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Tag: Google

  • Uberoi ascends to Google APAC, taking vendor partner reigns

    Uberoi ascends to Google APAC, taking vendor partner reigns

    MUMBAI: Tanveer S. Uberoi, a seasoned Google stalwart, has hopped over to Singapore to take on the role of director of vendor partner management sales for APAC. After nearly a decade navigating the labyrinthine Indian market, he’s now tasked with supercharging the region’s small and medium-sized business (SMB) ecosystem.

    Uberoi’s LinkedIn profile reads like a Google career highlight reel, with stints as director of mid-market sales and director of agency partnerships and sales, all within Google customer solutions (GCS). Before his Google days, he was cutting deals at Times Network and IMG.

    His time at IMG saw him rubbing shoulders with the big leagues, handling sponsorship sales for the IPL, ATP 250 (Chennai Open), and Lakme Fashion Week. He even dabbled in naming rights, commercialising projects like the Rapid Metro in Gurgaon. It’s a proper sports and entertainment extravaganza.

    Before IMG, Uberoi was spinning tunes at Fever 104 FM, where he was responsible for commercialising on-air inventory and developing sponsorship properties. And before that, he was flexing his marketing muscles at LG Electronics, managing brand portfolios and handling hefty marketing budgets. It’s safe to say he’s seen a bit of everything.

    Now, at Google APAC, he’s tasked with partnering with key vendor partners to grow the SMB scene.

  • Google’s AI arm gets new marketing muscle in Anuj Gulati

    Google’s AI arm gets new marketing muscle in Anuj Gulati

    MUMBAI: Google has appointed a new ringmaster to its artificial intelligence circus. Anuj Gulati, a 12-year veteran of the search giant’s marketing ranks, has been tapped as head of global growth marketing for Gemini, the company’s conversational AI platform that aims to give ChatGPT a run for its money.

    Gulati announced his promotion on LinkedIn with the customary corporate humility: “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as head of global growth marketing, Gemini at Google!” The exclamation mark suggests genuine enthusiasm—a commodity as rare in Silicon Valley these days as profitable startups.

    The appointment comes at a crucial moment for Google’s AI ambitions. As the chatbot wars heat up faster than a neural processor under load, Gemini represents Google’s best hope of maintaining relevance in a world where users might soon bypass traditional search entirely.

    Gulati brings a developer-focused pedigree to the role. He previously served as group marketing manager for developer growth and performance, where he led global growth, lifecycle and paid media marketing for Google’s developer products across mobile, web and the increasingly crowded AI landscape.

    His career trajectory reads like a textbook case of corporate ladder-climbing done right. Prior to his developer marketing stint, Gulati spent nearly six years as senior product marketing manager for developer platforms based in Singapore, where he helped developers in India and southeast Asia “build great products and successful businesses” on Google’s ubiquitous platforms.

    Before joining the Google mothership, Gulati cut his teeth at The Times of India, where as head of mobile products he claims to have increased mobile traffic sixfold in just 12 months—a performance that likely caught Mountain View’s acquisitive eye.

    His CV also features a brief philanthropic interlude as head of marketing at Save the Children, sandwiched between stints at The Times of India, where he began his career as a brand manager after a short consultancy role at Tata Technologies.

    As Google continues its desperate sprint to catch up with OpenAI’s head start, Gulati will need to draw on every marketing trick in his considerable playbook. For while Google may have invented much of the technology underpinning today’s AI boom, it finds itself in the unfamiliar position of underdog in the race to commercialise it.

    Whether Gulati can help Gemini outshine its competitors remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: in the increasingly cutthroat world of AI, Google is gemini-ly serious about winning.

  • Dhruv Dhawan checks in at The Trade Desk to power adtech growth in India

    Dhruv Dhawan checks in at The Trade Desk to power adtech growth in India

    MUMBAI: In a move that’s set to make waves in the adtech space, Dhruv Dhawan is joining The Trade Desk as vice president for revenue. With over two decades of expertise spanning communications, digital transformation, and consulting, Dhawan’s appointment signals a strategic push to strengthen The Trade Desk’s position in the Indian market.

    From Google to Disney+ Hotstar, Airtel to Accenture, Dhawan’s career has been a masterclass in building brands, driving sales, and shaping digital-first strategies. At Google, where he spent nearly a decade, Dhawan worked across multiple industries including telecom, financial services, FMCG, automotive, e-commerce, and retail helping businesses leverage digital tools for both online and offline growth. His most recent role as head of ads at Disney+ Hotstar saw him navigating the rapidly evolving streaming landscape, further solidifying his expertise in media and advertising.

    Beyond his industry credentials, Dhawan is also known for his passion for people development, having spearheaded sales training initiatives and workplace culture programmes focused on psychological safety and team dependability. His diverse skill set spanning product management, marketing, and consulting makes him a formidable addition to The Trade Desk’s leadership team.

    With programmatic advertising in India witnessing unprecedented growth, Dhawan’s appointment comes at a pivotal time. His vast experience in ad sales, digital evangelism, and data-driven marketing will be instrumental in driving revenue growth, forging new partnerships, and further establishing The Trade Desk as a leader in the adtech ecosystem.

  • Cloudtv and Mediatek join forces to transform India’s smart TV OS market

    Cloudtv and Mediatek join forces to transform India’s smart TV OS market

    MUMBAI: Cloudtv, has announced a strategic partnership with global chipset solutions provider Mediatek. This collaboration aims to revolutionise the connected TV operating system market in India by offering fully compliant Android-based TV OS solutions.

    By integrating Cloudtv OS with Mediatek’s advanced System-on-a-Chip (SoC) technology, Indian TV brands and OEMs will benefit from a streamlined integration process, significantly reducing both costs and time to market. The partnership is expected to accelerate Cloudtv’s growth, potentially doubling its market share in the country’s expanding smart TV sector.

    Cloudtv has also confirmed that its OS is now fully compliant with Android Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) standards, ensuring a seamless and consistent user experience. Additionally, it enables access to a wide range of free-to-air channels, offering high-quality digital content including news, sports, and entertainment, without the need for subscriptions or contracts.

    Key benefits of this partnership include,

    – Android CTS compliance guaranteed compatibility with Google’s standards for a seamless viewing experience.

    – Android 14 support enhanced security, improved performance, and access to the latest features.

    – Free-to-air channels DVBS-2 compliant technology providing cost-free access to diverse content.

    – Pre-certified applications instant access to platforms like YouTube, Prime Video, and JioHotstar, along with 200+ content partners.

    “By integrating Mediatek’s cutting-edge chipsets with Cloudtv’s localized OS expertise, we are revolutionizing the Indian connected TV industry. This partnership will forge the way for an end-to-end solution that makes premium television experiences more affordable and accessible than ever before. For TV brands, this marks a game-changing opportunity, enabling them to offer competitively priced smart TVs with certified OS and apps, breaking past the limitations of high-cost models. Through this partnership, we hope to drive greater innovation and accessibility that helps shape the future of smart TV adoption in India.” Cloudtv COO & co-founder Abhijeet Rajpurohit.

  • NP Digital India clicks into top three per cent with Google Premier Partner status

    NP Digital India clicks into top three per cent with Google Premier Partner status

    MUMBAI: NP Digital India has just secured a premier partner badge from Google for 2025, placing it among the top 3 per cent of Google partners in India, a testament to its expertise in Google ads, performance marketing, and client growth strategies.

    Co-founded by Prady, Neil Patel, and Mike Kamo, the performance-driven digital marketing agency has rapidly emerged as a powerhouse, offering a full spectrum of services across SEO, SEM, SMM, creative strategy, and UX/UI design. With this recognition, NP Digital India gains access to exclusive insights and tools, ensuring even sharper ad targeting and data-driven results for its clients.

    NP Digital India managing director Rubeena Singh said, “Being recognized as a Google Premier Partner is a powerful validation of our team’s expertise and relentless commitment to excellence. This achievement not only underscores our leadership in digital marketing but also bolsters our vision for growth and the expansion of NP Digital India’s services across India. With these exclusive benefits, we are even better equipped to accelerate the business success of our clients and make a greater impact on the Indian digital landscape.”

    To earn this prestigious status, NP Digital India exceeded performance benchmarks in Google ads, optimising campaigns to maximise client success. With cutting-edge strategies and an ever-expanding reach, the agency continues to redefine digital marketing excellence in India.
     

  • Mindshare Fulcrum appoints Bharat Sethi as principal partner – programmatic

    Mindshare Fulcrum appoints Bharat Sethi as principal partner – programmatic

    MUMBAI: Digital marketing professional  Bharat Sethi has joined Mindshare Fulcrum as principal partner – programmatic, bringing over 15 years of industry experience to the role.

    Sethi, who previously served as head of media at Tatvic, boasts an impressive career spanning major tech firms including Google and Yahoo. During his five-year tenure at Google, he developed expertise in data analysis, digital strategy and software as a service (SaaS).

    His appointment comes as Mindshare continues to strengthen its programmatic advertising capabilities across video, display and connected TV platforms.

    Prior to Google, Sethi worked at Cognizant as an account manager for Doubleclick India. His earlier roles include optimisation strategist at Yahoo and account manager at Komli Media, where he managed performance and re-marketing campaigns across India and southeast Asia.

    Sethi holds an MBA in information technology/finance from SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies and a BE in computer science from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology.

  • Ad Standards take centre stage as India hosts Global Summit

    Ad Standards take centre stage as India hosts Global Summit

    MUMBAI: India is set to become the epicentre of global advertising conversations as the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) gears up to host the ICAS Global Summit ICAS Global Dialogues 2025 from 17 to 19 March 2025, in Mumbai. This marks a historic first, with the prestigious event being held outside Europe and the US, signalling India’s increasing influence in shaping global advertising self-regulation.

    The by-invite-only summit will convene self-regulatory leaders from 16 countries, alongside global advertising associations, regulators, and top Indian industry players. With AI and emerging technologies rapidly reshaping the industry, the summit aims to foster discussions on ethical, progressive, and consumer-first advertising practices.

    The summit will feature a series of thought-provoking sessions addressing key industry shifts. It will kick off with the ICAS Global Self-Regulation Awards (March 17), celebrating the most innovative and impactful advertising self-regulation initiatives worldwide. This will be followed by the ICAS Think Tank & Panel Discussion, where ASCI, alongside Hindustan Unilever, Marico, Cipla Health, and Kenvue, will shape the future of global advertising standards. On March 18, the session ‘Tomorrow’s Regulation Today’ will explore emerging consumer vulnerabilities and the evolving role of advertising regulations in tackling them. The final day, March 19, will see ASCI Academy’s Global Adda, unveiling two major research studies, ‘Manifest: Masculinities Beyond the Mask’, a deep dive into male representation in media, and ‘AdNext: The AI Edition’, which explores AI’s transformative impact on advertising.  

    With over 250 attendees expected, including industry leaders, regulators, and marketing professionals, the event promises insightful discussions, knowledge-sharing, and future-focused advertising strategies.

    ASCI CEO & secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “Hosting the ICAS Global Summit in India is a proud milestone for ASCI and the Indian advertising industry. We look forward to collaborating with global experts and gaining insights that will help us navigate new complexities while strengthening consumer trust.”

    ASCI chairman Partha Sinha added, “The timing of this summit is crucial as AI and other technologies rapidly reshape advertising. Bringing global perspectives together will help us collectively design forward-looking approaches that balance innovation with responsibility.”

    The summit will host a star-studded lineup of speakers, bringing together influential voices from across industries. Key speakers include Abhishek Singh, additional secretary, MeitY; Devdutt Pattanaik, renowned mythologist and author; Michael Todd, global director at Google, and Guy Parker, president of ICAS. Adding to the distinguished roster are Mary K Engle, EVP-policy at BBB National Programs, USA; Mohan Jayaraman, partner at Bain & Company; Ruchira Jaitly, CMO of Diageo India and Paromita Vohra, acclaimed filmmaker and writer. Their collective expertise promises to drive meaningful discussions on the future of advertising and self-regulation.  

    Supported by Diageo India, Hindustan Unilever, Google, United Breweries, Makemytrip, Games24x7, Khaitan & Co., and Lexplosion, the ICAS Global Summit 2025 is poised to drive progressive, ethical, and future-ready advertising practices with India leading the charge.

  • Microsoft AI welcomes Umesh Shankar as VP, engineering for AI safety

    Microsoft AI welcomes Umesh Shankar as VP, engineering for AI safety

    Mumbai: Microsoft AI has appointed Umesh Shankar as corporate vice president of engineering, where he will spearhead initiatives in AI innovation, security and privacy.Shankar brings nearly two decades of experience from Google, where he served as chief technologist for Google Cloud Security and engineering director for Google Assistant Ecosystem. His work focused on strengthening AI security frameworks and advancing data protection to enhance user trust and safety.

    At Microsoft, he will direct efforts to develop responsible AI, ensuring secure and ethical AI integration across products and services. His appointment underscores Microsoft’s commitment to advancing AI with robust privacy and security standards, reinforcing its global AI-driven strategy.

    His work focused on making GCP the safest environment for AI development and leveraging AI to tackle critical security challenges, such as cloud posture management, threat intelligence, fraud prevention, and secops. Prior to this, he was engineering director for Google Assistant’s Ecosystem, handle a team of 180 engineers across global locations to develop AI-driven services like duplex on the web, actions on Google, identity and transactions APIs. His earlier tenure at Google also included pioneering efforts in data protection, key management, authentication, authorization, auditing, and insider risk controls, building security infrastructure used across Google’s products and services. Notably, he led the access transparency project, providing Google Cloud customers with real-time logs of data access events, unlocking nearly 900 million dollars in revenue. Before joining Google, he held roles as an advisor at LiquidTalent, a research intern at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, and a software engineer at Idiom Technologies.

    Shankar holds a PhD and M.S. in Computer Science with a focus on security and privacy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. in Computer Science from Harvard University. His extensive expertise in AI security and privacy positions him to play a crucial role in shaping Microsoft AI’s responsible AI initiatives and strengthening its global AI-driven strategy.

  • Zyler.ai unveils smart marketing analytics for the post-cookie era

    Zyler.ai unveils smart marketing analytics for the post-cookie era

    MUMBAI: Zyler.ai, has officially launched its innovative marketing analytics platform, designed to help businesses navigate the impending cookie-less digital landscape. With Google set to phase out third-party cookies by early 2025, Zyler.ai provides a cutting-edge alternative, enabling marketers to gain insights without relying on increasingly restricted tracking technologies.

    Marketers currently juggle multiple analytics platforms, spending over six hours per week managing complex dashboards. Zyler.ai streamlines this process, consolidating various data sources into a single, intuitive interface powered by AI-driven analysis.

    Zyler.ai growth lead & co-founder, Suryansh Jaiswal stated, “With 63 per cent of marketers lacking a clear strategy for a cookie-less future, businesses need solutions that are both simple and effective, without relying on intrusive tracking. Our platform reduces analytics effort and costs by up to 98 per cent, making advanced insights accessible to all, regardless of technical expertise.”

    Zyler.ai offers a suite of powerful features to simplify marketing analytics. Its one-click AI analysis enables users to generate insights instantly from multiple data sources without complex configuration. The unified dashboard integrates data from Google Analytics, Meta Ads, LinkedIn, and other platforms, consolidating key metrics into a single, user-friendly interface. First-party data optimisation helps businesses maximise their owned data sources as third-party cookies are phased out, ensuring seamless continuity in analytics. Contextual Analysis shifts the focus from user-specific tracking to performance themes and topics, aligning with evolving privacy standards. Additionally, the platform’s self-serve integration allows users to connect data sources within minutes without requiring technical expertise.

    Since its soft launch, Zyler.ai has seen rapid global adoption, attracting users from dozens of countries across six continents without major marketing expenditure. The platform’s debut on Product Hunt ranked in the top 10, highlighting strong interest from the digital marketing and analytics community.

    Operating on a freemium model, Zyler.ai offers full-featured access at 79 pounds per seat, significantly undercutting enterprise alternatives that start at over 800 pounds per month.

    As businesses brace for Google’s 2025 cookie deprecation, the need for alternative analytics solutions has never been greater. Zyler.ai addresses this challenge by focusing on actionable insights rather than data tracking.

  • Boat turns up the volume with Nirvana X

    Boat turns up the volume with Nirvana X

    MUMBAI: Boat has turned up the volume with its latest tws earbuds, Nirvana X, engineered to redefine immersive audio. Packed with Hi-res ldac technology, dual drivers, AI-powered quad mics, and ultra-low latency gaming mode, these earbuds promise a premium experience without breaking the bank.

    Boat has teamed up with Knowles Corporation, a leading name in high-performance audio components, to equip Nirvana X with Hifi Balanced Armature (BA) drivers. This ensures deep bass, crisp highs, and an all-encompassing soundscape that takes listening to the next level.

    Nirvana X boasts dual dynamic 10mm drivers alongside Knowles BA drivers, offering studio-quality audio whether you’re streaming music, tuning into podcasts, or watching your favourite films. For audiophiles, Sony’s Ldac technology ensures Hi-res playback, delivering rich, distortion-free sound across all frequencies.

    Nirvana X ensures effortless connectivity and convenience with its smart features. Multi-point connectivity allows users to switch seamlessly between two devices, making it easy to take a call on a smartphone while staying connected to a laptop. In-ear detection automatically pauses music when an earbud is removed and resumes playback when inserted, ensuring a smooth listening experience. Meanwhile, quad mics with AI Enx technology effectively filter out background noise, delivering crystal-clear call quality even in the busiest environments.

    With up to 40 hours of playtime, Nirvana X is designed for all-day entertainment, work marathons, and endless gaming sessions. Google fast pair ensures an instant connection, so you’re never left waiting. For gaming enthusiasts, beast mode offers ultra-low 60ms latency, syncing visuals and sound for a competitive edge.

    With the Boat hearables app, users can customise Eq settings, remap touch controls, and enable Ota updates, keeping their earbuds always ahead of the curve.

    At Rs 2,799, Nirvana X delivers premium audio at an unbeatable price. Available in four striking colours—galactic red, smokey amethyst, mist blue, and cosmic onyx, the earbuds can be purchased via Boat’s official website, Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, and offline stores.