Apple and Google Launch Beta Rollout of End‑To‑End encrypted RCS messaging across iOS and Android

Apple and Google have officially begun rolling out end‑to‑end encrypted Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging in beta for iPhone and Android users, marking a historic upgrade to cross‑platform texting security. Starting with iOS 26.5 and the latest Google Messages, conversations between iPhone and Android devices will now be encrypted by default, ensuring that only sender and receiver can read messages.

What’s New in RCS Encryption

• Cross‑platform security: For the first time, iPhone‑to‑Android RCS chats are end‑to‑end encrypted, preventing carriers, tech companies, or third parties from accessing messages.
• Default protection: Encryption is automatically enabled for new and existing RCS conversations; users will see a lock icon in chats to confirm security.
• Beta rollout: Available now for iPhone users on iOS 26.5 with supported carriers and Android users on the latest Google Messages app.

Industry Collaboration

• Apple & Google partnership: Both companies worked with the GSMA to integrate encryption into the RCS Universal Profile 3.0 standard.
• Security protocol: The system is built on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol, a modern cryptographic framework designed for scalable, secure messaging.
• Statements from leaders: Google’s Android head Samer Samat called it “Big news” and a “terrific milestone.” Sundar Pichai and Rick Osterloh praised the achievement. Apple emphasized that iMessage remains fully encrypted.

Features Beyond Encryption

• High‑quality media sharing (photos, videos)
• Typing indicators & read receipts
• Improved group chats
• Cross‑platform reactions and inline replies

Comparison: SMS vs RCS vs iMessage

SMS	RCS	iMessage
Basic text only	Rich media, group chats, reactions	Rich media, stickers, apps
No encryption	End‑to‑end encryption (beta rollout)	End‑to‑end encryption (default)
Carrier‑dependent	Internet‑based, cross‑platform	Apple ecosystem only
No read receipts	Read receipts, typing indicators	Read receipts, typing indicators

Key Takeaways for Users

• Update required: iPhone users must install iOS 26.5; Android users need the latest Google Messages.
• Carrier support: Both sender and receiver must be on carriers supporting the latest RCS profile.
• Gradual rollout: Encryption will expand automatically to all conversations over time.

Agilent and Veeda Lifesciences Launch Joint Analytical CoE to Accelerate GLP‑1 and Complex Biologics Development Services

Agilent Technologies, a global leader in analytical and laboratory solutions, today announced a strategic collaboration with Veeda Lifesciences to strengthen regulatory‑aligned analytical and bioanalytical workflows supporting biopharma development, as GLP‑1 and other complex therapeutic modalities continue to advance rapidly through global pipelines.

The collaboration brings together Agilent’s expertise in analytical workflow development with Veeda’s established bioanalytical, clinical research and regulatory capabilities, with the objective of enabling high‑quality, inspection‑ready analytical data across early development, clinical, and manufacturing stages. Together, the two organizations aim to support biopharma companies navigating increasingly complex regulatory and data expectations for next‑generation therapies.

Central to the collaboration is the establishment of a joint Center of Excellence (CoE) at Veeda’s biopharma facility in Bengaluru. Designed as a scalable analytics and regulatory‑readiness hub, the CoE will focus on the development and validation of end‑to‑end analytical workflows. The CoE will address the growing analytical demands associated with next‑generation therapies, including GLP‑1 based drugs - where sensitivity, throughput, and data integrity are critical to support regulatory confidence and program progression.

“As GLP‑1 and other complex therapies move rapidly through development, the need for robust, regulatory‑aligned analytics becomes increasingly critical,” said Nandakumar Kalathil, Country General Manager, Agilent India. “Through our collaboration with Veeda, we aim to support biopharma organizations with workflow‑driven analytical approaches that strengthen data quality, compliance, and confidence across the development lifecycle.”

“As Biopharma innovation accelerates across the region, the need for integrated, regulatory ready analytical ecosystems is becoming increasingly critical,” said Bharat Bhardwaj, Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific, Agilent Technologies. “This collaboration between Agilent and Veeda Lifesciences reflects our commitment to enabling customers with advanced, scalable solutions that support confident decision-making across the drug development lifecycle, while Asia Pacific’s role as a hub for high quality- globally relevant biopharma research.”

“Biopharma companies today require analytical capabilities that are inspection‑ready from the outset,” said Mr. Binoy Gardi, Group CEO and Managing Director, Veeda Lifesciences. “By collaborating with Agilent, we are strengthening our ability to deliver integrated, regulatory‑aligned analytical workflows that support faster decision‑making and smoother progression from early development through clinical and manufacturing stages.”

Dr. Sanjib Banerjee, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Biopharma at Veeda Lifesciences, added, “This expansion of our service portfolio establishes an advanced, technology‑driven platform for the structural analytical characterization of complex biologics—including peptides (GLP-1), monoclonal antibodies, antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) and other therapeutic proteins. Built on Veeda’s established capabilities in in depth proteomics, glycoproteomic and process‑related impurities analysis, and leveraging Agilent’s high-end Mass Spectrometry, this creates an integrated, regulatory‑aligned analytical ecosystem under one roof.”

By combining Agilent’s high-performance mass spectrometry with Veeda’s integrated bioanalytical and clinical research infrastructure, the partnership aims to extend services to sponsors across an expanding range of next-generation modalities with consistent, inspection-ready datasets. The initiative underscores Agilent and Veeda’s commitment to expand India’s high-end biopharma research infrastructure, while reinforcing India’s role as a trusted destination for advanced, globally aligned biopharma development.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A) is a global leader in analytical and clinical laboratory technologies, delivering insights and innovation that help our customers bring great science to life. Agilent’s full range of solutions includes instruments, software, services, and expertise that provide trusted answers to our customers' most challenging questions. The company generated revenue of $6.95 billion in fiscal year 2025 and employs approximately 18,000 people worldwide. Information about Agilent is available at www.agilent.com.

About Veeda Lifesciences

Veeda Lifesciences is a leading independent contract research organization (CRO) offering comprehensive clinical, preclinical and bioanalytical services to support the development of innovative, biosimilar, and generic drugs. With state-of-the-art facilities in India and a strong focus on quality, and scientific excellence, Veeda partners with global pharmaceutical and biotech companies to accelerate product development and regulatory approvals.

NODWIN Gaming Reports INR 658 Cr Revenue in FY26, Delivers EBITDA Profitability and Accelerates IPO Readiness

NODWIN Gaming, a global leader in gaming, esports, and youth entertainment, announced its financial results for FY26, reporting consolidated revenues of INR 658 crore, representing a 25% organic year-on-year growth over FY25. The company also reported an EBITDA profit of INR 21 crore for FY26, compared to an EBITDA loss of INR 14 crore in FY25, marking a significant financial turnaround as it advances toward IPO readiness.

The improvement in profitability was driven by a combination of strategic portfolio restructuring, including the de-consolidation of loss-making subsidiary Freaks4U, alongside strong performance across NODWIN’s live events, content, and IP businesses.

NODWIN has continued to evolve its business model around two interconnected verticals: Live and Content. Its live business spans festivals, esports tournaments, fan conventions, and brand activations, while the content business includes broadcast, scripted, and digital programming. The company’s operating model is built around a flywheel where content drives fandom and community engagement, which in turn fuels monetisation opportunities across live experiences, partnerships, commerce, and new IP creation.

This integrated approach has helped NODWIN deepen engagement with youth audiences across emerging markets while building a diversified and scalable revenue engine.

The company remains focused on the Global South as its core execution market while continuing to generate revenue opportunities across international markets. Today, NODWIN operates through offices and partnerships spanning South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

FY26 saw strong momentum across NODWIN’s flagship live entertainment portfolio. NH7 Weekender returned with a sold-out edition in Pune following its relaunch as the “Festival of India,” reinforcing its position as one of the country’s leading music and youth culture IPs. Comic Con India also expanded significantly during the year, growing from eight to eleven cities, with new rollouts across Kochi, Guwahati, Gurugram, and Jaipur, in addition to newer expansions including Chennai and Pune.

Globally, NODWIN continued to deepen its esports and live entertainment footprint through initiatives including the Swahili Esports Champions 2026 in Uganda and the execution of Live Matters Hong Kong 2026. Further strengthening its position within the international esports ecosystem, NODWIN Gaming was also appointed as India’s official National Team Partner for the inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026, where the company will be responsible for mobilising and managing the Indian contingent representing the country at the tournament.

The company also expanded its portfolio of gaming and entertainment partnerships during the year. Key developments included the launch of MLMS in partnership with MOBA Legends, the delivery of OMEN activations at CES 2026, and execution of the PUBG Mobile Club Open Eastern Europe 2026.

NODWIN’s strategic investments also began yielding larger ecosystem outcomes in FY26. Its investment in StarLadder contributed to the successful execution of the Counter-Strike Major in Budapest.

As part of its IPO preparedness journey, NODWIN has continued strengthening its institutional and leadership capabilities. Over the past year, the company brought in senior leadership and strategic expertise through the appointments of Manish Agarwal, Arnd Benninghoff, and Sidharth Kedia to support long-term growth, capital strategy, governance, and public market readiness.

The company is also currently engaged in discussions with strategic and financial investors as part of its ongoing capital raise initiatives aimed at supporting future expansion.

Alongside growth, NODWIN has continued focusing on balance sheet discipline and capital efficiency by actively divesting or impairing assets that are not expected to contribute meaningfully to long-term value creation.

Operationally, FY26 also marked a year of internal efficiency improvements. The company implemented a disciplined headcount strategy while continuing to scale output across business verticals. NODWIN also expanded its internal AI initiatives during the year, deploying over ten AI-led workflow tools across finance, HR, legal, sales, and production functions to improve execution speed and operational productivity.

Akshat Rathee, Co-founder and MD of NODWIN Gaming and an industry evangelist

Akshat Rathee, Co-Founder and Managing Director, NODWIN Gaming, said: “This has been an important milestone year for NODWIN. As we prepare for scaling up globally and our potential IPO, we have focused on building a stronger and more efficient business. We continue to scale our presence across youth culture and live entertainment across our Content and Live business lines that span gaming, esports, music and future tech. We continue to believe the opportunity ahead lies in building a global youth entertainment company rooted in the global south and emerging markets, strong community engagement, diversified monetisation, and scalable cultural IPs.

As we continue strengthening our institutional structure and capital strategy, we remain focused on long-term value creation and will focus on organic and inorganic growth through deep Founder and Company integration across all we do. We pride ourselves on the fact that we retain our founders' post earnouts and the new missions they start help us grow organically globally.”

NODWIN Gaming continues to position itself as a leading youth entertainment infrastructure platform operating at the intersection of gaming, esports, creators, live experiences, and digital culture. With a growing international footprint and expanding portfolio of owned and operated IPs, the company remains focused on increasing its share of youth engagement across high-growth markets globally.

Black Box Acquires Brazil’s 2S Inovações, Expanding Digital Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Capabilities Across Latin America

Black Box Limited (BSE: 500463 | NSE: BBOX), the technology arm of Essar and a leading global provider of digital infrastructure solutions, today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of 2S Inovações Tecnológicas S.A., a leading Brazil-based provider of digital infrastructure, data center networking, cloud, cybersecurity, and managed technology solutions. The acquisition marks a significant milestone in Black Box’s global growth strategy and further advances its long-term objective of achieving US$2 billion in annual revenues by 2030.

The effective date of acquisition is May 1, 2026.

Established in 1992 and headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, 2S Inovações Tecnológicas delivers end-to-end digital infrastructure solutions spanning consulting and strategy, enterprise and data center networking, cloud and hybrid infrastructure, cybersecurity operations, systems integration, managed services, and lifecycle optimization. The company is recognized for its strong capabilities in mission-critical networking, hyperscale-ready data center infrastructure, collaboration, and security solutions built on leading global technology platforms.

The acquisition significantly strengthens Black Box’s capabilities and market presence across Latin America, particularly in high-growth areas such as data center networking, digital connectivity, cybersecurity, and managed infrastructure services. The transaction also reinforces Brazil’s strategic importance within Black Box’s global operations as enterprises, cloud providers, and hyperscalers continue to invest in next-generation digital infrastructure across the region.

Brazil’s rapidly expanding digital economy, increasing cloud adoption, accelerating AI-driven infrastructure investments, and strong engineering talent base position the country as an important regional hub for digital infrastructure transformation and technology services delivery.

“The acquisition of 2S marks another important milestone in Black Box’s global growth journey and further strengthens our strategic position in the high-growth LATAM market,” said Sanjeev Verma, Whole-Time Director & Chief Executive Officer of Black Box. “2S brings deep expertise in Cisco networking, enterprise and data center infrastructure, cloud, cybersecurity, and managed services, which strongly complements Black Box’s global capabilities across digital infrastructure, networking, connected workspaces, and technology integration.

As enterprises worldwide accelerate investments in AI, cloud, cybersecurity, and digital connectivity, the demand for resilient, scalable, and secure network and data center infrastructure continues to grow significantly. This acquisition enhances our ability to support customers across the full lifecycle of digital infrastructure transformation - from network modernization and data center integration to managed operations and cybersecurity.



This acquisition also reflects our continued focus on disciplined inorganic growth as a key pillar of our long-term strategy. The transaction is expected to contribute approximately Rs. 500 crores in annualised revenues and further strengthens our networking and data center business across Latin America while enhancing our ability to deliver integrated, end-to-end digital infrastructure solutions globally.

Together, we are building a stronger platform to drive innovation, operational excellence, and sustainable long-term value for our customers, partners, and shareholders.”

About Black Box Ltd.

Black Box (BSE: 500463/NSE: BBOX) is a global leader in digital infrastructure solutions, delivering network and system integration, managed services, and technology products to Fortune 100 and top global enterprises. With a presence across the United States, Europe, India, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America, Black Box serves businesses across financial services, technology, healthcare, retail, public services, and manufacturing.

Supported by a global team of around 3,600 professionals and strategic partnerships with leading technology providers, Black Box delivers end-to-end solutions in network integration, digital connectivity infrastructure, data centre buildouts, modern workplace solutions, and cybersecurity. Its Technology Products portfolio enhances business operations with cutting edge solutions in AV, IoT, KVM, Networking, Infrastructure, and Cables.

For more information, visit www.blackbox.com

WazirX Launches Crypto Futures With Lowest Trading Fees In The Industry

WazirX today announced the launch of crypto Futures trading, bringing crypto derivatives to Indian traders with a fee structure that makes professional-grade trading accessible to everyone.

WazirX Futures will have a maker fee of 0.02% and a taker fee of 0.04%. Among Indian crypto exchanges, this is the lowest fee, with no volume threshold required to access it. Users can also access Futures directly with INR, without converting to USDT before opening a position, removing a friction point that has historically complicated derivatives trading for Indian retail traders.

"Futures trading in India has meant high fees unless you are a large-volume institutional trader. We have changed that baseline. A trader starting out on WazirX Futures gets the same fee rate as an institutional trader on most other platforms.The aim is to provide a robust platform with low fees for futures traders," said Nischal Shetty, founder, WazirX.

Before accessing Futures, users complete a mandatory knowledge quiz covering leverage, margin and liquidation. The initiative is designed to encourage responsible trading practices, to ensure users are well informed before they participate in Futures trading. At the same time, the platform is investing in user education initiatives to help a broader base of traders understand Futures well.

WazirX Futures is also linked to the platform's ongoing Restructuring. Futures trading will generate further profits from platform operations and directed toward additional recoveries for eligible creditors who hold Recovery Tokens. This is on top of the 85% fund distribution already completed.

WazirX Futures will be expanded in phases, based on liquidity, risk controls and user readiness.

WazirX is one of India’s leading crypto exchanges, with over 16 million registered users. The platform offers a user-friendly way to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Ripple, etc. without any trading fees, at only INR 99 a month. WazirX has partnered with BitGo and integrated Fireblocks’ technology to strengthen digital asset security. WazirX is committed to providing its users with the best possible trading experience, focusing on security, ease of use, and customer support.

For more information about WazirX, please visit: https://wazirx.com/