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Yela Secures Over $2M To Connect Fans & Celebrities Via Video Messages
Yela gives you access to personalized video messages from your favorite A-list celebrities from around the MENA region.
Yela, a platform that aims to connect fans and celebrities via personalized video messages, has secured $2.2 million from global investors to support its launch in its first pre-seed round of funding.
The list of investors includes Justin Mateen (co-founder of Tinder), Sean Rad (co-founder of Tinder), and Razmig Hovaghimian (a board member at Rakuten). The creators of the platform, Alex Eid and Marc Dakroub, claim that they’ve been able to secure the backing of such high-profile investors by offering exclusive access to A-list celebrities, including Amr Diab, Haifa Wehbe, Youssra, Ahmed El Sakka, Mohamed Henedy, Chico, Ghada Addel, Amr Youssef, and Mostafa Shaban, just to give a few examples.
Yela differs from its main competition, American video-sharing website Cameo, by targeting the MENA and South Asia market, whose population is relatively young and tech savvy.
“We’re differentiated in the region we cover, the type of creators we are onboarding, and the audience we are targeting,” said Yela CEO Alex Eid. “Also, the team is made up of second- and third-time venture backed entrepreneurs, with a passion for the product.”
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Because Yela is currently in private beta, users are required to join a waiting list to get early access and unlock rewards. The first 5,000 users were able to secure priority access to the platform and get $100 worth of credits as a bonus. Now, up to 10,000 users can get only $40 worth of bonus credits. Supported payment methods include Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and PayPal.
Platforms like Yela can be seen as products of the ongoing monetization of human interactions, which has been made possible by the internet and online payment methods. Their usage has increased significantly during lockdowns, likely as a result of people craving social interactions and being more willing to pay for them.
News
Yango Enhances Yasmina AI For Improved Conversations
The tech company has upgraded its AI assistant to deliver enhanced creativity, deeper conversations, and advanced bilingual translation.
Global technology company Yango Group has announced a significant upgrade to the large language model (LLM) powering its AI assistant, Yasmina. This enhancement allows Yasmina to deliver more accurate, nuanced, and context-aware responses in Arabic and English, improving interactions and user experience across the Middle East region.
The upgrade is part of a phased rollout of YangoAI, the company’s suite of advanced AI technologies specifically adapted to regional needs. As a result, Yasmina now offers 38% more accurate and timely responses in Arabic, made possible by an enhanced ability to analyze web documents. Additionally, unnecessary answer refusals have been reduced by almost 50%, ensuring smoother and more engaging conversational experiences.
One of the most notable new capabilities of Yasmina is its expanded bilingual translation skill. The improved assistant empowers bilingual users, educators, language learners, and content creators to seamlessly translate conversations between Arabic and English, facilitating better communication and understanding.
Beyond translation, Yasmina can now provide highly contextual recommendations for everyday activities and lifestyle choices. Users seeking personalized suggestions — for instance, how to spend a day in Dubai exploring both modern and traditional attractions — will experience enhanced clarity and precision from the assistant.
The assistant’s upgraded functionality also aids users with tasks such as real-time currency conversion, homework support that encourages independent thinking, creative brainstorming, poetry and storytelling, and even providing riddles suitable for children.
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“With more precise and culturally aware responses, along with additional skills, Yasmina’s latest upgrade positions it as a trusted everyday companion,” said Rami Abu Arja, Senior Innovation Marketing Manager at Yasmina, Yango Middle East. “From creative storytelling to translation, we are enriching lives with human-centered AI and making innovation more accessible to all. As the region embraces digital transformation, we continue to enhance our AI assistant, aiming to make it even more helpful, versatile, and relevant”.
YangoAI’s continuous training on region-specific data ensures that Yasmina and other Yango services authentically reflect local culture and user expectations across the Middle East.
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