iWorld
Cricbuzz targets 75 million users with new World Cup section
MUMBAI: Cricbuzz, a division of Times Internet, is launching a new World Cup section across web and mobile, to capitalise on the major cricket wave with the World Cup and IPL over the next four months.
Cricbuzz is a mobile app for cricket news and scores in India. During IPL 2014, Cricbuzz was used by over 50 million people, with more than 80 per cent of users on their mobile devices. In January, Cricbuzz users spent over 2.5 billion minutes on the Cricbuzz app (just under 5000 years), generating 2.6 billion page views.
The new World Cup release features a number of major new features, including:
– ‘Timelines’: go through well-crafted timelines of each tournament since 1975, to relive epic moments.
– ‘Records’: the most interesting cricket stats and figures, with a log of past WC matches
– ‘Captains and Kits’: a collection of caricatures of team captains for the last 30 years
– ‘Your Team’: sections dedicated to each team, with history, stats, and easy access
– ‘The Venue’: information on the cities & venues of matches
Cricbuzz will feature editorial content and the scores and alerts. With live reporting straight from the tournament, Cricbuzz will make sure users have the insights at their fingertips.
Last week, the Cricbuzz app crossed 10 million downloads, making it the first sports app in India to do so, and 4x the size of its nearest competition. Cricbuzz is now in the top 5 sports apps globally, behind ESPNScoreCenter and the official apps of FIFA and the NFL.
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.
