iWorld
hoichoi is now available on Android TV globally and Roku in the US
MUMBAI: hoichoi, the world’s largest digital content platform exclusively for Bengali’s announced they are now available across Android TV and Roku with seamless streaming of their content.
Recently, hoichoi celebrated their one-year completion on 19th September 2018 where they committed to uplift Bengali Digital entertainment by putting forward plans like adding an additional 100+ hours of Originals with 30 web series and 12 digital only films, which will increase the library to 2,800 hours of content, along with adding more films to the movie catalogue taking the number from 500 to 800+ movies. They have lived up to their promise of giving two Originals per month along with acquired movies, either old classics or new ones via World Digital Premiere (Durga Puja 2018 blockbusters Byomkesh Gowtro and Ek Je Chhilo Raja each got a World Digital Premiere this month).
Last year, hoichoi reached out to users who wanted to stream content on their TV by launching the Amazon Fire TV App and the Apple TV App and it already had enabled Chromecast. This year hoichoi looks to expand its audience base by introducing the hoichoi Android TV and the hoichoi Roku App.
Android TV is a version of the Android operating system where OTT platforms can stream their exclusive and shared content on their television like Sony among others, with voice-enabled search and more features. hoichoi’s Android TV App is available on the Google Play Store. Users can open the Google Play Store from their TV and download it.
Roku, is another streaming device which allows users to stream content on their TV and is very popular in the US Market. hoichoi launched its Roku App to target its ever-growing US Subscription Audience base. Among international markets, US has always been one of the top markets for the Bengali OTT platform. hoichoi will offer all its movies and original series in its Roku App. Users who have the Roku device can download the hoichoi App from it and can even purchase a hoichoi subscription within the App.
Vishnu Mohta, Co-Founder of hoichoi, commented: “This partnership with Android TV and Roku will enable our national and global audience to enjoy content from any medium as it marks a seamless integration of over-the-top content, digital video formats and connected TVs. Audience will consume content irrespective of whether it is on web, mobile, TV or OTT as long as it’s on a device of their choice.”
iWorld
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.
