embed AI directly into its commercial services stack.
Chief executive Stephen Squeri had already signalled the direction of travel in a recent shareholder letter, describing AI as a “structural shift” in how businesses operate. The Hyper acquisition appears to be a direct response to that shift, particularly in expense management, where processes such as approvals, compliance checks and reporting remain ripe for automation.
Alongside the acquisition, the company is also expanding its product suite. A recently launched business credit card offers cashback and benefits at an annual fee of $295, with another card expected later this year moves that complement its broader push into commercial services.
Taken together, the strategy points to a future where managing expenses may require fewer spreadsheets and more algorithms. For American Express, the bet is simple, if businesses are rethinking how work gets done, the tools that power that work need to evolve just as quickly.
