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ACT Karya together to transform tech landscape for livelihood opportunities to rural communities
Mumbai: ACT, an Indian venture philanthropy organisation has announced its support to Karya, a startup that leverages technology as a means to provide livelihood and up-skilling opportunities to disadvantaged communities. The Rs 4 Cr grant aims to support Karya in its vision to bring 100 million people out of poverty by building ethical data collection methods that fairly compensate its workers, most of whom are primarily from rural India.
ACT director Aakanksha Gulati said, “Karya’s strong tech DNA has allowed them to show exponential growth over the last two years in generating high quality Indian-language data sets to train Large Language Models (LLMs) for a variety of AI use cases. At the same time, this DNA is also deeply rooted in the mission of uplifting India’s most vulnerable out of poverty. This potent combination has enabled them to offer workers from underserved communities as much as 20 times the prevailing minimum wage in India. With our first joint grant from ACT For Education and ACT For Women verticals, we’re excited to support Karya in their journey to on board and help accelerate national as well as international demand for their data work and generate insights on the impact of this model on capacity building and income generation for individuals across rural India, with an emphasis on gender-specific nuances.”
As per UNDP’s Multidimensional Poverty Index, ‘200 million people in India live in poverty. However, with the massive growth of AI across businesses, there is a huge demand for data to train AI/ML models. Karya is leveraging this opportunity by providing simplified data work to rural Indians through its micro tasking platform, the Karya App. Their solution democratises digital data work that has the potential to generate up to Rs 1500 in supplementary income for data collectors from underserved communities within a year and accelerate their social mobility. Additionally, through their ‘earn then learn model’, Karya also supports the workers with upskilling opportunities via Karya Learn and career guidance through Karya Grow.
Karya co-founder Manu Chopra said, “We are thrilled about this partnership with ACT; their investment will enable Karya to dramatically accelerate our work and create even more meaningful impact. As an organisation committed to using technology to bring dignified, digital work opportunities to our communities, we are heartened to be a part of the ACT community and are deeply grateful for their support,” said Since its inception in 2021, Karya has impacted over 32,000 individuals (60 per cent of whom are women), across more than 25 states/UTs, who have received wages totalling Rs 4.5 Cr for the completion of more than 35Mn digital tasks.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
