Brands
AOL launches mobile browsing service
MUMBAI:AOL announced the debut of new mobile information and location services, including a new addition to the industry-leading suite of mobile AOL Search services. The new offering is a mobile browsing service that automatically adapts web pages for mobile screens. The easy-to-use mobile browsing service can be used by wireless subscribers with web-enabled phones.
According to a new survey AOL conducted with the Associated Press and Pew Research Center, 52 percent of adults keep their cell phone turned on all day, everyday, and 40 percent of those aged 18-29 are likely to drop their landline once and for all. The report reveals that more than 30 percent of adults want to search and browse the web from their cell phone, while 47 percent say that mobile maps and driving directions are a “must have” on the next phone they buy.
AOL’s wireless group senior vice president of Products Eric Engstrom said,”We are committed to providing people with easy access to the web’s full range of information, location and communications services wherever they may go. We are pleased to be working with the nation’s leading carriers to provide their subscribers with our complete suite of popular and consumer-friendly offerings. Together, we are making it easy for people to stay connected to friends, family members and colleagues.”
AOL’s new mobile browsing service has been seamlessly integrated into the existing suite of mobile AOL Search services — including web search, shopping search and local search — to make it easy for consumers to navigate the web and find anything they need from their mobile device, according to an official release. Mobile AOL Search Services, including the new advanced browsing services, are available via mobile browser at http://www.aol.com .
The new browsing service also marks the successful expansion of AOL’s alliance with InfoGin Ltd., a pioneer of web to mobile content adaptation solutions. AOL uses InfoGin’s transcoding and content analysis technologies to extend the ease of desktop search and navigation to wireless devices, bringing a wealth of web resources to mobile users’ finger tips.
Also, AOL is bringing its mobile portal services to Sprint subscribers nationwide. AOL’s mobile web portal is a wireless version of the new AOL.com portal (http://www.aol.com). It is a one-stop-shop that gives mobile users easy access to the newly enhanced mobile AOL Search, AIM, AOL Mail and AOL Pictures services as well as AOL’s news, entertainment, sports and weather content.
Sprint subscribers now have full access to America’s most popular instant messaging community via downloadable mobile AIM applications or through the wireless web. Features include presence awareness via the mobile Buddy List feature, IM Forwarding and two-way desktop-to-mobile (IM2SMS) messaging services.To learn more about mobile AOL services available to Sprint subscribers, please go to http://www.aolmobile.com/sprint
In a related announcement, AOL debuted MapQuest’s new web-enabled service making it easier for consumers to access MapQuest.com. Coming soon, MapQuest Navigator will enable consumers to access Global Positioning Service (GPS), turn-by-turn, voice-guided directions on their mobile phones.
Consumers with web-enabled mobile phones can access MapQuest.com by going to http://wap.mapquest.com .MapQuest expects the MapQuest Navigator service to be available through major U.S. cell phone providers later this year. For more information, see http://www.mapquest.com/mobile.
Other services coming soon from AOL include a new mobile pictures upload feature will allow AOL Pictures users (AOL members and AIM users alike) to automatically post photos taken with their mobile device to their AOL Pictures account, regardless of their wireless carrier. The feature will be enabled through the AOL Pictures website ( http://www.aol.com/pictures).
AOL will also introduce mobile blogging capabilities that will enable consumers to automatically post pictures from their mobile device to their AOL Journal or AIM Blog.
Brands
Aman Gupta’s OFF/BEAT secures Rs 100 crore seed funding round
Bessemer backs new venture betting on AI and India’s digital shift
MUMBAI: Aman Gupta has raised Rs 100 crore in seed funding for his new venture OFF/BEAT, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the round as it bets on a new wave of AI-led, consumer-first businesses in India.
The funding marks an early but significant push for OFF/BEAT, which is positioned to tap into a rapidly evolving market shaped by a digitally native generation and advances in artificial intelligence. The venture aims to build at the intersection of culture and technology, where brand identity and innovation increasingly go hand in hand.
Gupta, best known for co-founding boAt and scaling it into a Rs 3,000 crore-plus business, is now looking to apply those learnings to a new playbook. His focus this time is not just on building a consumer brand, but on leveraging AI and global networks to accelerate growth.
OFF/BEAT founder Aman Gupta said, “Having built from scratch before, I know what capital can do and what it cannot. This time, I was looking for partners with a global perspective who can help me leverage technology and AI, because that is where the future lies. Bessemer’s track record with companies like Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn says it all.”
The choice of investor reflects that ambition. Bessemer Venture Partners has backed global technology players such as Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn, bringing not just capital but strategic support and global reach.
Bessemer Venture Partners partner Anant Vidur Puri said, “We back founders who see around corners. Aman saw how a new India would come to think about aspiration, identity and quality, and built boAt as proof. He is now applying that same instinct to a market being reshaped by AI and by a generation with entirely new expectations.”
The investment comes at a time when India’s startup ecosystem is being reshaped by both consumer behaviour and technological disruption. Founders are increasingly expected to understand not just products, but the cultural shifts that drive adoption.
For OFF/BEAT, the journey is just beginning, but the signal is clear. In a market where attention is fleeting and expectations are rising, building something truly distinctive may be the only way to stay on beat.
