Amazon fined $2.25M for withholding evidence from fraud victims

Walmart-backed Flipkart expands quick-commerce push as Amazon ramps up in India

Flipkart mở rộng dịch vụ giao hàng siêu tốc Minutes lên 1.000 trung tâm micro-fulfillment chỉ sau hai năm, dự kiến đạt 1.500 vào cuối 2026, với doanh số tăng 400% mỗi năm, mở rộng từ thực phẩm sang điện tử, mỹ phẩm. Amazon cũng đẩy mạnh Amazon Now tại 15+ thành phố với 500 trung tâm, nhắm tới 100 thành phố. Cả hai ghi nhận tăng trưởng mạnh ở các thành phố nhỏ, khi Flipkart phủ sóng 130+ thành phố và 70% thành viên Prime mới của Amazon đến từ thị trường nhỏ. Ấn Độ hiện có hơn 5.500 dark store, dự báo tăng lên 7.500 vào 2030.

Những chiến lược mở rộng nhanh chóng của Flipkart và Amazon về dịch vụ giao hàng nhanh ở Ấn Độ sẽ giúp lập trình viên hiểu rõ về mô hình kinh doanh dark store và cách tối ưu hóa hệ thống giao hàng tự động, từ đó có thể ứng dụng vào các dự án công nghệ tương tự trong tương lai.

Australia sues Amazon over Prime Video ads, citing unfair contract terms

Australia's consumer regulator, the ACCC, has filed a lawsuit against Amazon in the Federal Court, alleging the company used unfair contract terms to introduce ads to Prime Video for over one million annual subscribers without offering refunds or compensation. Before July 2024, Prime Video in Australia was largely ad-free; Amazon then added ads and charged an extra A$2.99/month for subscribers who wanted to restore the ad-free experience they had paid for. The ACCC's case hinges on Australian consumer law's unfair contract terms regime, which now carries civil penalties. If successful, more than a million Australians could be entitled to compensation. The case reflects Australia's broader pattern of aggressive digital platform enforcement and could set a legal precedent relevant to other markets where Amazon made similar changes.

Blue Origin still does not know why New Glenn exploded but plans to fly again this year

Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp confirmed the company still does not know the root cause of the May 28 New Glenn rocket explosion, with early analysis pointing to the aft section of the first stage. The blast destroyed the launch pad's transporter-erector and lightning tower at Cape Canaveral. In response, Blue Origin is switching to a crane-based approach to stand the rocket upright, which is expected to speed up return-to-flight and improve launch cadence. Limp remains optimistic about flying again before end of 2026. The stakes are significant: New Glenn is critical to NASA's Artemis moon landing program targeting 2028, and Amazon's Project Kuiper satellite constellation deployment depends on it meeting an FCC deadline.

Takealot bets local scale can hold Amazon at bay

Takealot Group CEO Frederik Zietsman positioned the company's first full-year profit in 15 years as proof that its local ecosystem can withstand competition from Amazon, Shein, and Temu in South Africa. Group revenue rose 18% to R17.7-billion, crossing the US$1-billion mark, while adjusted operating profit swung from a R213.8-million loss to R171-million. Key growth drivers include the TakealotMore multi-retailer subscription programme (membership up 74%, member GMV up 193.5%), the Mr D delivery app, and Takealot Fulfilment Solutions (revenue up 93.5%). Despite the turnaround, parent company Naspers declined to reverse a R5.9-billion impairment, citing forecast uncertainty. Zietsman argued that local market knowledge, data advantages, and a broad ecosystem spanning 6.2 million active customers give Takealot a durable edge over global rivals.

Amazon’s rapid-delivery push wipes $15bn off India’s Eternal and Swiggy

Amazon's rapid-delivery service Amazon Now is expanding to over 300 cities in India, triggering a major market selloff. Eternal (parent of Blinkit) has fallen ~28% from its all-time high and Swiggy ~47%, together losing over $15bn in market value. The quick-commerce market in India was previously dominated by Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart controlling ~95% of the market. Amazon's entry threatens not by immediately taking market share, but by forcing incumbents into costly defensive moves: deeper discounts, higher delivery costs, and faster dark-store expansion — all of which delay the path to profitability that investors had been counting on.

Amazon seeks cheaper AI alternatives as Anthropic shifts to token-based pricing

Amazon is exploring OpenAI and other alternatives to Anthropic's Claude models after a renegotiated contract shifts to token-based pricing, which would significantly raise costs. Amazon's key products — including the Kiro coding agent, Quick workplace assistant, and Alexa for Shopping — all depend on Claude. The pricing shift comes amid broader tensions: Anthropic has been diversifying its cloud partnerships to include Google Cloud, and a security incident last month involving Anthropic's Fable 5 model — triggered by a report from Amazon — further strained the relationship. The once-tight Amazon-Anthropic partnership now appears to be entering a more adversarial phase, with both sides reducing mutual dependence.

Telcos agree plan to tighten Sim registration under Rica

South Africa's mobile operators, coordinated through the Association of Comms & Technology (ACT), have agreed a framework to strengthen SIM card registration and combat SIM fraud. The framework introduces enhanced identity verification, tighter registration controls, improved compliance monitoring, and closer cooperation with law enforcement. It serves as an interim industry-led measure while ACT simultaneously pushes for legislative reform of Rica's section 40, which governs SIM registration. Key issues addressed include the bulk pre-registration of SIMs by distributors ('pre-Rica'd' cards) and packaging that exposes SIM identifying numbers. Proposed solutions include biometric authentication at registration points and secure SIM packaging. The Competition Commission was consulted to ensure the inter-operator coordination does not raise competition concerns.