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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
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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.”

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Technology

Nintendo to Remake Classic ‘Zelda’ Game ‘Ocarina of Time’

The logo of Japan's Nintendo Co. is displayed at a presentation in Tokyo on January 13, 2017. (AFP)
The logo of Japan's Nintendo Co. is displayed at a presentation in Tokyo on January 13, 2017. (AFP)
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Nintendo to Remake Classic ‘Zelda’ Game ‘Ocarina of Time’

The logo of Japan's Nintendo Co. is displayed at a presentation in Tokyo on January 13, 2017. (AFP)
The logo of Japan's Nintendo Co. is displayed at a presentation in Tokyo on January 13, 2017. (AFP)

Japanese games giant Nintendo on Tuesday announced a new version of beloved 1998 action-adventure classic "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" for its latest Switch 2 console.

The company provided few details about the "Ocarina of Time" remake on a livestream presenting upcoming titles, saying only that the game will arrive this year, the 40th anniversary of the series.

Its original version on the Nintendo 64 console was a 1990s landmark, with an immersive, detailed 3D world and a combat system that allowed players to "lock on" to individual enemies -- today an industry standard.

Players controlled green-clad protagonist Link in a time-hopping adventure that straddled both his childhood and adulthood, as he confronted dark lord Ganondorf to save Princess Zelda.

"Ocarina of Time" is regularly celebrated as one of the best games of all time in the gaming press, and has a 99 percent score on review aggregation site Metacritic.

A previous 2011 remake for Nintendo's 3DS handheld updated the original's graphics to take advantage of the machine's 3D capabilities.

More than 140 million "Zelda" games have been sold worldwide, with the last instalment, 2023's "Tears of the Kingdom", becoming the fastest-selling yet.

A live-action "Zelda" movie is planned for release in April 2027.

Technology

Musk's Starlink Leads Bezos’ Amazon as Airlines Rush to Boost In-Flight Wi-Fi

United Airlines planes are seen at the tarmac at Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, US, May 7, 2025. (Reuters)
United Airlines planes are seen at the tarmac at Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, US, May 7, 2025. (Reuters)
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Musk's Starlink Leads Bezos’ Amazon as Airlines Rush to Boost In-Flight Wi-Fi

United Airlines planes are seen at the tarmac at Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, US, May 7, 2025. (Reuters)
United Airlines planes are seen at the tarmac at Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, US, May 7, 2025. (Reuters)

Global airlines' push to attract premium customers is making fast in-flight Wi-Fi an increasingly important perk, turning a once-patchy paid service into an emerging battleground between Elon Musk's Starlink and Jeff Bezos' Amazon Leo satellite network.

Starlink, which operates around two-thirds of all satellites in space and is the major driver of revenue for SpaceX, has signed up 11 new airline customers globally so far in 2026, after 22 in 2025 and eight in 2024, compared with three in 2022, according to Valour Consultancy, an aviation intelligence firm.

Amazon, which is still building out its Leo satellite constellation, faces a potential setback after a Blue Origin rocket failure last month. It has signed up its first customers, securing deals with Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways .

Installing Starlink or Amazon's satellite broadband is a significant investment for airlines, running into the hundreds of millions of dollars for large fleets. But as carriers increasingly rely on premium products to boost margins, they are likely to commit more heavily in the coming years, said Decius Valmorbida, president of travel at Amadeus, a travel technology company, ‌describing the technology ‌as a "game changer."

"It's going to become a necessity that every airline will rush to have its ‌own ⁠version of. It ⁠is becoming a must-have," Valmorbida told Reuters.

Starlink, which uses thousands of low-Earth-orbit satellites rather than larger, slower geostationary satellites, is multiple times faster than legacy systems, according to Ookla, a broadband analytics firm.

In a sign of demand across the airline spectrum, Southwest Airlines said it chose Starlink for its "speed to market," but has not ruled out Amazon's Leo as it pushes for industry-leading Wi-Fi.

"There's multiple ways to get there," Tony Roach, Southwest's chief customer and brand officer, told Reuters.

American Airlines said in late May it would equip more than 500 narrowbody aircraft with Starlink starting in early 2027.

RYANAIR REJECTS STARLINK ON COSTS

Not everyone is convinced. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has ruled out adopting Starlink, citing costs and fuel burn from the antennas, prompting a fiery dispute with Musk.

Jefferies ⁠analysts estimate American Airlines' Starlink rollout could cost $150 million to $250 million for equipment and installation, based on ‌its fleet, before annual service fees that could exceed $60 million.

Reuters could not identify equivalent public ‌estimates for airline deployments of Amazon's Leo.

MUSK'S STARLINK VS BEZOS' AMAZON LEO

Lluc Palerm, research director at Analysys Mason, said airline Wi-Fi "will become a battleground" between ‌Starlink and Amazon Leo, though Amazon remains limited as its satellite constellation is in its infancy.

SpaceX now holds Starlink contracts covering more than ‌7,000 aircraft, cementing an "undeniable" lead, said Daniel Welch, a senior consultant at Valour Consultancy.

Palerm said Starlink's early gains are meaningful because switching providers is costly: aircraft must be taken out of service for installations, onboard equipment is provider-specific and contracts typically run for years.

The airline sales come as SpaceX's upcoming record-breaking public listing has sharpened investor focus on Starlink's expansion beyond consumer broadband.

Starlink generated $11.4 billion of SpaceX's $18.67 billion revenue in 2025, according to SpaceX's IPO filing, making it by far ‌the company's largest revenue source.

Starlink is emphasizing speed and installation simplicity, while Amazon is pitching a broader technology ecosystem, including cloud computing, entertainment and retail links that it says can help airlines serve passengers ⁠beyond basic connectivity.

Delta's choice of Amazon ⁠Leo illustrates that distinction. The carrier selected Amazon Leo for an initial 500 aircraft beginning in 2028, building on its Amazon Web Services relationship.

Legacy in-flight Wi-Fi providers including Viasat, Intelsat, Panasonic Avionics and Hughes remain embedded across large fleets, with multi-orbit backup offerings and coverage in markets where newer Leo providers still face regulatory hurdles.

FAST WI-FI HELPS AIRLINES TAP OTHER REVENUE

For airlines, faster Wi-Fi is about more than keeping passengers entertained. It gives carriers another way to draw customers into loyalty programs and market flights, upgrades and credit cards after the trip ends.

A 2025 Journal of Air Transport Management study found Wi-Fi availability was linked to higher passenger share on routes studied.

At Southwest, the first Starlink-equipped aircraft is expected to be serviceable later this month and the airline has targeted more than 300 conversions by year-end, though executives said the pace depends on how fast Starlink can supply equipment.

"I want to give you fewer and fewer reasons to book another airline or feel like you need to travel on another airline," Southwest's CEO, Bob Jordan, said.

Delta has said more than 163 million SkyMiles members have used its free Wi-Fi since 2023, showing the scale of passenger engagement airlines are building around onboard connectivity.

United Airlines says free Starlink Wi-Fi for MileagePlus members now covers more than 25% of its daily flights, with full fleet coverage expected by end-2027.

"That is going to be a differentiator versus every other airline," United CEO Scott Kirby said.

Technology

SDAIA Builds Regulatory Environment for Data, AI to Promote Responsible Use

SDAIA Builds Regulatory Environment for Data, AI to Promote Responsible Use
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SDAIA Builds Regulatory Environment for Data, AI to Promote Responsible Use

SDAIA Builds Regulatory Environment for Data, AI to Promote Responsible Use

The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) has contributed to building and enhancing the regulatory environment for data and artificial intelligence through governance frameworks that protect individual privacy, safeguard national data sovereignty, and promote the responsible use of AI tools and applications in line with international best practices, reflecting the Kingdom’s commitment to global leadership in data and AI governance, SPA reported.

As part of the Kingdom’s efforts to strengthen the regulatory environment for data and AI, SDAIA has developed a range of regulatory tools that serve as a national reference.

These include the Personal Data Protection Law and its executive regulations, national data governance policies, data management and protection standards, and the National Data Index (NDI), which assesses data management maturity among government entities.

In the field of AI governance, SDAIA has launched 10 regulatory documents covering the ethical and responsible use of AI, including AI ethics principles and generative AI principles for government entities.