Entri.app, A Local Language Learning App, Raises $7 Mi In Series A Funding From Omidyar Network India And Others

* Entri.app, with 8 million+ users, is focused on improving the employability of 40 crore people in the 18-35 age group by empowering them with learning content in their local language

Entri.app, a unique online learning app that empowers aspirants through its local language courses on up-skilling for growth in the private sector and cracking exams for government jobs, has raised $7 million in Series A round of investment led by Omidyar Network India  with participation from Boston-based Innospark Ventures and Integrated Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity. This round of funding follows the company's $3.1 million seed round and brings the total capital raised to $10.1 million.

Leading angel investors Gokul Rajaram, a board member of Pinterest and Coinbase, and Sriram Krishnan, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z), a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, also participated in the round among others. The funds raised in this round will be utilized for content development across existing and new languages, senior-level hirings, and strategic acquisitions that will accelerate Entri’s growth.

Launched in 2017 by Mohammed Hisamuddin and Rahul Ramesh, Entri.app has over 8 million registered users with more than 250K paid subscribers. It offers 500+ courses in eight languages – Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, and Odiya – to help aspirants prepare for different government job exams as well as improve their private job prospects.

Some of its most popular course categories are Coding, Personal Finance, Spoken English, State PSC Exams, Nursing Certifications, Teacher Exams, and Engineering Technical Exams, among others.

The company offers cohort-based courses called Entri Gold which connects a batch of students with an expert mentor who speaks their local language. The mentor ensures that the batch of aspirants achieve their goal through live interactive classes, analytics, community group activities and personalized guidance. More than 25,000 students have cracked a government job exam with the help of the Entri Gold program.

Entri.app has partnered with diverse content creators (both online and offline) like coaching institutes, educators, and influencers to generate quality content. They have so far signed up 30 influencers in different languages with a combined following of 20 million subscribers for their skilling courses and are targeting to sign up 100 more in 2022. As part of its creator model, Entri.app has also recently acquired the TS Madaan YouTube channel, one of India’s largest skilling YouTube channels with more than 11 million subscribers.

“Entri.app is focused on the non-English speaking segment in India which has over 40 crore people in the age group of 18-35. We feel that with the right kind of training and learning in their mother tongue, they can improve their employability chances and increase earning capabilities. We are focused on this segment and firmly believe we can impact more than 4 crore user’s lives in the next 3 years with the kind of headstart we have got,” says Mohammed Hisamuddin, Founder and CEO of Entri.app.

“Millions of young learners across the country are looking to get skilled so they can get a job either in the private or public sector or become self-employed. These learners need solutions that are contextualized for them, i.e., offering is in the local language, affordable, range of courses they can choose from. Entri.app has made great progress in terms of the variety of courses offered, number of local languages catered to, and the number of students taking up the offering. We are excited to back the team at Entri.app as they march on their mission to become the #1 learning destination for ‘Next Half Billion’ users to improve their employability and earning capabilities,” says Sarvesh Kanodia, Principal, Omidyar Network India.

“I'm excited to support Hisam and the incredible Entri.app team. Unlike other education/learning apps that focus on academics and classes, Entri.app is focused on courses that help build practical, tangible skills and help people find jobs. Their mission is incredibly foundational for India and Indians, and I couldn't be prouder to be involved in their journey,” says Gokul Rajaram, board member at Pinterest and Coinbase.

“The kind of impact Entri has created with more than 8 million users in India has been truly inspiring. Excited to partner with the Entri team at this juncture when they are poised for even more impact and growth across India,” says Venkat Srinivasan, Managing Director at Innospark Ventures

About Entri.app

Entri.app is a vernacular learning app for Job skills with 8 million registered users and 350k+ new users being added every month. Entri provides different types of content like videos, mock exams, study cards and podcasts in local languages that helps it’s users either crack exams for govt. jobs or up-skill them for private jobs. 

Entri co-founded by Mohammed hisamuddin and Rahul Ramesh started with Malayalam content and now has more than 500 courses in 8 different Indian languages. Entri has garnered more than 250k paying users so far.

About Omidyar Network India:

Omidyar Network India invests in bold entrepreneurs who help create a meaningful life for every Indian, especially the hundreds of millions of Indians in low-income and lower-middle-income populations, ranging from the poorest among us to the existing middle class. To drive empowerment and social impact at scale, we work with entrepreneurs in the private, nonprofit and public sectors, who are tackling India’s hardest and most chronic problems.

We make equity investments in early stage enterprises and provide grants to nonprofits in the areas of Digital Identity, Education, Emerging Tech, Financial Inclusion, Governance and Citizen Engagement, and Property Rights. Omidyar Network India is part of The Omidyar Group, a diverse collection of companies, organizations and initiatives, supported by philanthropists Pam and Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay.

About Innospark Ventures:

Innospark Ventures is a Boston- based VC investing in founders and ideas that disruptively impact our economy and society

Gulf Oil And SCHWING Stetter Partner To Jointly Market A Range Of Genuine Oils To Meet The Future High Growth Plans

* Gulf Oil the first-ever to partner with SCHWING Stetter for genuine oils for it’s CE lubricant needs~

Gulf Oil Lubricant, one of India’s largest and fastest-growing lubricant players, collaborated with SCHWING Stetter, pioneer of Concrete Construction equipment manufacturing in India to launch a range of genuine oils.

In line with the burgeoning demand in the construction and infrastructure space, SCHWING Stetter has entered into a strategic partnership with Gulf Oil for its construction equipment needs. Continuing with the government’s vision of developing world-class infrastructure and additional push with the PM Gati Shakti plan focusing on roads, ports, railways, logistics, etc. The demand for high quality, synthetic industrial lubricants and oils will witness growth, Gulf Oil is strategically positioned to cater to the growing market consumption in the construction segment.

This partnership brings to the market a range of products that include high technology & high-quality lubricants like Premium Hydraulic Oil, Engine Oil, Axle Oil, Gear Oil & High-end Synthetic Gear Oil for their Concrete Pump, Batching Plant, Concrete mixture & Self-loading mixer. This will cater to the distinct and technologically progressive needs of the Construction Equipment sector for Schwing Stetter pan India aftermarket requirement. These Genuine Oils will be distributed by SCHWING Stetter exclusively through its own outlets positioned at various locations across the country.

Ravi Chawla, MD & CEO, Gulf Oil Lubricants India Ltd, said, “Gulf Oil lubricant is strategically poised for exponential growth for the future. SCHWING Stetter’s confidence in Gulf Oil further reaffirms our position and our capability to drive the growth narrative of the construction sector.  The upsurge in demand for lubricants in the construction sector is clearly visible. Our innovative advanced product technologies and diverse product range can meet the ever-evolving demands of SS equipment users and the market. In addition, the unmatched extensive pan India network helps us raise the service standards.” 

VG Sakthikumar, MD, SCHWING Stetter India said, “Innovation and technology have been our key drivers for the brand and Gulf Oil seamlessly fit in to provide the right kind of solutions to our infrastructure  growth. SCHWING Stetter is extremely delighted and thrilled with the collaboration and we are optimistic that our genuine oils will provide solutions to a lot of existing problems of the construction industry.” 

As the country's fastest-growing sector, the infrastructure industry, SCHWING Stetter is the market leader, with a 65 per cent market share in concrete technology, where huge investments are expected by the government, private sector and housing welfare schemes. SCHWING Stetter is looking to extend its presence in India by distributing its new genuine oils exclusively through PAN India outlets. Gulf Oil will partner the brand to execute with better efficiency and efficacy.

About Gulf Oil Lubricants

Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited (GOLIL), part of Hinduja Group and Gulf Oil International, is one of the leading players in the lubricant market in India and has a top 2 / 3 position in key segments amongst the private sector brands. GOLIL has a wide range of world class-leading products in the automotive and industrial lubricants space catering to B2B and B2C segments with a growing distribution network. The brand has tie-ups with over 20 leading OEM's and a leader in the direct sales network to industrial, infrastructure and institutional customers, and exports to over 25 countries. Along with automotive and industrial lubricants, greases, we have a significant share in the 2-wheeler batteries segment. In India, the brand has a strong manufacturing and R&D bases with two plants in Silvassa and Ennore, Chennai. The brand is working towards being future-ready to offer additional mobility solutions and has recently tied up with Indra Technologies- UK based charger/mobility company to drive the change. 

Today, globally the Gulf brand is present in more than 100 countries across five continents. The Gulf Oil International Group's core business is manufacturing and marketing an extensive range of over 400 performance lubricants and associated products for all market segments.

Gulf enjoys a strong brand recall built through association with brand ambassadors like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Chennai Super Kings coupled with global sporting partnerships like McLaren etc.

To know more about GOLIL visit us at www.gulfoilindia.com

About SCHWING Stetter

SCHWING Stetter India is the leading manufacturer and supplier of construction equipment like Batching Plant, Concrete Pump, Concrete Mixer, Self-Loading Mixer, Excavator, Weigh Bridge, Chilling Plant, Plastering Machine, Tower Crane, Motor Grader, Horizontal Drilling Machine, Rotary Piling Rig, Aerial Working Platform, Cold Milling Machine, Slipform Paver, Light Mast, Sludge Pump, Wheel Loader and all types of Cranes.

To know more about SCHWING Stetter, visit us at https://www.schwingstetterindia.com/ 

WinZO Announces Digital Superstar And Filmfare Awardee- Bhuvan Bam As Its Brand Ambassador

Bharat’s leading Vernacular Online Gaming Giant, WinZO announces Digital Superstar and Filmfare awardee- Bhuvan Bam as its Brand Ambassador. As a part of this collaboration, WinZO and ‘BB’ will be co-creating culturally relevant and relatable content catering to even those hailing from the most isolated hamlets of the country. The YouTube sensation enjoys a massive followership of 25+ Million subscribers, recording as many as 4 billion views, and is renowned for being an exceptional comedian, actor, writer, singer, and lyricist. Both WinZO and Bhuvan have set multiple examples for generations to follow during the course of their illustrious journeys to the top and seek to take meaningful and concrete steps towards establishing Bharat as the next ‘Gaming Superpower’. 

The advent, growth, and propagation of ‘social gaming’, which involves the evolution of online games into being used as a medium to connect with the world outside, spearheaded by WinZO which has garnered a mammoth user base of 75 + Million users in just 3 years has opened up innumerable new avenues for India’s gaming community. Online gaming going beyond the conventional stereotypes has emerged as a viable interactive space that has surpassed mainstream entertainment verticals like movies and music. Industry leaders like WinZO collaborating with a superstar in Bhuvan Bam who has exhibited his knack of connecting with the masses with utmost ease time and time again. This is bound to elevate the engagement and growth of the community as well as the industry to a whole new level. 

A little known but highly vital fact is that India is the largest market for mobile games, contributing to nearly 40% of the worldwide downloads and this speaks volumes about the untapped potential of its social gaming community. As a part of this brand collaboration, “BB” will partner with WinZO to produce unique content for his massive user base and beyond, that resonates with millions, thereby tapping into the potential on offer. His diverse skill set and ability to garner massive traction truly complements WinZO’s reach and its diversified offerings across 6+ formats in 12 vernacular languages. WinZO’s vision is to develop games in Bharat for Bharat and beyond and this collaboration is bound to act as the trump card in the process of making this a reality by educating and attracting new enthusiasts, developers and talented professionals.  

Commenting on the association, Saumya Singh Rathore, Co-founder, WinZO said, “Bhuvan is one of the biggest digital stars and best entertainers of our age. He portrays over 20 interesting characters like Titu Mama, Bancho, Masterji, etc. and each of these characters constitute a unique audience and fandom. This is fairly similar to WinZO's unique value of having a personalized offering of 100+ games on a single platform. On a lighter note, in Bhuvan we have got not one but 20 brand ambassadors. This collaboration is a match made in heaven.” 

“Online gaming has become an essential element of India’s ever-expanding industries and WinZO has created varied advanced realms for the community in a short span of time. Their profound understanding of the users and providing them quite what they want has helped WinZO garner this massive traction and reach. They have a unique and distinguished platform and I’m elated to join this energetic group to develop some exciting content together and connect with our users”, added Bhuvan Bam. 

Bhuvan is the latest edition to WinZO’s brand wagon. This announcement comes shortly after WinZO's recent announcements of onboarding content creator CarryMinati as its brand ambassador and inking a partnership as the sports brand partner with movie ‘83’. WinZO also recently announced principal sponsorships with two major Vivo Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) teams, Bengal Warriors and Gujarat Giants, as well as associate sponsorship for Patna Pirates. The brand also launched its multilingual brand campaign in close collaboration with Ogilvy’s Global Chief Creative Officer, Piyush Pandey.  

About WinZO 

WinZO is the largest social gaming and entertainment platform in India. Launched in early 2018, the Company partners with third party developers to host games on their Android app, where users can enjoy personalized multiplayer gameplay experiences. The platform is available in 12 languages such as English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, and Bhojpuri, with over 75 million registered users. The WinZO platform facilitates over 2.5 billion micro-transactions per month across a portfolio of 100+ games. WinZO is focused on building an enthusiastic community of gamers and gaming influencers in Tier II to IV cities in India. The Company envisions a future where the WinZO platform can deliver a culturally relevant and enjoyable experience in the Indian gaming ecosystem, monetized through a unique micro-transaction model. 

Download the WinZO app from www.winzogames.com (Android) or Apple App Store.  

CollegeDekho Announces “Learn, Enters USD 184 Mn* Indian Higher Education e-Learning Space” With Its Latest Initiative

* Courses offered as part of remedial learning cover multiple disciplines - from accounting to artificial intelligence, and domains of personal and professional growth 

Live streamed on a robust digital platform, the courses are of 20-25 hours duration and are offered by subject matter experts with an excellent track record 

CollegeDekho, India’s largest college admissions and education services platform, has launched Learn, an online learning platform offering a series of live, interactive courses across multiple streams such as computer programming, business, finance, and digital marketing to help students prepare for their future course of studies, and placements. Students can choose from a range of preparatory courses based on their requirements, interest, and time. 

The foray marks CollegeDekho’s commitment to offer end-to-end services to build a quality higher education ecosystem in India for students. 

With the increasing digitalization of education, India’s e-learning market, the second largest after the US, is expected to boom. CollegeDekho’s entry into India’s USD 2bn e-learning market aims to help India’s 27.5mn undergraduate and 4mn postgraduate students** with its specially designed courses. Launched with the objective to promote a 360-degree understanding of subjects, CollegeDekho Learn currently has more than 35 courses, covering a wide range of disciplines - from accounting to artificial intelligence, and domains for personal growth such as communication development and digital marketing. The courses are each of 20–25-hours duration and are conducted by subject matter experts. The company has plans to add 40 new courses shortly. 

CollegeDekho provides unlimited access to recorded lectures, videos, and reading materials for self-paced learning and revisions. The platform also hosts a 24x7 operational forum for doubt clarification and discussions. It also presents questions from previous editions of relevant exams.  

Commenting on the launch of online courses, Mr. Ruchir Arora, Co-Founder & CEO, CollegeDekho, said, “We are open to invest in key areas that will ensure the success of students across India. Studies point out that lack of understanding of core concepts prevents students from scoring well and securing gainful jobs. Hence, we are rolling out CollegeDekho Learn to address the urgent need for promoting an in-depth, 360 degree understanding of core subjects in higher education. We believe that it is possible only by reaching quality lectures by qualified subject matter experts to students wherever they are. Developing clarity in one’s core subjects have multiplier effects: our students will be able to excel in their higher education, prepare themselves better for future courses of studies and be job ready.” 

He added, “We see our investment in Learn as promising and well aligned with our strategy to offer a full basket of solutions to students pursuing higher education. We will keep producing more courses and adding many more disciplines while making sure that we line up only subject matter experts with excellent track records, who act as mentors and who commit to the success of students.” 

CollegeDekho also recently announced India’s first Ed-FinTech vertical that offers end-to-end financial solutions at zero percent EMI for students studying either within India or even abroad. 

About CollegeDekho 

Founded in 2015, CollegeDekho is on a mission to institutionalize students’ counselling in India in the higher education space. It connects prospective students with colleges using its proprietary technology and AI-based chat conversation bot. Its Common Application Form platform, which enables students to apply to multiple colleges with a single click, is India’s largest of its kind. Since its inception, CollegeDekho has counselled more than 2 million students and has helped more than 1000 colleges with their student recruitments. The startup is backed by investors like ETS, organization responsible for conducting GRE and TOEFL exams globally. (www.collegedekho.com) 

South African Tourism Kickstarts Travel Recovery Efforts In India With The Launch Of More & More Campaign

* The direct-to-consumer, 360-degree campaign highlights the diverse set of experiences that destination South Africa has to offer~

* Large focus on experiential marketing and adventure offerings~

Reigniting its travel recovery efforts in India, South African Tourism launched its ‘More & More’ campaign today. Localized for Indian audiences, this campaign aims to highlight the variety and diversity of experiences that South Africa has to offer, ranging from 3000+ adventure activities to exciting culinary experiences and more, across its 9 provinces. The campaign – that will be live until 31st March 2022 – is slated to have multiple roll-out legs to it, starting with OOH advertising in Mumbai and Delhi. This will be complimented by digital activations across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, as well as on-ground physical consumer and corporate activations in Mumbai and Delhi. 

The campaign is crafted to speak to every type of traveller including millennials, families, solo explorers, active lifestyle seekers and couples. More & More builds on the emotion and spirit of adventure, which is a sentiment unique to every individual. For some, adventure may mean jumping off the highest commercial bungee in the world at Bloukrans Bridge or going shark-cage diving in KwaZulu-Natal, whereas for another it could be the thrill of scenic road trip across the stunning Garden Route or a night of stargazing in beautiful Knysna. To still some, it could be about discovering the origin of humans by exploring the Cradle of Mankind, interacting with indigenous tribes like the Zulus and learning about their culture or retracing Nelson Mandela's life journey.

Well-timed with the easing of international travel restrictions in India, the More & More campaign is expected to increase summer outbound traffic to South Africa and contribute to the recovery of the tourism sectors in both countries. South Africa, which remains open to Indian travellers, is also processing tourist visas on priority to support these travel recovery efforts.

South African Tourism, Hub Head – Middle East, India and South-East Asia, Ms. Neliswa Nkani stated, “Having a constant finger on the pulse of Indian travellers has made us sure of one thing – when on vacation, they want to experience it all! They could be wine connoisseurs one day, and history buffs the next. South Africa is a perfect match since we offer the best of the world in one place. From shark-cage diving and glamping to serene wellness retreats, we want Indian thrill-seekers to keep coming back for More & More.”

Prior to the pandemic, India was the 8th largest international market for South African Tourism. India remains a core market for South African Tourism globally, and holds much promise in the coming years, especially given that Indian travellers are the international largest consumers of adventure in South Africa.

“As we re-initiate marketing efforts, we look forward to working more closely with our partners in India and South Africa, towards sustained growth and collaborative recovery,” she continued.

The More & More campaign will be supplemented by robust travel trade engagement in the coming months, starting with South African Tourism’s first physical annual Roadshow post pandemic in March 2022. The tourism board will also participate in SATTE 2022 this year, as part of these recovery efforts.

At present, several stop-over flights fly from India to South Africa, including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways. Travellers from India to South Africa will be required to produce a negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, not older than 72 hours from the time of departure from the country of origin to South Africa.

ASUS Republic Of Gamers Launches The ROG Phone 5s Series For An Unrivalled Gaming Experience

~Fuelled for winning by the flagship Snapdragon 888 Plus 5G Mobile Platform, the new ROG Phone 5S and 5S Pro smartphones take mobile gaming to the next dimension

~ASUS Mobile launches its first ever ‘open-to-all’ eSports tournament in association with New State Mobile, by Krafton (PUBG: New State)

KEY POINTS

·         Sale Start: ROG Phone 5s and ROG Phone 5s Pro will be available on Flipkart on 18th February 2022 at 12:00 hours. ROG Phone 5s 8GB / 128GB will be available at Rs. 49999, ROG Phone 5s 12GB/256 GB will be available at Rs. 57999 and the ROG Phone 5s Pro 18GB / 512GB will be available at Rs. 79999- respectively

·         Rule them all: ROG Phone 5s series powered by the powerful flagship Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 888+ 5G Mobile Platform and with up to 18GB RAM and 512GB storage, with all-new upgraded GameCool 5 multi-layer cooling for maximum sustained performance, with X-mode+ and X-mode and all new system performance manager

·         Fast and accurate visuals with upgraded Touchscreen: 144 Hz / 1ms Customised Samsung AMOLED display now with upgraded ultra-fast 360 Hz touch sampling rate and 24ms ultra-low touch latency; Delta-E <1 colour accuracy and HDR10+ support along with the latest and best-in-class Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus for toughest screen protection

·         Built for Gamers: Innovative and superior ultrasonic AirTrigger 5 on the shoulder of the devices, Unique rear dual triggers on the ROG Phone 5s Pro, and up to 10 Motion Control gesture inputs that can be accessed alongside the AirTrigger 5 controls. Armoury crate with expanded feature set offering more user-level customizable tuning for each, and every game

·         ROG Vision and AuraRGB: ROG Phone 5s Pro features a colour PMOLED rear display called the ROG Vision that allows to show basic system alerts and allows for extreme customization for a unique flaunt factor, ROG Phone 5s features a dual-zone RGB lighting within the ROG logo at the back, that allows for multizone light customization and also can be used as customizable notification light

·         Outlive your foes: Massive 6000mAh split battery with MMT technology and new software optimizations to maximize endurance, lifespan, and thermal efficiency; fastest-ever rapid charging with ROG HyperCharge, ‘Durable mode’ for longer battery backup while gaming

·         Immersive sound: large front-firing speakers powered by dual amplifier technology and tuned to perfection by Dirac, for most engaging and immersive audio experience in games, 3.5mm headphone jack powered by ESS Sabre DAC & headphone amp for audiophile listening experience, with support for Hi-Res audio playback

·         Immersive gaming experience: With gaming peripherals such as the ROG Kunai 3 Gamepad, that allows modular gamepad styles with the ROG Phone 5s

·         Flagship cameras: Sony IMX686 main sensor along with a 13MP wide and a 5MP macro, along with a 24MP high quality camera on the front

·         Packaging & Inbox Accessories: Unique packaging offering unique AR unboxing experience, inbox 30-watt ROG HyperCharge Adapter, USB-C to USB-C cable, ROG Aero Case and Exclusive ROG stickers. Additionally in ROG Phone 5s there is an ROG AeroCooler 5 accessory with physical trigger buttons. Theme packs: Unique theme packs based on popular game titles are available for all ROG Phone 5 and 5s series phones

·         ROG Phone 5s series variants: ROG Phone 5s offered in Black and White colour options with 8GB RAM / 128GB ROM and 12GB RAM / 256GB ROM memory options, ROG Phone 5s Pro offered in black with 18GB RAM and 512GB ROM memory.

·         ROG League of Champions: In association with New State Mobile by Krafton (PUBG: New State) ASUS Republic of Gamers Mobile India launches the ROG League of Champions open to all eSport tournament for the first time ever in its history. Registrations for this ‘open-to-all’ eSports tournament will start today. Participants will be getting exciting in-game special reward from ASUS ROG and the winners will be getting exciting prizes worth Rs. 10 lakhs and more.

Republic of Gamers (ROG), a premium sub-brand of Asus, has announced the launch of its ROG 5s series in India. The company has introduced ROG Phone 5s and 5s Pro as the latest upgrade to its ROG Phone series.

The ROG Phone 5s series is fuelled for winning by the flagship Snapdragon® 888 Plus 5G Mobile Platform, featuring advanced 5G capabilities and premium Snapdragon Elite Gaming™ features. The processing power is complemented by up to 18 GB of fast LPDDR5 RAM. The optimized and upgraded GameCool 5 cooling system with AeroActive Cooler 5 (fan accessory bundled with ROG Phone 5s Pro only and optional for ROG Phone 5s), and the performance manager in Armory Crate ensures maximum performance is available for any gaming scenario.

Commenting at the launch, Dinesh Sharma, Business Head, Commercial PC and Smartphone, System Business Group, ASUS in India said, “We are constantly innovating and aiming to provide only the best and premium features in our Ultimate Weapons for Smartphone Gaming i.e. ROG Phone, to our ROG community. We are thrilled to launch two new additions to the ROG family – ROG Phone 5s and ROG Phone 5 Pro to upgrade the cutting edge capabilities we offer for the mobile gaming ecosystem.”

Arief Mohamad, Senior Director - Mobiles, Flipkart said, “At Flipkart, our constant endeavour is to make the best products with the latest technology accessible to every customer across India and our partnership with ASUS India is in line with this. With the launch of the ROG 5s series, we are bringing a superior experience to a wider community of gamers, as we continue to cater to growing premium smartphone needs."

The 144 Hz / 1 ms AMOLED display used in the ROG Phone 5s series now boasts an upgraded 360 Hz native touch-sampling rate[i] and upgraded ultra-low 24ms touch latency for a super-smooth, seamless and ultrafast gaming experience. Additionally, the ROG Phone 5s Pro features a colour version of the innovative ROG Vision rear matrix display, which shows customizable animations in response to a variety of system events.

The pioneering and still-unrivalled AirTrigger 5 control system now supports the two rear capacitive touch sensors on ROG Phone 5s Pro, giving mobile gamers more control capabilities in their games. The ultrasonic shoulder side sensors on both models also support dual gestures, such as tap-and-slide or tap-and-swipe, for total control.

ROG has also teamed up with some of the most popular game titles to give ROG Phone 5 and 5s series owners a collection of different theme packs[ii] that they can use to turn their ROG Phone into a truly unique gaming device.

For those who dare

The flagship Snapdragon 888 Plus 5G Mobile Platform powering the ROG Phone 5s series provides boosted high performance, superior AI processing speed and multi-gigabit class Wi-Fi 6[iii] to take the mobile gaming experience to the next level. With the clock speed now up to a blistering 3 GHz[iv], the CPU performance is designed to deliver matchless mobile processing power. ROG Phone 5s Pro also feature up to 18 GB of fast LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of fastest UFS3.1 storage to dramatically increase the overall gaming performance.

To enable maximum sustained performance, the upgraded GameCool 5 cooling system in the ROG Phone 5s series has an optimum thermal structure featuring a centred CPU with the battery split into two parts, one located on each side of the CPU. This ensures that the heat generated by the CPU is transferred to all the edges and corners of the chassis simultaneously for higher thermal efficiency. The re-shaped 3D vapor chamber and extensive graphite sheets also help to spread the heat evenly across the device to reduce heat build-up in the middle. The AeroActive Cooler 5 intakes and expels an incredible amount of air directly onto the centre of the phone — right where the CPU is — to deliver an amazing up to 10°C drop in the CPU temperature[v].

The performance manager in the Armoury Crate app includes our famous X Mode, with multiple system profiles to give gamers even more performance settings and performance tuning tools, so they can instantly adapt the phone to the task at hand.

Dare to see

Cutting-edge displays have been a signature ROG Phone feature since its inception, and the ROG Phone 5s series continues this tradition. Now boasting an uprated 360 Hz native touch-sampling rate and uprated ultra-low 24ms touch latency, the 144 Hz / 1 ms Samsung E4 AMOLED display delivers a super-smooth gaming experience, with an ultra-low touch latency. Tuned in collaboration with leading visual-processing company Pixelworks®, the supreme visuals are enhanced even further with world-beating colour accuracy, always-on HDR technology[vi] to improve non-HDR visuals, and a screen that's protected by the toughest ever Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus™. The ROG Phone 5s series is built to endure — and built to win.

The ROG Phone 5s Pro additionally features a colour version of ROG Vision, the unique rear display that highlights the ROG creative spirit. ROG Vision can display a variety of cool animations that show you whether ROG Phone 5s Pro is charging, if there's an incoming call, whether X Mode is enabled and more. Gamers can even create custom animations to make their phone even more personal.

Built for gamers

Total control is the name of the game for the ROG Phone 5s series, and the AirTrigger 5 control system gives gamers distinct ways to interact with their ROG Phone 5s or 5s Pro, delivering an unrivalled level of game control. The AeroActive Cooler 5 also features two extra physical buttons to allow a genuine console-like gaming experience.

Additionally, the ROG Phone 5s Pro features innovative hidden rear touch sensors on the back cover, which provide L2/R2 trigger functions, just like a game console controller. These can be controlled with the AirTrigger 5 system, and work in conjunction with the ultrasonic sensors, the AeroActive Cooler 5 buttons, and the motion controls to provide full control for a total gaming experience with up to total of 18 offscreen programmable game controls.

Immersive Audio

The GameFX audio system on ROG Phone 5s series features symmetrical 7-magnet dual speakers for truly balanced stereo sound effects, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack in conjunction with a Hi-Fi grade ESS DAC. Both have been optimized via a collaboration with audio specialist Dirac, giving the ROG Phone 5s series truly impressive audio quality and a wider soundscape. In addition to the premium sounds, GameFX also delivers crystal-clear in-game sound effects and powerful aural soundscapes.

Multi-antenna Wi-Fi and HyperFusion

The ROG phone 5s series features multiple antennas to ensure you’re always connected to the internet with maximum speed and fidelity no matter how you hold the device to game, vertically or horizontally. To also ensure you’re connected to the fastest mode of internet, the ROG Phone 5s series features the amazing HyperFusion. HyperFusion allows the ROG Phone 5s to automatically choose the fastest internet connection and for apps that allow multiple connections, Hyperfusion can also connect to both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz Wi-Fi channels at the same time, or it can combine both the Mobile data and Wi-Fi together increasing your internet connectivity speed.

Flagship Cameras

The ROG Phone 5s series comes with a 64MP Flagship Sony IMX686 sensor main camera, offering you up to 8K Pro video recording, Pro mode for Photos and videos, and Superb Night mode performance. It also has a secondary 13MP camera to capture ultra-wide angles and offers a HyperSteady video-recording feature. And lastly there's the 5MP Macro camera for when you want incredibly close-up detail. For superior selfies, the front camera is a 24MP camera that can shoot 4K as well.

ROG Original gaming accessories

The ROG Phone 5s series will continue to support the extensive range of ROG Phone original accessories such as, The ROG AeroActive 5 Cooler fan accessory for enhanced performance push, the ROG Kunai 3 Gamepad for complete console gaming experience, The ROG Lighting Armor case and the Asus Professional dock - for extensive Audio, Video and peripheral connectivity.

Exclusive theme packs

Gamers love to use characters and screens from their favourite games to show off their style. Asus has teamed up with some of the most popular game titles to create a series of different theme packs that owners can use to turn their ROG Phone 5 series or ROG Phone 5s series into a truly unique phone.

ROG League of Champions

With the aim to identify and develop budding gaming talent in to professional eSports talent, ASUS ROG has associated with New State Mobile by Krafton (PUBG New State) on the occasion of the launch of ROG Phone 5s series, for ROG League of Champions, open to all eSports Tournament. The registration for this tournament will start from 15th February 2022 and will see more engagement for the gaming community. Gamers will have a chance to win prizes worth 10 lakhs and more. Top three teams will be equipped with the most ultimate weapon - The ROG Phone 5s, and will be provided with the best-in-class guidance to develop as Pro eSport teams by the top eSports champions in India.

AVAILABILITY & PRICING

ASUS ROG Phone 5s and 5s Pro will be available from 18th February 2022 in India on Flipkart.

ACCESSORIES PRICING:

·         AeroActive Cooler 5: Rs 2999/-

·         Screen Protector – Rs 799

·         Armor Lightning Case: Rs 2999

·         ROG Kunai 3 Gamepad: Rs 9999/-

·         ROG Cetra II Core Headset: Rs 3999/-

KreditBee Crosses Milestone Of 1 Million Cards; Aims To Issue 10 Million Cards By Mid-2023

* Launches physical variant of the card to provide 360 degree financial inclusion

KreditBee, one of India’s leading digital lending platforms, today announced that it has crossed the milestone of issuing one million ‘KreditBee Card’. In the process, it has emerged to be one of the fastest cards to cross this milestone, since its launch in August 2021.

Further, the company has also announced the launch of the physical variant of ‘KreditBee Card’ that will be initially available for select set of customers and later will be rolled out to wider set of customers in near future. This will assist the company in achieving its goal of issuing 10 million cards by mid-2023.

The card provides the unserved and underserved banking customers with quick as well as secured access to short-term liquidity and multiple repayment options, eliminating the need to avail a separate loan. It also offers versatility and flexibility in terms of ticket size and repayment options. The physical card will be acceptable at more than 99.5% POS terminals across India and can be used for seamless purchases at zero interest and zero additional fees. Available across the nation, this card enables customer to complete their transactions by simply swiping or waving at a POS terminal.

The card-holder can make multiple withdrawals or purchases (within the credit limit) while paying lesser charges (no hidden charges). This physical card will not only help the customers to perform their day-to-day transactions, but also enable them to build their credit history, thus promoting financial inclusion in a convenient manner.

Speaking on the launch, Madhusudan E, Co-Founder & CEO, KreditBee, said, “We are elated to cross the milestone of issuing 1 million ‘KreditBee Card’ since its launch in August 2021. Additionally, we have launched the physical version of the card, which now expands the coverage of our offerings and widens our reach. An aspirational and effective credit tool like this has still been under-penetrated in India. By introducing distinctive products like ‘KreditBee Card’, it is our constant bid to emerge as a 360-degree fintech service provider extending convenient and hassle-free products to the underserved segments of the country. With ‘KreditBee Card’, we aim to issue over 10 million cards by mid-2023.”

KreditBee is looking to cover the Indian masses who don't have access to cards as such and are not able to have such a credit facility at their disposal. The card can be used to avail exclusive offers at partner brands and earn cashbacks on specific transactions. Customers can apply for the physical card on KreditBee app. The company has already partnered with Mswipe to offer a fully digital mode of payment ‘Cardless EMI’, to expand its reach in the offline space by enabling customers to shop by converting transactions into digital EMIs.

Key benefits of ‘KreditBee Card’:

·         End-to-end use: An instant virtual card will be generated on the app and the physical card will be shipped to customers, customers can use both the virtual as well as the physical card

·         Fast Access: The underwriting process is AI-driven and generates a card instantly

·         Quick Credit Upgrade: Customers’ credit limit can be upgraded post the first billing cycle

·         Safe & Secure: The card can be generated and secured through the KreditBee app & is M-PIN Protected

·         No Hidden Charges: A 100% transparent product with absolutely no extra fees & charges

Steps to avail the Physical 'KreditBee Card'

·         Sign in to the KreditBee app >> Click on the ‘KreditBee Card’ section >> Select ‘Check Eligibility’

·         To activate card, click on ‘Activate Card’ on the KreditBee App >> Provide your bank account details & sign the agreement >> request for the physical card >> Use Card to make payments on all online platforms or any POS terminal