iWorld
Guru Randhawa clocks 19.8 billion YouTube views, tops global charts
Punjabi star outpaces global acts as streaming surge fuels new phase
MUMBAI: Guru Randhawa is striking a powerful chord on the global music stage, clocking 19.8 billion views on YouTube and emerging as one of the most-watched Punjabi artists worldwide.
The milestone puts him ahead of several global heavyweights, including Dua Lipa and Drake, underlining the growing international pull of Punjabi music. Alongside the viewership numbers, Randhawa has amassed 108.9 million hours of watch time, reflecting sustained engagement from audiences across markets.
His strong run comes on the back of a standout 2025, where he crossed 500 million audio streams, driven largely by his album Without Prejudice. The project marked a turning point, blending his signature style with a more global, polished sound.
That momentum carried forward with releases like Azul and Shkini, before rolling into 2026 with Dopamine, signalling a consistent and fast-paced release strategy.
On Spotify, Randhawa has also secured multiple top 10 entries on the India top 200 chart, reinforcing his cross-platform appeal. His independent streak appears to be paying off, with each release building on the last in both scale and reach.
As the lines between regional and global music continue to blur, Randhawa’s rise offers a glimpse into the future of Indian pop on the world stage. With numbers climbing and momentum firmly on his side, the next chapter could well be his biggest yet.
iWorld
Schmooze launches AI matchmaker Riya to personalise dating
300,000 users try feature as retention doubles on Gen Z dating app.
MUMBAI: Love might be blind, but now it’s also algorithmically curated and apparently quite chatty. Schmooze has introduced an AI-powered personal matchmaker named Riya, marking its latest push to move beyond swipe-led dating into deeper, personality-driven matchmaking. Unlike traditional matching systems, Riya interacts directly with users through conversations asking about everything from lifestyle and humour to relationship goals and family values. The idea is simple but ambitious: understand users beyond surface-level preferences and recommend matches that actually fit.
The feature builds on a pattern Schmooze had already observed. Its earlier AI tool, People Finder, allowed users to describe their ideal partner in detail and users did exactly that. Requests ranged from “an extrovert who works in tech and likes to cook” to hyper-specific traits, signalling a clear shift towards intent-driven dating.
That insight exposed a gap. While dating apps typically rely on probability-based algorithms, many users already know what they want they just lack a system that can interpret it meaningfully.
Riya attempts to fill that gap using a conversational approach. Instead of rigid inputs, it gathers signals organically sometimes through casual questions about weekend plans or social habits while mapping deeper compatibility markers in the background.
To support this, Schmooze has built its own end-to-end voice AI stack and large language model, rather than relying on third-party systems. The move is aimed at keeping costs in check while handling scale, and ensuring tighter control over user data and privacy.
The early numbers suggest traction. More than 300,000 users have already interacted with Riya, with those users showing 2× higher retention compared to others on the platform. While the system is designed for short interactions, some users are spending up to 40–50 minutes in conversation occasionally even asking for date ideas, prompting the company to add personalised recommendations.
The launch is the latest step in Schmooze’s broader attempt to rethink dating for Gen Z. Founded by Vidya Madhavan and Abhinav Anurag, the platform initially stood out by using memes as a proxy for personality tracking over 3.5 billion meme swipes across its base of more than 5 million users.
In a market dominated by global players like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge, Schmooze’s approach signals a shift from visual-first discovery to interaction-led compatibility. And with AI now stepping in as a digital wingman, the dating game may be moving from swipe right to speak right.
