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Map war intensifies; Google announces new features to woo users in India

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Amid rising competition from homegrown challenger Ola Maps, Google on Thursday announced a slew of new features on GoogleMaps to woo Indian users, including EV charging station information, flyover callouts, and AI-driven routing capability to reduce narrow road usage for four-wheeler drivers.

It is “an exciting time in mapping”, Google Maps said announcing the new lineup, which comes in the backdrop of a pitched battle with Ola Maps.

Google recently decided to cut the pricing of the Google Maps platform for developers by up to 70% from August 1, just weeks after Ola Founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal openly nudged Indian developers to shun Google Maps and offered them sweeteners like one-year free access to Ola Maps.

Emphasising its focus on the market, Google Maps on Thursday said India is at the centre of its innovation, and that it “can’t wait to build the future of Maps right here”. India is the first country to get an EV charging station feature for two-wheelers on Google Maps, and senior company officials said it will look at replicating features like this and others, with tweaks where necessary, for use in other markets, as well.

Replying to a question on the timing of Google Maps’ price cuts – coming right after an offensive from Ola – Google Maps senior executives said that while “it’s tempting to think that way, but we actually do not focus on competitors”.

“We’re very focused on making sure we’re serving our user base and our partner community, which is our developer partners. And to be honest, we timed it with our IO Connect event in Bengaluru,” Miriam Daniel, VP and GM, Google Maps, said at a briefing.

Daniel added: “…this is something our partners have been requesting of us for a while, and we’ve been working on it for quite some time to make sure our infrastructure, our pricing systems are localised and adapted to the needs of our partners in India”.

The new offerings range from metro ticket booking on Google Maps in Kochi and Chennai, backed by collaboration with ONDC and Namma Yatri, all the way to improved features for reporting road incidents and traffic mishaps.

“We’re excited to continue our journey of innovation, and build the future of Google Maps right here in India,” a blogpost by Daniel and Lalitha Ramani, GM, Google Maps, India, read.

Stating that navigating narrow or congested roads in unfamiliar areas can be a challenge for four-wheeler drivers, Google Maps announced it is introducing a new feature for users in India designed to reduce the use of narrow roads when driving four-wheelers.

This means four-wheeler drivers can enjoy a less stressful driving experience, and it also benefits bikers, pedestrians and other commuters who can now use these narrow roads more safely and confidently, it added.

Google Maps is starting to roll out this feature on Android devices this week in eight cities – Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Indore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, and Guwahati, and has promised to bring the feature to iOS and more cities soon.

Another new feature on Google Maps is call-out flyovers along the recommended route. This feature helps users anticipate upcoming flyovers and prepare ahead of time to get onto the flyover.

“Starting this week, you’ll see these flyover callouts in 40 cities across India for both four-wheeler and two-wheeler active navigation on Android apps and Android Auto. iOS and CarPlay support will be coming soon,” it said.

Both Narrow Roads and Flyover features have been pioneered in India, tailored to the unique navigation needs of users, it said.

To ensure EV drivers have the tools they need to confidently hit the road, it has also announced availability of information about EV charging stations on both Google Maps and Google Search in India.

“To achieve this, we’re collaborating with leading EV charging providers in India ElectricPe, Ather, Kazam, and Statiq to add authoritative information for over 8,000 charging stations, representing a significant portion of available charging stations in India,” it said.

This marks the first time Google is launching EV charging station information for two-wheelers on Google Maps, and India is the first country to get this feature.

Last December, the company announced a collaboration with ONDC and Namma Yatri to streamline the public transport experience on Google Maps. This metro booking experience in Google Maps is now going live in Kochi and Chennai, powered by ONDC and Namma Yatri.

The company has simplified how users can report road incidents. “Whether there’s ongoing construction or a traffic mishap on the route, users can now report it with just a few taps, making it easy and less distracting, it said, adding that this update is available in India on Google Maps across all platforms – Android, iOS, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Google said it is making it easy to discover helpful lists from local experts and the Google Maps community.

India’s digital mapping landscape is under the spotlight, especially after Ola’s Aggarwal – who in the past championed the cause of India’s digital sovereignty – argued recently that the Western apps to map India have been used for “too long”.

The top honcho of Ola also declared that Ola Cabs has fully exited Google Maps and will be using its own in-house Ola Maps, leading to lucrative savings for the company. The Ola founder in May this year announced that Ola will snap ties with Microsoft‘s Azure cloud and shift workloads to the cloud service of its sister firm Krutrim AI.





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Thesys secures $4M funding led by Together Fund

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AI startup Thesys bags $4 million funding in a round led by Together Fund. The round also saw participation from 8VC, the company said in a statement.

The startup will use the funding to bridge the gap of user experience with AI agents. As a visual collaboration tool, the company will also provide a platform that will enable businesses to ideate, visualise, and ship intelligent experiences at scale.

“The way we engage with technology is changing faster than ever. Static interfaces simply don’t meet the demands of today’s AI-capabilities…At Thesys, we’re building tools that make it possible for businesses to adapt and thrive in this new era,” said Parikshit Deshmukh, Co-founder, Thesys. 

This evolution is about unlocking the full potential of AI-driven interactions and delivering unparalleled user experiences, he added.

“The future of AI relies as much on intuitive, adaptive interfaces as it does on backend capabilities. Thesys’ vision for Generative UI aligns perfectly with Together Fund’s commitment to enabling founders who are redefining the user experience,” said Manav Garg, Co-founder and managing partner of Together Fund.

“By empowering teams to create real-time, personalized interactions, Thesys is setting a new standard for AI-driven interfaces. We’re excited to support their journey in transforming the role of design and development tools for the next generation of AI applications,” he added.

The company, founded by Rabi Shanker Guha and Parikshit Deshmukh this year, emerged from the understanding of the need to provide support in the shift towards AI-driven interfaces, it said.

“Thesys envisions a future where all interfaces dynamically adjust to each user’s behavior, preferences, and needs—driven by what the company calls “Generative UI”. Unlike traditional static interfaces that rely on predefined paths, Generative UI uses AI to create unique, adaptive user interfaces on-the-fly, allowing businesses to provide truly personalized digital experiences,” the company added.

The company plans to launch a UI SDK that is set to enable developers to seamlessly integrate Generative UI into their applications. Additionally, post its closed beta launch, the company plans a general availability (GA) with its product within the next quarter positioning itself as the go-to product toolkit for businesses looking to stay ahead in the AI revolution.

“Thesys is pioneering a transformative shift in UI design workflows by integrating AI-driven adaptability… Their Generative UI approach aligns with our commitment to investing in technologies that drive innovation in user experiences,” said Bhaskar Ghosh, partner at 8VC.





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BrowserStack launches AI-driven Low Code Automation tool

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Software testing platform BrowserStack has rolled out Low Code Automation, a solution to simplify test automation for quality assurance teams, developers, and non-technical users. 

The newly launched solution will address challenges faced by software teams, including manual testing delays and complex automation frameworks, BrowserStack said in a statement. 

While traditional test automation requires coding expertise by often limiting non-technical testers to contribute, this tool allows user—irrespective of their technical background—to create and manage AI-driven automated tests without writing code. Users can also use BrowserStack’s cloud infrastructure for reliable test execution.

“(The AI-powered Low-Code Automation (LCA) simplifies the process of building and maintaining test automation suites compared to traditional tools like Selenium. It reduces the steep learning curve and complexity often associated with automation projects, leading to a quicker return on investment (ROI),” Chintan Doshi, Director of Product Management at BrowserStack, told YourStory

To support development teams worldwide, Low Code Automation speeds up testing cycles, boosts product quality, and enhances user experience by reducing technical barriers. 

“Citizen testers—such as business analysts, product managers, and customer support teams—can easily add validations and create automated tests with the test recorder, without requiring coding skills. This reduces their dependency on developers and QAs and empowers them to actively contribute to testing efforts,” Doshi explained.

Founded in 2011 by Ritesh Arora and Nakul Aggarwal, BrowserStack provides a cloud-based platform for developers to test websites and mobile apps across devices, operating systems, and browsers on demand.

With headquarters in San Francisco and Mumbai, the company has expanded its product line to include over 15 products, of which 10 were launched in the past 18 months.

In August, the Accel-backed firm acquired Berlin-based Bird Eats Bug, an advanced bug-reporting tool. The acquisition aims to address the existing gaps in bug reporting and streamline fragmented testing workflows.





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Flipkart’s delivery arm Instakart reports widening losses, lower revenue in FY24

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Flipkart’s delivery service arm Instakart’s FY24 losses increased multifold to Rs 1718.4 crore, from Rs 324.6 crore in the previous year, hurt by higher expenses and marginally lower revenues. 

The company, which is in the logistics, warehouse, courier and allied services business, clocked an operating revenue of Rs 12,115.3 crore in FY24, 5% lower than Rs 12,787.4 crore it posted a year ago, according to filings made with Toefler. 

During the period, the company’s total expenses increased 6% to Rs 14,149.4 crore, mainly driven by employee benefit and other expenses. 

Logistics services accounted for the majority (about 78%) of Instakart’s total operating revenues, with Rs 9,429.8 crore, marginally lower than what it collected in the previous year.

Warehousing services, which accounted for about 10% of total operating revenues, witnessed a 28.4% drop in revenue, while collection services, which accounted for 12%, remained stable. 

Just a week ago, Flipkart Internet reported a 21% rise in FY24 revenue at Rs 17,907.3 crore helped by rising income from its advertising services.

Flipkart India Ltd, which is Flipkart’s business-to-business (B2B) arm, reported a 26.4% rise in revenue from operations at Rs 70,541.9 crore in FY24. 





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