Espresso: Google Assistant's bet, Xiaomi's June quarter

Google Assistant backs Slang Labs

Slang Labs, an in-app voice assistant company, has raised capital from the Google Assistant Investments programme.

It has thus become one of the first players in the in-app voice assistant space to be backed by Google globally. Its Voice Assistant as a Service (VAaaS) is a promising touchpoint for e-commerce and other interactions online.

“Enabling multilingual voice-based interactions inside business apps, even if the visual language of the app continues to be in English, is an opportunity for them to easily solve these problems, and quickly reach the 400+million users in tier 2 markets and beyond,” said Slang Labs Co-founder Kumar Rangarajan in a blog post of July 16.

Ripple effect of the Mastercard ban

Stock brokerage Nomura ​does not foresee any near-term material impact of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ban on Mastercard. The central bank has restricted Mastercard from on-boarding new customers. The ban comes into effect from June 22 onwards.

However, there could be a medium-term impact if this situation persists​, the equity analysts said in a July 15 report.

In ​Nomura's view, RBL Bank, Y​ES Bank and Bajaj Finserv are the most impacted credit-card issuers because their card programmes are entirely allied with Mastercard.

PayPal increases crypto purchase limit 

US payments firm PayPal raised its cryptocurrency  weekly limit to $100,000, removing the previous annual purchase limit of $50,000.

PayPal’s customers will have “more choice and flexibility in purchasing cryptocurrency on our platform,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, VP & GM, Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies. Cryptocurrencies have been facing less resistance from a lot of financial firms recently,  even as they face more scrutiny from the regulators.

Flipkart demands independent probe

Walmart subsidiary Flipkart has stated that the allegations and evidence placed before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against it are “qualitatively different” from those relating to Amazon, according to a Reuters report.

“The CCI should have independently examined the case against each of the two platforms," Flipkart said in its 46-page submission, which is not public.

Both Amazon and Flipkart have challenged the CCI in the Karnataka High Court as they seek revocation of a High Court order in June 2021 to continue an antitrust probe against them.

Rossari Biotech to acquire Tristar

Rossari Biotech, a speciality chemicals manufacturer, announced the acquisition of Tristar Intermediates on Sunday at an enterprise value of Rs 120 crore.

It will acquire 100 per cent equity share capital of Tristar Intermediates. This move will help Rossari expand its product portfolio, primarily in the personal care segment, according to a joint statement.

Rossari plans to fund the investment through cash on the balance sheet, and doesn’t intend to raise any debt for this acquisition.

Facebook Pay debuts on Shopify

Facebook marked its debut on third-party online shopping platform Shopify.

Facebook Pay is currently available for users on its main platform, as well as on WhatsApp and Instagram. The company said Facebook Pay is designed to help businesses drive conversion higher by giving customers a low-friction and mobile-friendly way to pay online.

“We’re starting the rollout with Shopify merchants, and expect to expand availability with more platforms and payment service providers over time,” Facebook said in a statement.

Xiaomi overtakes Apple: Canalys

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has overtaken Apple to become the world number 2 vendor in the June-ending quarter of 2021, according to initial shipment data by market research firm Canalys.

Xiaomi grew 83 percent in the quarter, and has 17 percent market share in the worldwide smartphone market as against Apple’s 14 percent.

“It is a fantastic achievement, and also an important milestone in Xiaomi’s history,” wrote Xiaomi Chairman and CEO Lei Jun, in a blog post on Friday. The first position is held by Samsung with 19 percent market share.