iWorld
Harsha Bhogle joins Bowled.io as strategic investor
Mumbai: Cricket-based social experience platform Bowled.io has added cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle as a strategic investor. He will lead the Bowled.io think tank, aiding the company with key insights and connecting with global cricket fans. Additionally, he will also assist in developing newer formats for cricket-based games on the Bowled.io platform. He will team up with multiple international cricketers in the Bowled.io think tank.
Commenting on Bhogle’s appointment, Bowled.io co-founder Rahul Singh said, “Straight drive is the same, whether it is Meerut or Melbourne or Manchester. We started with a mission to bring together cricket lovers from all over the world through the power of sports, gaming and social engagement. Bowled.io is the go-to platform for cricket lovers, providing an immersive and 360-degree experience for cricket fans to connect, compete, and share their passion for the sport. So far, global cricket fans have hit over 10.5 million sixes, caught over 12 million catches, and taken over 2.5 million wickets on the platform. Building further on the overwhelmingly positive response from the community, we are super excited to add Harsha as a brand ambassador and strategic investor. His expertise and adroit understanding of the sports ecosystem will help us grow Bowled.io and connect with sports fans globally.”
Launched in March 2022, Bowled.io allows users to discover and play games, own in-game assets, compete in tournaments, reap social and economic benefits and much more. The entire ecosystem is powered by blockchain technology, allowing true ownership and interoperability of the assets. The Bowled.io super app already has a global community of cricket fans from 70+ countries, with over 34 million hours of gameplay consumed and 60+ million in-game assets in circulation.
Bhogle added, “Strategy-based games have always piqued my interest since they let people compete with one another and get more involved. I was drawn in by the prospect of working with a youthful, zealous team of cricket enthusiasts and their new take on cricket. I now expect a prolonged, exploratory journey with this fantastic young team.”
With its fleet of six hyper-casual games and two mid-core and strategy games, Bowled.io aims to be the pioneer in creating a platform for sports fans across the world. The flagship game, Faceoff, is being hailed as the chess of cricket as it combines knowledge and strategy to create exciting gameplay. Bowled.io also plans to bring live cricket games to the platform very soon. The Bowled.io marketplace hosts in-game assets that can be bought and sold among users.
Bowled.io recently added core features like in-game asset utility and wallet, completing the blockchain gaming loop. Bowled.io plans to start venturing into other sports, like football, tennis and basketball, with similar core loops going forward. Along with this, Bowled.io is partnering with leading industry players to add content and distribution power ups. Sky Mavis, the creator and operator of the world’s largest play-to-earn game, Axie Infinity, is a strategic investor and partner to the Bowled.io platform, in addition to Bhogle. The company has raised three million dollars from other marquee global investors and industry leaders in March 2022.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
