iWorld
New video platform to compete with YouTube, Vimeo
NEW DELHI: A new video platform for lifestyle content Wonder PL hopes to compete with YouTube and Vimeo and capitalise on the soaring popularity of online video streaming.
Backed by Universal Music Group, Qualcomm Ventures, former Apple executive Pascal Cagni and a personal investment by Vice Media president Andrew Creighton, Wonder PL which was launched on 13 March features topics from wellness to food to entertainment targeting women.
Wonder PL is differentiating itself from YouTube by targeting professional content makers to use its platform for an annual fee. Whereas, YouTube is free to anyone who wants to upload a video.
“We want to be the Whole Foods of video,” said Wonder PL founder and CEO Sofia Fenichell. “YouTube is Wal-Mart.”
Wonder PL is going after brands and content creators such as the National Film Board of China and chef Tom Aikens. Wonder charges an annual fee of $300 for its members to use the platform to upload videos. “We know everyone is going to produce more videos,” Fenichell said.
While more people are uploading and consuming video, it is a crowded market. Google’s YouTube, which is ad-supported, has more than a billion unique users per month who watch more than six billion hours of video.
IAC/Interactive’s Vimeo provides a platform for professional users too. Anyone can post videos to the Vimeo platform for free but it charges up to $199 for more comprehensive features like additional storage, support and the ability to sell video on demand. Vimeo takes a 10 per cent cut on all videos using this additional feature. The platform has over 22 million registered members and reaches a global monthly audience of about 150 million.
Fenichell said Wonder will depend on subscription revenue for now but could eventually start providing opportunities for sponsored content. People view videos on Wonder in an ad-free environment.
“The industry currently trades a free or nominal membership fee in exchange for taking very high platform commissions,” she added. “We believe this is an unsustainable model for creators who need to generate value from their work.”
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
