iWorld
Twitter makes first acquisition in India with Zip Dial
MUMBAI: Twitter India has acquired the Indian marketing start up Zip Dial, in order to make the micro blogging site more accessible to people in India and around the world. This is Twitter’s first acquisition in India and is pegged close to $30-$35 million. ZipDial was co-founded by Valerie Wagoner, Amiya Pathak and Sanjay Swamy.
Making the announcement on the micro-blogging site, Twitter India and Southeast Asia market director Rishi Jaitly said, “On behalf of our India operations, I’m delighted to welcome Zip Dial’s leadership, employees and a new office in Bangalore to the spirited team that is Twitter India.”
With the new deal in the kitty, Jaitly added that their primary mission was to reach out to every Indian with a mobile device in order to facilitate a relevant Twitter experience. “We believe Twitter – a platform invented for SMS and rich in media – is a perfect match for India, a mobile-first country with a celebrated media heritage,” he said.
Twitter and Zip Dial already have a history of getting content to Indians. In recent times Bollywood actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth have partnered with Twitter and Zip Dial to allow users to follow these celebrities by making a toll-free “missed call” to a designated phone number. Callers then started receiving inbound content on their phone in real time through voice, SMS or an app notification.
During last year’s general elections, the two national political parties, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National Congress (INC) worked in tandem with both the partners to make their accounts accessible to all users in India on any phone, on any network and in any language.
Jaitly concluded by saying that with the Cricket World Cup around the corner and more Indian icons joining the platform every day, 2015 promises to be another big year for Twitter in India.
iWorld
JioHotstar integrates ChatGPT for voice and text-based content discovery
Voice and text AI lets viewers explore shows, sports and more naturally
NEW DELHI: Watching TV just got chatty. JioHotstar has teamed up with OpenAI to roll out a ChatGPT-powered conversational interface that lets users discover content simply by speaking or typing what they want to watch. Gone are the days of endless scrolling or typing rigid keywords
The new AI feature supports multiple languages and understands moods, contexts, and preferences. Whether you’re in the mood for a romcom, a thriller, or a cricket highlight, the system responds with personalised recommendations drawn from JioHotstar’s catalogue of live and on-demand programming
Sports fans also get a front-row seat to AI-powered updates. You can ask for match scores, key moments, or player stats while staying tuned in, turning passive viewing into a more interactive experience
The integration doesn’t stop at the app. Entertainment-related questions asked directly within ChatGPT will now surface relevant JioHotstar content, linking viewers back to the streaming platform for seamless exploration
JioStar vice chairman Uday Shankar, said AI “marks a transformative shift for the media and entertainment industry. Our partnership with OpenAI will allow viewers to discover, engage with, and even curate content using their voice. This is a reimagining of the entertainment experience that feels deeply personal to every viewer”
OpenAI CEO of applications Fidji Simo added, “Entertainment used to be a one-way street. Now, AI turns every moment into an opportunity for deeper engagement. Viewers can move from watching to asking, from curiosity to recommendation in ways that feel natural, personal, and immediately useful”
The move highlights a broader trend in India’s streaming market: platforms are racing to make content discovery smarter, faster, and more context-aware as libraries expand and audiences demand personalised experiences.
