iWorld
Culture Machine reorganises sales team
MUMBAI: Digital media network Culture Machine has reorganised its sales team. Siddharth Narula, who served as the president – revenue, has been promoted to chief revenue officer. He will overlook the expansion of the firm’s technology sales footprint in international markets, starting with South East Asia and North America. He will continue to report to Culture Machine CEO and co-founder Sameer Pitalwalla.
Aditya Aima has joined as the business head – ASEAN for Culture Machine, operating out of Malaysia. Aima will overlook the expansion of Culture Machine’s Intelligence Machine and Video Machine offerings to its brand and advertisers. Minal Sharma has joined as the national sales head, overlooking all sales for Culture Machine’s Studios and media brands. She joins the team with over 16 years of experience across leading media and entertainment brands.
Both, Aima and Sharma will report to Narula.
Pitalwalla said, “Our Indian media brands lead the charts in each of their verticals, and the core technology platforms that have helped scale them are already in use by Fortune 500 clients globally, with large demand the world over. We are excited about growing this opportunity, while continuing to focus on our domestic Media business.”
Narula added, “2016 has been one of the most active years for Culture Machine in terms of revenue escalation and content creation. We created trendsetting videos which have led to hundreds of global and local brands to collaborate with us, resulting in award winning campaigns. In the embryonic days of digital entertainment and technology, the addition of Minal and Aditya will help catalyse the process.”
Since its inception, Culture Machine’s vision of using technology and storytelling to build great media brands that people love has led the way in the digital content revolution that the country is currently witnessing. Culture Machine’s digital brands Being Indian, Blush, Put Chutney, Viva and Awesome Sauce have carved a distinctive identity and an undisputed space among the top three in their respective genres.
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.
