Micromax to offer personalised content via new proprietary AI-based mobile launcher

Homegrown handset maker Micromax Informatics Ltd has developed its own version of a mobile launcher for Android devices called Steroid, a report in The Economic Times stated.

Available on the Google Play Store, the app is powered by artificial intelligence.

“For all smartphone players, the software vertical is now on the verge to beat the hardware vertical, along with being the primary differentiating factor. Hence, Micromax launched ‘Steroid’ as its primary launcher to foray into this software bandwagon, and provide its customers a superior user experience,” Atul Nigam, Micromax Infomatics’ chief information officer, was quoted as telling ET.

The company is building personas for its customers based on preferences such as likes and dislikes. It is also developing personalised content for customers by leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence, the report added.

“We created our own analytics and are powering the content recommendation and curation based on their consumption patterns and running machine learning on user generated events,” Nigam told ET.

Last year, Nigam had created another application called Around which offered personalised content. It integrated Around into Steroid and released it in the Google Play Store in October 2017, the report said.

To further strengthen and develop its products and services, Micromax invested an undisclosed sum in app aggregator One Labs in March this year (https://www.techcircle.in/2018/03/20/app-aggregator-one-labs-secures-funding-from-mobile-handset-maker-micromax). The startup hosts various apps such as Zomato, Ola, Uber, Flipkart, etc. and also operates an AI-enabled voice/chatbot called One Assistant, which operates on inOne, a platform for packaged services.

Other firms that Micromax has invested in include shopping and savings discovery app Scandid, digital payments firm TranServ, Times Internet’s music streaming app Gaana, online travel search engine ixigo.com, and health and fitness app HealthifyMe.