iWorld
Facebook announces AI for social good summit
MUMBAI: With a vision to leverage the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver social good, Facebook has announced its inaugural 'AI for India Summit' focused on discussing inclusive growth and solutions to the most enduring social challenges. The one-day summit will be held on March 26th, 2019 in Bangalore.
The Summit will bring together key representatives from the AI community in India such as policy makers, start-ups, and the developer community. It will also be attended by Facebook's global AI teams, which are keen to listen and learn from the thought-leaders and experts on the future of AI technologies in India, especially those that aspire to aid social change.
Over the past decade, AI has emerged as a transformative technology for developing scalable social solutions that address the challenges of access, affordability, and skill shortage. Facebook continuously works on AI projects for social good for the benefit of people and communities. One of the examples of Facebook's application of AI for social good in India has been the work around Blood Donations, which helps hospitals and blood banks connect with blood donors quickly.
Facebook is committed to the growth of India, and wants to be an ally to India for developing an expertise in AI. The Summit has been conceptualized to serve as a platform for thought-leaders from across domains to discourse on the possible applications of AI to drive advancements across healthcare, education, agriculture, and crisis/disaster mitigation, in line with the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence that was outlined by NITI Aayog last year.
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T20 World Cup ’26: India–England semi-final sets global streaming record of 619 million views on JioHotstar
India–England semi-final records 65.2 million peak streams
MUMBAI: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 set a new milestone in global sports streaming, as the India–England semi-final drew record digital audiences on JioHotstar.
The match on 5 March registered 65.2 million peak concurrent viewers, the highest ever recorded for a live event on any streaming platform worldwide. The semi-final also generated 619 million views, making it the most streamed T20 international match in history.
The landmark audience numbers were driven largely by viewers in India, setting a record achieved within a single market, rather than through aggregated viewership across multiple countries.
The high-scoring encounter between India national cricket team and England cricket team produced 499 runs across both innings, fuelling widespread fan engagement across platforms.
According to the International Cricket Council, the digital record surpassed the previous global benchmark of 65 million concurrent viewers, set in November 2024 by another international streaming platform.
Across television and digital platforms combined, the semi-final reached more than 320 million viewers, while total watch time exceeded 23 billion minutes, making it the most watched T20 international match ever.
“This World Cup demonstrates the immense passion of cricket fans and the progress made in bringing the game closer to audiences worldwide,” said ICC chairman Jay Shah.
“This moment reflects the scale of cricket fandom in India and the technological capability required to serve hundreds of millions of viewers simultaneously.”
JioStar vice-chairman Uday Shankar, said the audience surge underscored the future of large-scale digital entertainment.
“One in every three Indians tuned in to watch the second semi-final. Delivering such an experience at scale requires the very best of technology,” he said.
The 619 million views during the match also eclipsed the 533 million views recorded during the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
With the final yet to be played, the 2026 tournament has already set multiple benchmarks in audience reach and digital engagement.
India will face the New Zealand national cricket team in the final on 8 March at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The match will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network and streamed on JioHotstar.
