Applications
MIH Group forays into Indian internet and digital space
MUMBAI: MIH, part of the multinational media group Naspers Limited, is making a foray into the Indian internet and digital space.
“MIH plans to develop internet and mobile applications for the growing online Indian market. India is an attractive market, which is forecast to show strong economic growth going forward. Internet penetration which is currently only at 4.5 per cent is expected to grow rapidly over the next five to ten years offering many opportunities in online communication. MIH seeks to capitalise on these opportunities in the long run by building strong online communication platforms. MIH Internet‘s first office will be based in Gurgaon, Haryana,” said spokesperson for MIH Internet (India) Craig White.
MIH operates pay television and internet subscriber platforms and related technologies in over 50 countries. Its significant operations are located in South Africa, elsewhere in Africa, Brazil, China, Thailand, The Netherlands, Greece and Cyprus. Given the huge growth in the internet and mobile VAS space in India, the group is now planning investments here.
The group would be launching a range of innovative applications in the Indian internet and mobile space. Its aim is to create a personal reference world of entertainment and information, which can be accessed wherever you are, whenever you want.
MIH creates media content, builds brand names around it, and manages the platforms distributing the content. The content is delivered in a variety of forms and through a variety of channels, including television platforms and internet services.
With a view to expand offices across the nation, the group plans to set up its first office in Gurgaon and hire talent for various functions ranging from engineering, R&D, technology, creative, marketing, sales, support etc.
The MIH group is exploring media opportunities in emerging markets where strong economic growth is expected. Within emerging markets the specific focus is on the BRICSA countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.
In China, the group has an investment in the pioneer instant messaging platform, Tencent, which is a developer and operator of innovative real-time communication and online entertainment technologies and services. Tencent‘s instant messaging product, QQ, processes more than three billion messages every day and is one of the top 10 portals globally.
Applications
Canva acquires animation and AI startups Cavalry and MangoAI
The deals strengthen Canva’s push into enterprise and AI-led design workflows
AUSTRALIA: Global visual communication platform Canva has stepped up its acquisition drive, buying UK-based 2D animation platform Cavalry and US-based AI startup MangoAI to deepen its AI-powered creative stack.
Cavalry, whose tools are used by brands including Amazon, Meta, Google and Netflix, will strengthen Canva’s motion design capabilities. The deal builds on Canva’s 2024 acquisition of Affinity, which has crossed four million downloads since launch. With Cavalry, Canva now counts seven Europe-based acquisitions, underscoring its global expansion strategy.
MangoAI, an early-stage startup focused on video advertising optimisation, will integrate its reinforcement learning systems into Canva AI. The move aims to enable brands to generate personalised marketing content in real time, cutting production cycles while improving campaign performance. MangoAI co-founder Vinith Misra will join Canva as reinforcement learning lead in its research lab.
Canva co-founder and chief operating officer Cliff Obrecht said the acquisitions reflect the company’s ambition to make professional-grade creative tools more accessible without sidelining human creativity. The goal, he said, is to bring everything from vector to motion design into a single, integrated suite.
The company now reports 265 million active users, including 31 million paid subscribers, and $4 billion in annualised revenue, up 36 per cent year on year. The latest buys further position Canva against rivals such as Adobe and Apple’s Creator Studio as it pushes deeper into enterprise workflows.
Canva head of pro design marketing Liam Fisher, said AI is intended to act as a creative assistant rather than a replacement, reinforcing the primacy of craft and individual design judgement.
