iWorld
Amazon Prime Video rates cheapest in India
MUMBAI: A recent study has found online streaming platform Amazon Prime Video is the cheapest in India. On the contrary, the service is most expensive in its home country United States. In a study by technology research firm Comparitech Ltd, India has been found as the cheapest place to watch Amazon Prime Video among 28 countries.
“If we compare the overall cost per month of Amazon Prime Video around the world, India is by far the cheapest place to get it. At a cost of just $1.76 (£1.37) per month, it’s $11.23 or £4.62 cheaper than the US or UK, respectively,” the study said. Amazon Prime Video is 115 per cent cheaper in India than the average with a library of 2,351 titles, including movies, shows and documentaries.
Japan, Brazil, Australia and Mexico follow India successively in the cheapest list. Indians can enjoy the service at Rs 129 while in US it costs $12.99.The annual membership plan comes at a discounted price of Rs 999 besides a free one-month trial. Moreover, telco players like Vodafone, Airtel also offer free Prime subscription under certain deals.
Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the UK follow the US in the list of most expensive countries to get Amazon Prime Video. However, the report says Americans, along with paying the highest amount, also get to watch the most number of movies and TV shows on the over-the-top platform. In India, the platform’s library consists of close to 2,000 movies and about 400 shows.
The study also found that Indian subscribers to Amazon Prime Video also pay one of the lowest rates per title, 137 per cent less than the worldwide average on a per title basis.
e-commerce
American Express to acquire AI startup Hyper to boost automation
Deal targets expense management as AI reshapes corporate spending tools.
MUMBAI: From receipts to robots, the expense sheet is getting a brain upgrade as American Express moves to bring artificial intelligence into the heart of corporate spending. The company has announced plans to acquire Hyper, a relatively young but fast-rising startup founded in 2022 that builds AI-powered agents capable of organising expenses, generating reports, verifying compliance with budgets and policies, and nudging users with timely reminders. The deal, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, underscores a growing shift among financial institutions to automate traditionally manual, time-heavy workflows.
Hyper counts Sam Altman among its backers, adding a layer of Silicon Valley credibility to the acquisition. While financial details remain undisclosed, the strategic intent is clear: deepen automation capabilities and sharpen American Express’s position in the competitive corporate spending ecosystem.
The two companies are not strangers. They previously collaborated in 2024 on a co-branded credit card product, suggesting that the acquisition is less a cold buy and more an extension of an existing relationship. With this move, American Express is effectively bringing that capability in-house, aiming to embed AI directly into its commercial services stack.
Chief executive Stephen Squeri had already signalled the direction of travel in a recent shareholder letter, describing AI as a “structural shift” in how businesses operate. The Hyper acquisition appears to be a direct response to that shift, particularly in expense management, where processes such as approvals, compliance checks and reporting remain ripe for automation.
Alongside the acquisition, the company is also expanding its product suite. A recently launched business credit card offers cashback and benefits at an annual fee of $295, with another card expected later this year moves that complement its broader push into commercial services.
Taken together, the strategy points to a future where managing expenses may require fewer spreadsheets and more algorithms. For American Express, the bet is simple, if businesses are rethinking how work gets done, the tools that power that work need to evolve just as quickly.
