Gupshup Launches WhatsApp-based Commerce Solution to Enable Mobile Storefronts for All Businesses

Gupshup Launches WhatsApp-based Commerce Solution to Enable Mobile Storefronts for All Businesses
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Gupshup Launches WhatsApp-based Commerce Solution to Enable Mobile Storefronts for All Businesses

Gupshup Launches WhatsApp-based Commerce Solution to Enable Mobile Storefronts for All Businesses

Gupshup, the leader in conversational messaging, today announced the launch of a WhatsApp-based commerce solution that can enable any business to create a digital “storefront” on WhatsApp. Businesses can enable conversational journeys across every stage of the buying process: pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase. Based on WhatsApp’s recently launched commerce capability, Gupshup can help a business manage the complete buying experience on WhatsApp. With more than two billion active monthly users in 180 countries using WhatsApp, it is the ideal conversational commerce platform for businesses. This full-featured commerce solution also leverages Gupshup's recently launched 1-Click Bill Pay feature, which enables businesses to collect payments via WhatsApp and other messaging apps.

With Gupshup’s WhatsApp-based commerce solution, a business can create a product catalog on WhatsApp, converse with customers via AI-powered chatbots for product discovery, guide them through checkout and payment, and support them 24/7 with chatbots and live agents. New interactive elements such as multi-product messages make it simpler for businesses to showcase their offerings through the store’s catalog.

This enables businesses to present their offerings through structured experience with images and organized product details. Customers can also add preferred items to their carts on WhatsApp, interact with the businesses in real time, and make payment through Gupshup’s recently launched 1-Click Bill Pay link, all without leaving the chat window. Many businesses already leverage WhatsApp for pre-purchase and post-purchase journeys, and with the newly available Commerce features, they can now manage the entire buying journey for customers on the world’s most popular messaging app.

A few interesting facts about WhatsApp for Business 1:
“Gupshup offers the most advanced, comprehensive, and easy-to-use conversational commerce platform,” said Gaurav Kachhawa, Chief Product Officer, Gupshup. “Our goal is to enable every business, large and small, to get started with commerce through WhatsApp quickly and easily as well as realize the full potential of this capability to transform their business.”

“As one of the earliest Solution Provider partners of WhatsApp, we have already helped thousands of businesses across the world go live on WhatsApp Business. Our knowledgeable sales and solutions teams, along with a network of global partners, help businesses accelerate their digital transformation,” explained Ravi Sundararajan, COO, Gupshup. “We are seeing strong demand for the new Commerce features, and the early results for businesses are promising. This is certainly going to revolutionize the way businesses conduct e-commerce.”



Google Warns Staff with US Visas against International Travel

FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is displayed during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is displayed during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
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Google Warns Staff with US Visas against International Travel

FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is displayed during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is displayed during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo

Alphabet's Google has advised some employees on US visas to avoid international travel due to delays at embassies, Business Insider reported on Friday, citing an internal email.

The email, sent by the company's outside counsel BAL Immigration Law on Thursday, warned staff who need a visa ⁠stamp to re-enter the United States not to leave the country because visa processing times have lengthened, the report said.

Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Some US embassies and consulates face visa ⁠appointment delays of up to 12 months, the memo said, warning that international travel will "risk an extended stay outside the US", according to the report.

The administration of President Donald Trump this month announced increased vetting of applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, including screening social media accounts.

The H-1B visa program, widely used by the US ⁠technology sector to hire skilled workers from India and China, has been under the spotlight after the Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee for new applications this year.

In September, Google's parent company Alphabet had strongly advised its employees to avoid international travel and urged H-1B visa holders to remain in the US, according to an email seen by Reuters.


AI Boom Drives Data-Center Dealmaking to Record High, Says Report

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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AI Boom Drives Data-Center Dealmaking to Record High, Says Report

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Global data-center dealmaking surged to a record high through November this year, driven by an insatiable demand for ​computing infrastructure to meet the boom in artificial intelligence usage.

Data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed that there were more than 100 data center transactions during the period, with the total value sitting just under $61 billion.

WHY ‌IT'S IMPORTANT

Interest ‌in data centers ‌has ⁠swelled ​this ‌year as tech giants and AI hyperscalers have planned billions of dollars in spending to scale up infrastructure.

AI-related companies have powered much of the gains in US stocks this year, but concerns over lofty ⁠valuations and debt-fueled spending have also sparked worries ‌over how quickly corporates can ‍turn the investments ‍into profits.

BY THE NUMBERS

Including M&As, asset ‍sales and equity investments, data center investments hit nearly $61 billion through the end of November, already surpassing 2024's record high $60.81 billion.

Since ​2019, data center dealmaking in the US and Canada totaled about $160 billion, ⁠with Asia-Pacific reaching nearly $40 billion and Europe $24.2 billion.

GRAPHIC KEY QUOTE

"High interest comes from financial sponsors, which are attracted by the risk/reward profile of such assets. Private equity firms are eager buyers but are generally reluctant sellers, creating an environment where availability for sale of high-quality data center assets is scarce," said Iuri ‌Struta, TMT analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence.


YouTube Down for Thousands of US Users, Downdetector Shows

The YouTube app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
The YouTube app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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YouTube Down for Thousands of US Users, Downdetector Shows

The YouTube app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
The YouTube app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Google's YouTube was ​down for thousands of users in the ‌United ‌States ‌on ⁠Friday, ​according to ‌Downdetector.com, Reuters reported.

There were more than 10,800 reports of ⁠issues with ‌the streaming ‍platform ‍as of ‍08:15 a.m. ET, according to Downdetector, ​which tracks outages by ⁠collating status reports from a number of sources.

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Outage ‌reports exceeded 1,300 ‍in ‍Canada as of ‍8:29 a.m. ET; and more than 3,000 in the UK of ​8:30 a.m. ET.

YouTube did not immediately ⁠respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The actual number of affected users may differ from what's shown on Downdetector because these reports are user-submitted.