iWorld
Helo announces in-app edutainment property “HeloLivePeMilo”
MUMBAI: Facilitating closer engagement between stars and fans through interactive mediums, Helo launched Helo Live Pe Milo", a first-of-its-kind in-app property, in the edutainment category, wherein the platform will provide users with a plethora of entertaining and educative / learning initiatives in 15 different languages through exclusive partnerships across industries.
The property, #HeloLivePeMilo, has been conceptualised to be the one-stop destination for users to directly engage with the celebrities, influencers, and creators across genres including food, comedy, music, education, fitness, etc. To enjoy any upcoming live session Helo, users can simply subscribe to any listed session of their interest on #HeloLivePeMilo page in their preferred language offered by the platform.
Currently, the #HeloLivePeMilo page is buzzing with enthusiasm from users around: 'Just Comedy Festival, Zomato's popular food carnival 'Zomaland' hosting exclusive sessions with celebrity chefs and Josh Talks conducting motivation sessions in Hindi and Marathi.
While there are food lovers who are polishing their kitchen gears to cook alongside six of the popular chefs including Vicky Ratnani, Shivesh Bhatia, Mirvaan Vinayak, Ajay Chopra, Kabita Singh and Pankaj Bhadouria with Zomaland by Zomato; there are other users awaiting to gain knowledge insights from accomplished Indian public speakers which includes Shiv Khera, Abhinay Sharma and Anand Bansode with Josh Talks. For comedy fans, live performances during the Just Comedy Festival by India's popular stand-up comics like Zakir Khan, Atul Khatri and Rahul Dua are at the top of the chart.
Commenting on the launch of #HeloLivePeMilo, Helo head of entertainment Chhandita Nambiar said, "At Helo, it is our constant endeavour to bring fans closer to their favourite stars, and offer them exclusive content. #HeloLivePeMilo is a strategic initiative in that direction that aims to further elevate the user experience by providing professionally generated – entertaining and knowledgeable content through interactive live sessions. Through this initiative we are also encouraging people to ‘Get together on Helo’ for an exciting experience of multilingual content by their favourite celebrities and influencers across categories of their interest."
Many stars including Badshah, Chitrangada Singh, Esha Gupta, Amit Trivedi, Vishal Bhardwaj, Nupur Sanon and stalwarts from their respective talent fields like Terence Lewis, Sanjeev Kapoor, Zakir Khan, Vidyut Jammwal, Mandira Bedi, Mickey Mehta and many more were seen performing and having live interactive sessions with their fans through #HeloLivePeMilo. Many of them actively engage with their Helo fans, keeping them updated around useful insights, including from their personal life. During his live session, Badshah revealed that his stage name was inspired by one of Shah Rukh Khan's iconic movie whereas Terrance Lewis shared his love for the live feature on Helo and how he is loving engaging with his fans.
#HeloLivePeMilo has received overwhelming response during the recent live sessions on the platform in partnership with CrossBlade, Mirchi Live, Pinkvilla, Bollywood Music Project and more. The partnership featured various celebrities and artists across languages and content categories going live on the platform to engage with their fans.
Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment
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.
