SENSOR TOWER
Ground floor residents breathe cleaner air: Upper floors in high-rise apartments record 40% more pollution and toxic air, study finds
Residents on the ground floors of high-rise buildings may be breathing cleaner air than those living several floors above them, with upper levels recording up to 40% higher particulate pollution, a Mumbai study has found. Researchers monitoring residential towers in Wadala linked the pattern to industrial emissions and swirling wind currents around tall buildings.
Meta’s AI app Muse crosses 10 million US downloads within 40 days
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg highlighted in his post that the most common use case for Muse is shopping, with more than a quarter of people using the platform engaging in this activity with an average purchase size over $200.
Festive ecommerce season off to strong start, Flipkart DAUs hit new high: BofA report
India's 2026 festive ecommerce season has initiated with strong performance from online retail platforms. Flipkart saw a significant increase in daily active users during its Big Billion Days sale. Non-metro shoppers contributed greatly to this demand, accounting for about 60 percent of total activity. Myntra retained its position as the largest fashion platform, experiencing notable increases in user engagement.
Flipkart Internet’s revenue falls 19% YoY to Rs 16,295 crore in FY26
Meanwhile rival Amazon India’s marketplace entity Amazon Seller Services reported a 15% increase in operating revenue to Rs 34,966.8 crore in fiscal 2026. Its net loss stood at Rs 389.9 crore, down 3.4% from Rs 408 crore in FY25.
India’s app economy goes spiritual: Religious and astrology apps clock nearly 30 crore downloads in nine months
Religious, spiritual and astrology apps recorded nearly 30 crore downloads in India between January and September 2026, surpassing their combined total for all of 2025. According to Sensor Tower data, astrology app downloads rose 75% to 15 crore, while religious and spiritual apps grew 47% to 14.6 crore. Astrotalk led astrology app downloads, while AI astrology platforms such as AstroSage Kundli and AstroLokal recorded significant growth.
A real-life robot battle arena is opening in Japan, here’s how much it costs to enter
The main attraction, called Robot Fight, puts two visitors head-to-head in an arena. Each person steps into a large robotic exoskeleton. Sensors inside the robot suits detect when a strike successfully lands.
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Investors’ bets on Ola shrink as EV, ride-hailing businesses lose ground
As competition intensifies, SoftBank Group and fellow investors in Ola are grappling with a substantial reduction in their holdings' valuations. Ola Cabs is increasingly losing ground to competitors like Rapido and Uber, alongside a notable decline in Ola Electric's electric two-wheeler market share. While the company confronts financial hurdles and operational setbacks, a number of investors successfully realized returns through strategic share sales prior to value drops.
Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses
Meta Platforms is expanding its AI agent Muse to small businesses, adding integrations with tools such as Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe and Canva to help owners run their businesses and find new customers, as the Facebook-parent aims to diversify its revenue beyond advertising.
Meta bolsters Muse safety warning after security vulnerability found: The Information
The flaw, reported by an outside researcher through Meta's bug bounty program and not previously disclosed, could have allowed an attacker to access a user's dedicated virtual machine — an individualized cloud-based account containing data including emails and files, according to an internal Meta incident report reviewed by The Information.
AI agents take over online shopping: Ecommerce firms rethink pricing, verification
India’s ecommerce and digital platforms are preparing for a surge in personal AI agents that could increasingly make shopping decisions and transactions for consumers, forcing companies to rethink pricing, customer engagement and bot verification.
UK conspiracy theorists are vandalizing traffic lights: Who are 'Blade Runners' and what do they believe?
In the United Kingdom, a group named Blade Runners is vandalizing traffic light sensors, claiming that they act as electronic assault weapons. They believe these sensors pose serious health threats, including cancer and sudden death. Recent vandalism incidents have been reported across various locations, particularly in Cambridge area.
Quick-commerce sector shows signs of pricing discipline as discounting moderates: Jefferies
The quick-commerce scene in India is shifting its pricing strategies, with companies dialing down discounts and enhancing delivery minimums. Services like Amazon Now and Zepto have notably raised the minimum spend for cashback incentives. Jefferies' report reveals personal care as the leading category for discounts, though average reductions fluctuate by segment. Despite a minor decrease in app downloads, user engagement shows resilience across the board.
Since 1975, Roosevelt Island has used a pneumatic waste system: Residents drop trash into chutes, and it is sucked through tubes at 60 to 70 mph to one collection point
Roosevelt Island in New York City uses a pneumatic waste collection system that operates through underground tubes. Residents dispose of trash via chutes, which are collected by fans that create suction. This technology was initially implemented in the 1970s and continues to function effectively today. Recent studies highlight the environmental benefits and challenges of pneumatic systems compared to traditional methods. Other US cities are now exploring similar waste management approaches.
Meta launches Charm, a companion device to its Muse AI agent
The Muse Charm, shown at the end of this week's Connect keynote, is a keychain-sized, Tamagotchi-style device with a small screen that shows an animated avatar of the Muse assistant. In a demonstration during the event, Zuckerberg showed that you can tap a fingerprint sensor to start a conversation with it.
Meta's Muse rekindles fears over winners and losers as personal AI agent emerges
Meta's Muse, the first major consumer product to emerge under Alexandr Wang since he was hired to head its AI efforts last year, has split the fortunes of US stocks this week.
Meta testing a 'human concierge' for its new personal AI agent, Muse
Meta has been testing a phone-calling feature for its AI assistant Muse, which involves human contractors making calls. Employees raised privacy concerns regarding sensitive information potentially being shared during these calls. Following a critical incident involving a racist remark, Meta has decided to roll back this feature for now. The company reported significant success in app downloads and stock performance since Muse's launch.
Meta's Muse overtakes Claude, Grok in post-launch download race: Report
In the 13-day post-launch window, Muse has roughly 2.5 million downloads, way ahead of 400,000 for Anthropic's Claude and 200,000 for xAI's Grok. However, Meta's agent trails ChatGPT, which logged 3.1 million downloads in that time, according to the report. But Muse briefly held the number spot on Apple’s US free app chart, ahead of ChatGPT.
India’s semiconductor push will need a new approach to water management: CN Water
India’s semiconductor push is creating a new demand for smarter, more reliable water infrastructure. CN Water’s Shoeb Kurawadwala on localisation, water recovery, digitalisation and the challenge of managing the entire water cycle for fabs
Flipkart launches standalone Minutes app, rolls out food delivery pilot ahead of BBD sale
Flipkart has launched a standalone app for its quick commerce arm Flipkart Minutes, ahead of its Big Billion Days sale. The company is also piloting food delivery service ‘Eat In’ with a select group of employees. This comes as Flipkart’s MAU share declined as customers shift to quick commerce platforms.
Amazon, Flipkart's multi-front war; India set for more GCCs
Happy Wednesday! Amazon and Flipkart have broadened their bets as quick commerce platforms chip away at their share of user base. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Flipkart, Amazon look beyond ecommerce as user share slips
Amazon and Flipkart are expanding into quick commerce, microdramas, OTT videos and food delivery as they lose active users to 10-minute delivery platforms. Their combined monthly active user share fell from 67% in 2022 to 53% in August 2026, while quick commerce apps’ share rose to 16%.
Scientists create a steel sphere device that could protect buildings from earthquakes without electricity
Innovative researchers have created an innovative seismic damper that utilizes steel balls and friction to mitigate the vibrations caused by earthquakes. Not requiring electricity or sophisticated electronics, early trials indicate a remarkable damping ratio of around fourteen percent. With its straightforward design, the device presents a cost-effective solution for earthquake safety. Additionally, this groundbreaking technology can aid in retrofitting older structures, enhancing their resilience against seismic activity.
Quick commerce gains GMV, user share as ecommerce majors lose ground
Flipkart and Amazon’s combined share of India’s ecommerce GMV has slipped from 73% in 2019 to 62% in 2025, with quick commerce apps emerging as a growing challenger. GMV refers to the total monetary value of goods or services sold through an ecommerce site or online marketplace over a period of time, before accounting for discounts, expenses, or returns.
ChatGPT app hits 1 billion monthly active users in record time, data shows
The record comes amid growing competition between Anthropic and OpenAI for dominance in the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence market.
Sensor Tower acquires market intelligence platform Data AI
Sensor Tower acquires Data.ai to strengthen mobile app intelligence leadership. No financial details provided. Enhances marketing, intelligence, and global presence. Workforce reduction and new chapter announced by CEO Oliver Yeh.
TikTok clones from India, China and US fill the void
Since the ban, Roposo, Zili, and Dubsmash together have garnered close to 22 million downloads, around 13% of TikTok's installs in India in the first six months of 2020, according to SensorTower.
Sensor Tower says installs of top TikTok alternatives grew 155% following ban in India
Since the ban, Roposo, Zili, and Dubsmash have collectively generated 21.8 million downloads in India, reaching 13 percent of TikTok’s installs in the country for the first half of 2020, the app intelligence firm said.
TikTok rival Byte debuts at top of US app store
The strong early response to Byte’s arrival, coming with little to no advance fanfare, suggests the community that Vine built up remains loyal to the particular six-second format. Some of the early popular videos on the platform are humorous proclamations of “Don’t post TikToks here.”
4.8 billion downloads in just 3 months, India tops in app instals
MXPlayer only Indian firm to figure in top 10 most downloaded.
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