iWorld
Affle board appoints four additional directors
Mumbai: Technology company Affle on Monday announced the appointment of four additional directors to its board. The new members include independent director Lay See Tan, executive director Vipul Kedia, non-executive director Noelia Amoedo and non-executive director Elad Natanson.
Vipul Kedia has been associated with Affle for 16 years and is currently serving as chief data and platforms officer and head of MAAS Platform in India.
Noelia Amoedo is the founder and CEO of mediasmart, now part of the Affle Group. She has extensive experience in mobile, internet and social media, with a proven track record of developing profitable businesses from scratch in international markets.
Lay See Tan is a seasoned finance professional who has served as CFO of public-listed companies on Singapore Stock Exchange, NASDAQ and led hyper growth tech start-ups across various industries.
Elad Natanson is the CEO of Appnext, now part of Affle group and has been at the forefront of mobile and internet innovation for more than 20 years evangelising several companies in the digital sphere.
With this, Affle’s board will now comprise 10 directors led by an independent non-executive chairman and will include four women directors. The additions are designed to support Affle’s accelerated growth momentum, provide greater accountability to the senior leadership and reflect upon the company’s commitment to maintain highest standards of corporate governance with enhanced depth of expertise.
Affle non-executive chairman and independent director Bijynath said, “I am pleased to welcome new directors to the board where their years of invaluable experience, skills and diversity of opinion will help us on our journey ahead. This will further enhance our overall corporate governance, risk management processes & thought leadership enabling holistic organisational development and sustainable value creation for all our stakeholders.”
Affle managing director and CEO Anuj Khanna Sohum said, “These appointments come at a time when we are amidst our accelerated growth trajectory, embarking on several innovations and I am elated to welcome the directors joining our board at such a pivotal phase of Affle. The directors’ unique and entrepreneurial perspective will further augment our strategic differentiation, global market position following the highest levels of transparency and governance. We look forward to leveraging their scientific and strategic expertise while keenly promoting our Affle 2.0 culture of diversity, equity and inclusion across the organisation including at our board of directors.”
e-commerce
Google rolls out new AI shopping tools for Indian users
Gemini, AI Mode in Search, and Circle to Search get smarter upgrades to simplify online buying.
MUMBAI: Google is making online shopping in India a lot less “add to cart” and a lot more “ask and discover”. The tech giant has announced a fresh set of artificial intelligence-powered updates designed to make finding and buying products more intuitive and efficient. By integrating its Gemini models with the Shopping Graph, a massive dataset of over 50 billion product listings that sees nearly 2 billion updates every hour, Google is bringing smarter, more conversational shopping experiences across its platforms.
Users can now move seamlessly from idea generation to product discovery within the Gemini app. Whether planning a festive outfit or building a gift list, shoppers can receive product listings, comparison tables, pricing from across the web, and direct purchase links, all through natural conversation. The feature is currently available in English and Hindi.
Google has upgraded its AI Mode in Search, turning it into a more natural shopping assistant. Instead of relying on traditional filters and keywords, users can ask questions in plain language and receive structured responses with visuals, pricing, reviews, and inventory details. Comparison tables highlighting key differences are also included. While currently available in English, a Hindi version is expected soon.
The popular Circle to Search feature has been enhanced on devices such as the Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S26 series. Users can now identify and explore multiple objects in a single image at once. In fashion-related queries, the tool can break down entire outfits and suggest similar products, making style replication or discovery much easier.
Google stated that these updates build on last year’s successful rollout of the Virtual Try-On tool in India, which helped users visualise apparel before purchase.
In a market where shopping decisions often happen in seconds, Google is betting that smarter AI will turn casual browsing into confident buying. From festive shopping lists to spotting the perfect outfit in a photo, these new tools aim to make every scroll feel a little more rewarding and a lot less overwhelming.
