Swiggy Unveils Crew App to Tap Into Affluent Market
Swiggy is piloting Crew, a personalised concierge app that helps users with tasks like dinner reservations, international driving licences, errands, and travel planning. The app launched on April 21 and is currently in beta, available by invitation on Android and iOS.
Swiggy is testing Crew as part of a broader push to diversify revenue beyond food delivery and quick-commerce, at a time when newer platform innovations remain loss-making.
According to Inc42, Crew’s services also include finding gifts within a budget, arranging locksmiths, managing laundry, and planning overseas travel.
The app builds on Swiggy’s earlier premium experiment, Rare Life, which charged a Rs. 50,000 annual subscription. The current business model remains unclear.
Google launches experimental AI mode for search users in India
Google has introduced ‘AI Mode’ in India as part of its Labs experiments, offering users an enhanced, AI-powered search experience designed to handle complex, multi-layered queries. The rollout follows trials in the United States and builds on the company’s broader strategy to integrate generative AI into everyday search functionality.
AI Mode uses Google’s Gemini 2.5 model to respond to longer and more detailed queries that previously required multiple searches. The feature aims to assist with complex tasks such as product comparisons, trip planning, and detailed how-to explanations. According to Google, early users have already begun issuing search prompts that are two to three times longer than typical queries.
The AI Mode functions through a technique called ‘query fan-out,’ which breaks down user questions into subtopics and issues multiple parallel searches to gather broader and more relevant information. The resulting responses include summarised answers alongside links to external sources.
Amazon India enters the at-home diagnostics space
E-commerce major Amazon India is entering the country’s at-home diagnostics space in partnership with Orange Health Labs, a diagnostic provider.
Amazon Diagnostics will initially be available across Bengaluru, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, and Hyderabad where customers can get doorstep sample collection in under 60 minutes and digital reports in as little as six hours for routine tests.
On its website, Amazon India writes its at-home diagnostics foray intends to alleviate challenges such as long wait times, inconsistent quality of service, and accessibility gaps.
“Amazon Diagnostics represents a significant step forward in making healthcare more accessible, reliable and convenient for all our customers,” Jayaramakrishnan Balasubramanian, category leader, Amazon Medical, was quoted as saying.
“Our engagement with an accredited service provider like Orange Health guarantees diagnostic excellence, while Amazon’s operational expertise ensures speed, reliability, and trust,” added Balasubramanian.
Facebook Announces That All Video Uploads Will Now Be Reels
Facebook’s going all in on Reels, literally, with all videos in the app soon to be classed as Reels, and fed into the Reels feed.
As explained by Facebook:
“In the coming months, all videos on Facebook will be shared as reels, eliminating the need to choose between uploading a video or Reel. Reels on Facebook will also not have any length or format restrictions.”
So rather than you having to specifically chose “Reel” in the post upload flow, any video that you attach to a post will now be classed as a Reel.
Except livestreams. Live content will still fall into its own category, with its own separate capture and upload flow. And while live videos may also be displayed within the Reels feed, they won’t be classified as Reels content.
Myntra expands ‘M-Now’ express delivery to Delhi-NCR & Mumbai
Myntra is accelerating its bet on speed. The fashion and lifestyle e-commerce platform on Friday announced the expansion of its express delivery service, M-Now, to Delhi-NCR and Mumbai following strong adoption in Bengaluru.
With this move, M-Now is now live in India’s top three metro cities, offering nearly 90,000 SKUs (stock keeping units) from over 600 brands for delivery in as little as 90 minutes. The company said the expansion is supported by a growing network of 40+ dark stores across Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai.
M-Now has seen a sharp rise in demand in recent months, with order volumes doubling over the last quarter. The service saw a significant spike on Valentine’s Day, with a 4.5x increase in orders and fivefold growth in new customers. High-demand categories included dresses, fragrances, watches, T-shirts, and accessories, while premium gifting surged with brands like MANGO, Fossil, Calvin Klein, and Hidesign seeing over 4x growth.
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