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Amazon and Tencent Back Andy Rubin’s Essential

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Amazon and Tencent Back Andy Rubin Essential,Android creator Andy Rubin,Essential Products founder,Andy Rubin Essential Phone,Tencent Holding,Startup Stories,2017 Latest Business News,Amazon,tencent latest news

Essential Products Inc., the startup founded by Android creator Andy Rubin has raised $ 330 million in a new funding round from Amazon and Tencent Holding. The company has also signed up with retailers, including Best Buy, Amazon.com and carriers such as Sprint Corporation in the United States and Telus in Canada to sell their first $ 699 smartphone.

The company, in a statement, revealed Access Technology Ventures led the funding round along with strategic investors Tencent Holdings Ltd., electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn and Amazon.com. Existing investors Redpoint Ventures and Playground Global also participated in this round.

The director of Amazon’s investment arm, Alexa Fund, Paul Bernard said, “Essential Products has a compelling vision and road map for connected devices that integrate voice technology in novel ways. We are excited to see Alexa become part of that vision where interacting with technology is simple, helpful and creates an interface that others can build on and innovate. We look forward to what will come from this collaboration.

This funding round values the company at about $ 900 million to $ 1 billion. The release date for the new smartphone will be announced sometime next week and will compete against the Samsung Galaxy 8 and iPhone 8, set to be released in September and October respectively. The big idea behind the Essential smartphone, according to Andy Rubin, is that this phone will make things simpler for customers.

President Niccolo De Masi, speaking about their new smartphone, said they won’t be targeting mass market popularity in the beginning itself but will take advantage of the company’s small scale to innovate faster than their larger rivals. “If we are able to sell low single digit millions [in the first year] that’s very successful for a startup,” he added.

Andy Rubin recently shared 3 images on Twitter to prove that Essential’s first product will be coming soon.

Essential is also developing a smart home hub similar to Amazon’s Echo, along with the smartphone. The hub will have the ability to control music, answer questions and manage tasks, among other things. The speaker can be set up in no time as its Ambient OS can automatically introduce itself to new and existing devices, according to Essential’s website.

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How Brands Around India Adapted RCB’s IPL 2025 Win: A Masterclass in Real-Time Marketing

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The Indian Premier League (IPL) is not just a cricket tournament—it’s a cultural phenomenon that captures the imagination of millions. The 2025 season was especially significant as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ended their 18-year wait for an IPL trophy, sparking nationwide celebrations and a flurry of creative marketing from brands eager to ride the wave of emotion.

Seizing the Moment with Creative Campaigns

Brands across sectors quickly recognized the marketing goldmine that was RCB’s historic victory. Social media platforms became the battleground for witty, nostalgic, and heartfelt content. Voltas Beko, for example, cleverly played on the long wait with a pun: “This moment’s been cooking for 18 years,” featuring a microwave set to 18:00

. Fevicol used humor, captioning a visual of the trophy snuggled in bed with the iconic fan chant: “Ee sala cup chipak gaya ;)”. MG Motor referenced Bangalore’s infamous traffic, declaring, “The only time Bangalore enjoys slow traffic,” as a car displayed “Trophy On Board”.

From Jerseys to Delivery Trucks

Official kit partner Puma India launched a special jersey commemorating the win, emblazoned with RCB’s tagline, “Played Bold”. Quick commerce brands like BlinkIt and Swiggy joined in, with BlinkIt showing the cup being delivered to Bengaluru via a delivery partner and Swiggy featuring a GPS tracker with a delivery executive en route to deliver the trophy. Zomato kept it simple yet impactful with a post reading “EE Sala Cup Namdu,” echoing the fans’ rallying cry.

Emotional Storytelling and Viral Reach

Brands leveraged the emotional high of RCB’s win to connect with audiences. Lego India posted an animated Virat Kohli with the cup, highlighting loyalty and perseverance: “Some waited for years, some questioned loyalty, but greatness? That’s built brick by brick. Champions at last!” Google India, Coca Cola, boAt, and others added to the chorus, each with their own creative spin.

Conclusion

RCB’s IPL 2025 win became more than a sports story—it was a moment of national pride and a catalyst for innovative, real-time marketing. Brands that adapted quickly, using humor, nostalgia, and emotional storytelling, not only amplified their reach but also deepened their connection with fans across India. This approach highlights the power of tapping into trending moments to create memorable, shareable content.

 

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Gemini 2.5: Revolutionizing Dialogue and Audio Generation with AI

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Gemini

Google’s Gemini 2.5 marks a significant leap forward in artificial intelligence, introducing groundbreaking capabilities in dialogue and audio generation. Designed from the ground up as a multimodal model, Gemini 2.5 can natively understand and generate content across text, images, audio, video, and code, making it a versatile tool for developers, content creators, and businesses alike.

Advanced Dialogue: Real-Time, Natural, and Context-Aware

Gemini 2.5 excels in real-time audio dialogue, offering users remarkably fluid and expressive conversations. The AI’s ability to interpret tone, accent, and even non-speech vocalizations like laughter enables interactions that feel genuinely human. Users can customize speech delivery using natural language prompts, adjusting accents, tone, or even requesting whispered responses. This level of control is invaluable for applications ranging from virtual assistants to customer service bots.

The model is also context-aware, distinguishing between relevant speech and background noise, ensuring it responds only when appropriate. Integration with external tools, such as Google Search, allows Gemini 2.5 to incorporate real-time information seamlessly into conversations. Moreover, its multilingual capabilities support over 24 languages, enabling users to mix languages within a single phrase—ideal for global audiences.

Cutting-Edge Audio Generation: Flexible and Engaging

Beyond dialogue, Gemini 2.5 offers advanced text-to-speech (TTS) features. Users can generate everything from short snippets to long-form narratives, with precise control over style, tone, and emotional expression. The TTS engine supports multi-speaker dialogue, making it perfect for creating engaging summaries, podcasts, and audiobooks. Enhanced pace and pronunciation controls ensure audio clarity and naturalness, while multilingual output makes content accessible worldwide.

Developers can access these features through Google AI Studio and Vertex AI, with options for both high-fidelity (Gemini 2.5 Pro) and cost-effective (Gemini 2.5 Flash) audio generation. All generated audio includes SynthID watermarking for transparency and safety.

Conclusion

Gemini 2.5 is redefining the boundaries of AI-driven dialogue and audio generation. Its natural, expressive, and customizable voice capabilities, combined with robust reasoning and multilingual support, make it a powerful tool for the next generation of digital experiences.

Whether for interactive applications, content creation, or global communication, Gemini 2.5 sets a new standard for intelligent, multimodal AI.

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Dunzo Gets Breather as NCLT Rejects Insolvency Petition from Invoice Discounters

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Dunzo

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Bengaluru bench has dismissed an insolvency plea filed against quick commerce startup Dunzo by its invoice discounters, declaring the petition “not maintainable” after several postponements. This decision offers temporary relief to Dunzo, which has been facing multiple insolvency petitions from various creditors, including Velvin Packaging Solutions and Betterplace Safety Solutions, over unpaid dues.

The invoice discounters alleged that Dunzo had paid only 50% of the required amounts, though the exact sum was not disclosed. Despite ongoing settlement talks, no resolution was reached, and the tribunal noted Dunzo’s delays in responding to creditor petitions. Dunzo continues to grapple with severe liquidity issues, delayed payments, and significant losses—reporting a ₹1,801.8 crore loss in FY23 and owing approximately ₹11.4 crore to major vendors like Google India and Facebook India.

While this NCLT ruling provides Dunzo some breathing room, the company still faces ongoing financial and operational challenges as it works to resolve its outstanding liabilities.

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