iWorld
MX Player tops in India in video streaming: 2023 Data.ai report
Mumbai: As per the State of Mobile 2023 Report by Data.ai (formerly App Annie), OTT platform MX Player has further cemented its leadership status with yet another milestone. The report stated that MX Player ranked #1 in India beating Hotstar, Zee5 and JioTV and is ranked #3 worldwide, after YouTube and Netflix, in terms of downloads in video streaming. The entertainment super app has seen consistent successes in 2022 with an extraordinary slate of MX Original Series from Campus Diaries to Aashram Season 3 to Dharavi Bank amongst many other top-rated series.
Since its launch in February 2019, MX Player continues to witness exponential growth given the rise in OTT content consumption in India. Known for its superlative narratives in diverse genres catering to vast age groups, MX Player ranked #4 in India by MAU by likelihood of use amongst the age group of 18 to 24 years. While it ranked #9 in India in terms of top apps by monthly active users (MAUs), it managed an impressive ranking of number #3 amongst the most searched iOS AppStore keywords in 2022 in the entertainment OTT category.
The OTT platform has not only established a stronghold in India but strengthened its base in the global entertainment market and is ranked #3 worldwide and is #4 in Singapore in terms of downloads. It also has a global reach of 17+ markets that includes UAE, US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Maldives amongst others.
Commenting on the report, MX Player chief operating officer Nikhil Gandhi said, “2022 has been a defining year for MX Player for many reasons. From understanding the pulse of the viewers to creating diverse content, we focused on establishing the platform for giving a holistic user experience. The growth has been phenomenal and we’re proud to have rightfully worked towards fulfilling our mission of providing entertainment to the masses, large and wide. We’re privileged to be acknowledged and trusted as a go-to-platform for entertainment and are encouraged to offer top-notch engaging content in the coming years.”
According to the report, 11 per cent growth was witnessed in app downloads in 2022 as a total of 255 billion new apps were downloaded by iOS, Google Play, and third-party users. The data also highlights the jump in the time spent by users, which encompasses five hours per user daily which accounts for a total of 4.1 trillion hours by users collectively. The State of Mobile 2023 report provides an in-depth analysis of the spending by users. It mentions that $167 billion was spent on app stores, while India would be #44 largest countries globally for an enormous $336 billion being spent on mobile ads in 2022.
MX Player is the homegrown streaming platform from Times Network, and the Time Group also achieved a staggering rank #8 in India amongst the top companies app by download.
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.
