iWorld
ZEE5 Global provides Bollywood entertainment in Middle East
Mumbai: Bollywood films have always been appreciated and loved throughout the Middle East, particularly in the UAE among both Indians and local audiences. ZEE5 Global, a streaming platform, is now amplifying this connection.
ZEE5 Global provides South Asian entertainment in the Middle East and around the globe, has one of the greatest collections of content in South Indian languages, over 4000 movies, and the largest collection of movies across all South Indian languages.
The platform recently premiered the mega-blockbuster “RRR” in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada and also “The Kashmir Files” both of which were huge hits across the Middle East.
ZEE5 Global recently announced its partnership with the LuLu Group for their India Utsav celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of Indian independence.
ZEE5 Global chief business officer Archana Anand, said, “We are very happy to partner with LuLu for yet another hugely successful event to bring the entertainment factor into the shopping experience. Sonali’s presence only added to the festive spirit as fans were thrilled to meet the star. The Middle East is a very special market for us and we look forward to continuing to enthral our audiences here with the best of Bollywood blockbusters and South Asian stories”.
She further added, “As part of the festivities, ZEE5 Global flew in actor Sonali Bendre, who had a special meet and greet with fans who flocked to Dubai and Abu Dhabi on 20 August. Sonali, who recently made her OTT debut on ZEE5 Global with The Broken News, also shopped with fans who were overjoyed to meet her”
The announcement was made at the LuLu regional headquarters in Dubai during a live press conference.
The “India Utsav” was launched across the GCC countries on 15 August 2022 at Al Wahda Mall in Abu Dhabi, in the Lulu Group’s first ever simultaneous region-wide launch of this celebration.
Actor Sonali Bendre said, “It’s been such a fun experience being at the India Utsav in Dubai and interacting with everyone here. It’s great to see how everyone has participated in the activities as part of the celebrations. My association with ZEE5 Global has always been amazing and I’m so glad that my first OTT show, The Broken News on ZEE5 Global, has been much appreciated and loved by audiences across the world. I’m also excited that Duranga is receiving a positive response on ZEE5 Global, which is a creation of Rose Audio production and helmed by my husband Goldie Behl.”
In addition, the brand has planned a slew of new content launches and partnership announcements for the coming holidays, which will be revealed in the coming weeks.
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.
