Latest news with #Scenes
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
9 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Rapido to undercut Zomato, Swiggy with 8-15% restaurant commissions
Ride-hailing platform Rapido is set to foray into India's online food delivery market with a disruptive pricing strategy aimed at restaurants. The company plans to offer significantly lower commission rates than current market leaders Zomato and Swiggy. By undercutting established players, Rapido is looking to attract restaurant partners and challenge the aggregator-driven model that has long defined the industry. According to a report by The Economic Times, Rapido has agreed on commercial terms with restaurants through a partnership with the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI). While Zomato and Swiggy typically charge commissions of 16-30 per cent, Rapido's rates will range from 8-15 per cent, depending on the order value. The delivery fee model has also been simplified. For orders placed via the Rapido app, customers will be charged ₹25 for orders below ₹400 and ₹50 for those above. Rapido's entry comes after multiple attempts by ride-hailing giants to crack the food delivery code, most of which ended in retreat. Ola, for instance, launched Ola Cafe in 2015, followed by the acquisition of Foodpanda India in 2017. Despite heavy investment, both efforts fizzled out, and by 2019, Ola exited the space due to operational inefficiencies and intense competition. However, Ola has recently re-entered through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government-backed digital platform, emerging as a top food-ordering interface. As of mid-2024, Ola was processing 15,000–20,000 orders daily, capturing around a third of ONDC's demand in metro markets like Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. Uber, meanwhile, launched Uber Eats India in 2017 but exited just three years later, selling the business to Zomato in January 2020 in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $206 million. This transaction gave Uber a 9.99 per cent stake in Zomato. It has not returned to the Indian food delivery sector since. The Zomato-Swiggy duopoly India's online food delivery sector remains highly consolidated. As of June 2025, Eternal (formerly Zomato) leads with a market capitalisation of ₹1.95 trillion, according to data from Zomato is driven by strong growth from both food delivery and its quick commerce subsidiary, Blinkit. Rival Swiggy, now valued at ₹933.75 billion, has also diversified, launching new services like Scenes, an events and ticketing platform. Together, Zomato and Swiggy have long maintained a tight duopoly. Whether Rapido can disrupt this established duopoly with its lower commission model remains to be seen.
TechCrunch
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- TechCrunch
Chatbot platform Character.AI unveils video generation, social feeds
A platform for chatting and roleplaying with AI-generated characters, announced on Monday that it is rolling out a slate of multimedia features. These features include AvatarFX, video-generation model, plus Scenes and Streams, which allow users to use these AI tools to create videos using their characters and then share them on a new social feed. ' started as 1:1 text chat and today we're evolving to do so much more, inspired by what our users have told [us] they want to see on the platform,' the company wrote in a blog post. began rolling out AvatarFX to subscribers last month, but now, all users can create up to five videos each day. When creating a video with AvatarFX, users can upload a photo to serve as the basis for the video clip, choose a voice, and write out text for the character to say. There's an option to upload an audio clip to inform the sound of the voice, though this feature was not working well enough to test upon rollout. Users can turn these videos into Scenes, where their characters can slip into pre-populated storylines that other users create. Scenes are currently available on the mobile app, but Streams, which allows users to create 'dynamic moments between any two Characters,' is coming this week on both web and mobile. These Scenes and Streams can be shared to a new community feed, which is coming soon in the mobile app. has a track record of abuse on its platform; parents have filed lawsuits against the company, claiming chatbots attempted to convince their children to self-harm, to kill themselves, or to kill their parents. One 14-year-old boy died by suicide after he was encouraged to do so by a bot, with whom he had developed an unhealthy, obsessive relationship. As expands its multimedia offerings, it also expands the potential for these products to be abused. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW As told TechCrunch when it announced AvatarFX, the platform blocks users from uploading photographs of real people — whether they're celebrities or not — and obscures their likeness into something less recognizable. For example, here's uncanny valley version of Mark Zuckerberg: Image Credits:An image of Mark Zuckerberg on top, that image altered by on bottom But when it comes to artwork depicting celebrities, does not flag the images as representing real people — however, these sorts of depictions would be less likely to deceive someone into believing that a deepfake is real. Plus, watermarks each video, though it is possible for bad actors to navigate around that safeguard. Here is an example of an attempted deepfake based on an illustration of Elon Musk: testing the anti-deepfake guardrails on character ai's avatarfx — Amanda Silberling (@ 2025-06-02T18:47:06.298Z Even if this video had been generated with Elon Musk's actual voice, it would still be relatively clear that this is an animated version of an illustration — but the possibility for abuse remains evident. 'Our goal is to provide an engaging space that fosters creativity while maintaining a safe environment for all,' said in its blog post.
CNET
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Netflix Is Testing a New Mobile AI Feature and TikTok-Style Clips to Keep You Tuned In
Ever wonder what it'd be like to open your Netflix phone app and summon very specific title recommendations by saying "martial arts musicals" or "I like barbecue"? It's on the horizon: The streaming service is running beta tests for artificial intelligence-powered search on iOS. The company announced the feature on Wednesday, along with news that it's also experimenting with vertical feeds similar to those on TikTok. During a preview event for the press, Netflix execs Eunice Kim and Elizabeth Stone revealed what's coming to mobile and the TV app. The streamer partnered with OpenAI to work on its generative AI search feature for mobile, which will enable viewers to find new things to watch (or rediscover old favorites). Currently available as an opt-in beta test, the tool is designed to understand conversational phrases to help you mine Netflix's library in more ways than just using standard keywords. Recommendations will pop up, and you'll be able to play a title from that selection. "Starting with search, we want you to be able to discover shows and movies using natural conversational language like 'I want something funny and upbeat', or 'I want something scary, but not too scary, and also maybe a little bit funny, but not like haha funny'," said Stone, Netflix's chief technology officer. A snapshot of how Netflix's AI-powered search function works on phones. Netflix Speaking about upgrades to the interface, Kim, the company's chief product officer, said that in the coming weeks, Netflix will be testing out vertical feeds on its mobile version that caters to how "our members love to browse our clips and trailers to find their next obsession." Another enhancement to its recommendation function, the interactive feed will display short video snippets of TV series and movies on your phone screen. "You'll see a row on your mobile home page, and the feed will feature clips from your top picks for you," Kim said. "From there, you'll be able to tap to watch the whole show or movie immediately, or add it to my list, or share the title with friends." Netflix also unveiled an overhaul of its TV home screen, which has been redesigned to simplify navigation and boost tailored recommendations. The updates and improvements announced Wednesday are the latest in an industry where most major platforms are introducing innovations like Netflix's Moments, Tubi's Scenes and Peacock's AI features. Our coverage on how streaming services keep evolving demonstrates how companies are using tech upgrades for better personalization, interactive features and live programming to help retain viewers. Netflix, which now boasts more than 300 million global subscribers, has been rolling out new additions and features for subtitles, games and more. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
