iWorld
Viacom18’s Voot ranked among 2016’s best apps on Google Play
MUMBAI: In its year of launch, Viacom18’s video-on demand platform, Voot has made it to the prestigious -Best Apps of the year 2016 India list on Google Play. Some of the other top apps which made it to the list are Google Allo, Google Duo, Prisma, Dubsmash, Ted, etc.
Every year Google releases a list of best performing applications, games, movies, TV shows, and books on Google Play across the globe. Voot has won under Top Trending Apps and Most Entertaining Apps in the country across categories. In fact, VOOT is the only video-on demand app to have made it to this coveted list and one of the only two apps to feature in two categories.
“To be selected in the list of top trending and most entertaining apps for 2016 by Google Play is a huge honor.It cements our belief that compelling content packaged into a great user experience makes for a winning product, one that is appreciated by consumers and acknowledged by the industry. Having made it to this prestigious list in our maiden year now sets a high benchmark for us,” said Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi.
Voot was launched earlier this year and currently has over 30,000 hours of content and plans to add between over 12000 hours of content each year. The ad-supported VOD service, besides being the singular destination for the Viacom 18 network content, also has a big focus ondigital Originals, exclusive unseen content around the network’srealityshows as well as the largest repository for premium kids’ content in India.
Within just six months from launch, Voot has already garnered more than 16 million downloads, over 15 million monthly active users with monthly watch time of over 1.3 billion minutes.
iWorld
Schmooze launches AI matchmaker Riya to personalise dating
300,000 users try feature as retention doubles on Gen Z dating app.
MUMBAI: Love might be blind, but now it’s also algorithmically curated and apparently quite chatty. Schmooze has introduced an AI-powered personal matchmaker named Riya, marking its latest push to move beyond swipe-led dating into deeper, personality-driven matchmaking. Unlike traditional matching systems, Riya interacts directly with users through conversations asking about everything from lifestyle and humour to relationship goals and family values. The idea is simple but ambitious: understand users beyond surface-level preferences and recommend matches that actually fit.
The feature builds on a pattern Schmooze had already observed. Its earlier AI tool, People Finder, allowed users to describe their ideal partner in detail and users did exactly that. Requests ranged from “an extrovert who works in tech and likes to cook” to hyper-specific traits, signalling a clear shift towards intent-driven dating.
That insight exposed a gap. While dating apps typically rely on probability-based algorithms, many users already know what they want they just lack a system that can interpret it meaningfully.
Riya attempts to fill that gap using a conversational approach. Instead of rigid inputs, it gathers signals organically sometimes through casual questions about weekend plans or social habits while mapping deeper compatibility markers in the background.
To support this, Schmooze has built its own end-to-end voice AI stack and large language model, rather than relying on third-party systems. The move is aimed at keeping costs in check while handling scale, and ensuring tighter control over user data and privacy.
The early numbers suggest traction. More than 300,000 users have already interacted with Riya, with those users showing 2× higher retention compared to others on the platform. While the system is designed for short interactions, some users are spending up to 40–50 minutes in conversation occasionally even asking for date ideas, prompting the company to add personalised recommendations.
The launch is the latest step in Schmooze’s broader attempt to rethink dating for Gen Z. Founded by Vidya Madhavan and Abhinav Anurag, the platform initially stood out by using memes as a proxy for personality tracking over 3.5 billion meme swipes across its base of more than 5 million users.
In a market dominated by global players like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge, Schmooze’s approach signals a shift from visual-first discovery to interaction-led compatibility. And with AI now stepping in as a digital wingman, the dating game may be moving from swipe right to speak right.
