Brands
New York wine bar welcomes AI dates for Valentine’s dinner
Same Same Wine Bar’s experiment mirrors rising interest in AI companionship
NEW YORK: As Valentine’s Day approaches, a wine bar in New York City has offered an unconventional seating option: a place at the table for artificial intelligence.
At Same Same Wine Bar, diners are invited to bring their AI chatbots along for what organisers describe as “AI-assisted dinners”. Phones and tablets are placed opposite wine glasses, allowing guests to converse with virtual companions while eating and drinking.
The initiative is backed by EvaAI, a service that offers AI-generated characters for text and video interaction. Users can choose from pre-built avatars or customise digital partners, shaping personalities, appearance and conversational style.
On the opening night, patrons largely dined alone, their attention fixed on animated faces flickering on screens. The audience included technology enthusiasts, media observers and long-time users of AI companion apps, suggesting curiosity rather than novelty-seeking alone.
EvaAI positions its products as tools for the single, the curious or those seeking to practise communication skills. Yet the timing is telling. Surveys and online forums point to growing interest in AI companionship, particularly among younger adults navigating loneliness, dating fatigue and digital-first lives.
As AI seeps from screens into social spaces, experiments like this one suggest that artificial relationships are no longer confined to private chats. They are edging, cautiously, into the public square.
Brands
ZEEL transfers syndication business, invests Rs 505 crore in IP push
Restructuring, stake buy and FCCB moves signal sharper content strategy
MUMBAI: In the content economy, owning the story is half the battle monetising it is the real game, and Zee Entertainment Enterprises is doubling down on both. The company has approved the transfer of its syndication and content licensing business to its wholly owned subsidiary ZI-IPR Enterprises, alongside an investment of Rs 505 crore aimed at strengthening its play in content intellectual property (IP) acquisition, management and monetisation. The move, effective April 1, 2026, will see the business transferred on a slump sale basis at book value, including all associated assets, liabilities and commercial rights effectively consolidating IP operations under a more focused structure.
At its core, the restructuring signals a strategic shift. As content consumption increasingly fragments across digital and global platforms, the value of IP lies not just in creation but in how efficiently it can be distributed, repackaged and monetised across markets. By housing its syndication engine within ZI-IPR Enterprises, ZEEL appears to be building a more agile and scalable ecosystem, one that can better extract value from its vast content library while adapting to evolving distribution models.
But the company’s ambitions are not limited to restructuring. ZEEL has also approved an investment of up to Rs 20.09 crore in Culture of Real Experiences (CORE), acquiring a 51 per cent stake in the entity. The move expands its footprint into the broader creative and experiential space, suggesting a push beyond traditional broadcasting into areas where content, culture and immersive experiences intersect.
At the same time, ZEEL has moved to tidy up its financials, approving the redemption of $23.9 million in outstanding foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) and cancelling an unused $215.1 million commitment. The twin steps are expected to ease pressure on its treasury, freeing up capital and improving financial flexibility as the company invests more aggressively in its IP strategy.
Taken together, the decisions reflect a company in recalibration mode streamlining legacy structures, sharpening its focus on content ownership, and exploring new avenues for growth. In a market where the lines between television, streaming and experiential entertainment are increasingly blurred, ZEEL’s latest moves suggest it is not just creating content, but building a system to make that content travel further and pay better.
