e-commerce
AnyMind Group launches AnyLive
Mumbai: AnyMind Group has launched its GenAI-powered live commerce platform, AnyLive, designed to help businesses run live commerce in multiple languages without the constraints of time or location. The platform uses AI-generated virtual live streamers modeled to reflect a brand’s identity. These avatars can stream continuously, presenting products and driving sales in multiple languages, including English, Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, Bahasa Malaysia, Vietnamese, and Tagalog, with more languages to come.
AnyLive addresses the challenges of navigating language barriers, cultural nuances, and local regulations in the growing APAC e-commerce market. It automates live commerce processes, allowing businesses to overcome obstacles in cross-border expansion, talent shortages, and limited production spaces. The platform also leverages large-language models to generate live-stream scripts and automated responses.
AnyLive integrates with major e-commerce and social media platforms like Amazon, Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and X, enabling brands to reach broader audiences through simultaneous broadcasts. Additionally, AnyMind Group is building teams to provide operational support, including data-driven insights to optimise live streams, and offers access to its influencer marketing platform, AnyTag, to collaborate with human streamers for better engagement.
AnyMind Group CEO & co-founder Kosuke Sogo said: “Southeast Asia’s e-commerce market presents a tremendous growth opportunity, not just for local brands but also for companies around the world. With the launch of AnyLive, we aim to offer an innovative approach to social commerce and digital marketing. By leveraging our advanced technology and the expertise of our teams across Southeast Asia, East Asia, India and the Middle East, we are committed to helping businesses establish a competitive edge in this dynamic market.”
Early adopters of AnyLive have seen significant results. Sino-Pacific Trading (Thailand) Co, using AnyLive for Evian in Thailand, reduced costs by 90 per cent while increasing monthly streaming hours. Additionally, GenAI live streamers outperformed human streamers in GMV for Evian Nil Co’s Suna brand in Thailand and Malaysia, boosted live commerce sales, and provided valuable insights into viewership patterns. The company now plans to enhance its live commerce strategy by combining AI and human streamers.
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.
