iWorld
MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings dominate Facebook fandom map
MUMBAI: Facebook has been mapping fans of the eight teams playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which shows the most-liked teams on Facebook across all of India’s states and districts. Led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are the kings of IPL when it comes to their Facebook likes.
The map shows that every team is the most supported team in their home states. In states that do not have a team, CSK dominates.
Interestingly, more people in Delhi like the CSK team than their home team. In fact, the Delhi Daredevils do not have a plurality of fans in an Indian district. And in Gurgaon, Mumbai Indians are the most popular among Facebook fans.
The Facebook fandom map is created by the Facebook Data Science team, shows fans of all eight IPL teams across India. Each district is color-coded based on which official team Facebook page has the most likes from the people that live in that district.
What’s more, from 1 April to 10 May, approximately 26 million people had nearly 250 million Facebook interactions around the IPL wherein people engaged in the conversation their favorite teams, players, and with their friends around IPL content. In India, 19 million people had nearly 200 million interactions.
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.
