Brands
Cheetah Mobile wields the power of AI to transform its utility apps
MUMBAI: Cheetah Mobile, a mobile internet company that provides leading apps for mobile users worldwide and connects users with personalised content on the mobile platform, has commenced the roll out of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies across most of its utility applications hoping to redefine its products further differentiating it from competitors.
Currently, the company has over 580 million active users worldwide. AI and big data are two major focuses for Cheetah Mobile, and the company’s mobile product lineup demonstrates this strategy. India is one of its largest markets in terms of installations and active users, and exclusive features for Indian users are coming in the imminent future.
As Cheetah amplifies the use of AI technology in its apps, popular utility apps like CM Launcher, Clean Master, Security Master, CM Locker, and Cheetah Keyboard will become more personalised and faster. India is one of the company’s top performing countries for mobile tools and Cheetah is working towards localising these apps to provide a unique experience for Indian users. These customisations include exclusive launcher app themes for festivals such as Holi. The Keyboard app also provides highly localised language optimisation options such as “Hinglish” making it one of the most efficient keyboard apps for users in India.
With the help of AI photo search capability, Clean Master is able to scan for repeated photos and clean up images. Similarly, CM Launcher uses deep learning to analyse usage behavior over time to recommend personalised themes to users. This helps the users identify unique themes representing their personality. The Keyboard uses AI-powered advanced predictive text, to suggest replies and save valuable time for users. Such application of neural networks and deep learning technologies would allow it to be one of the most technologically advanced keyboards out there. Cheetah Keyboard currently analyses data and “learns” about 2 billion words and phrases.
Facial recognition technology is already being used in Cheetah Mobile’s Live.me social live broadcasting app, which produces more than 300,000 hours of user-generated live content each day. The technology has other uses as well, including the ability to recognise brand logos, support advertisement testing, generate user tags based on a variety of characteristics, and provide personalised content recommendations, thereby supporting all types of dynamic facial mapping.
Meanwhile, Cheetah Ads unifies Cheetah Mobile’s strengths in utility apps and mobile content under a single brand with a strong focus on bringing vertical video ads to every kind of mobile moment.
Cheetah Mobile VP Edward Sun said, “Artificial intelligence is changing the way we interact with our desired brands and will play a critical role in the future of customer engagement. We believe in the ability of AI technology to unlock the potential of the modern workforce and will offer a chance to bypass competitors and disrupt the industry landscape.”
Realising the importance of AI, Cheetah Mobile has invested in Beijing OrionStar, an AI technology company this year. Post this investment, Cheetah Mobile holds approximately 30 per cent of equity interest in Beijing OrionStar and has a two-year warrant to subscribe to additional equity interests at the same valuation to achieve controlling position.
Beijing OrionStar has successfully developed its own far-field voice interactive operating system. The first product with Beijing OrionStar’s far-field voice interactive operating system, Xiaoya AI Speaker, was released in June 2017. In addition, Beijing OrionStar recently won an AI competition organised by Microsoft using facial recognition technology to identify celebrity photos.
Brands
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
