Samsung's Android 16 Beta Update Could Rollout Soon: Expected Features And Phones Supported
Samsung is looking to fix the issues faced with the One UI 7 update last year and plans to bring the Android 16 version much earlier in 2025.
Samsung has been slow with the Android 15-based One UI 7 rollout this year but the company is looking to amends with the Android 16 update. Reports in South Korea claim Samsung is ready to start the Android 16 beta program which will give us a closer look at the One UI 8 version.
The company has already confirmed the Android 16 rollout timeline for its users and unlike the One UI 7, the new version will be rolling out by Summer 2025. Samsung's head of smartphone planning, Minseok Kang has announced that the Android 16 based will be coming out this Summer which means anywhere between June 2025 to September this year.
The Samsung Members app in South Korea has added a new tab which lets the Galaxy phone users sign up for the beta program once the banner is enabled soon. The company is looking to fix the issues that plagued its One UI 7 rollout, probably because this was one of the bigger upgrades for the brand which made the UI overhauls significant as well as time consuming.
Earlier this month Google confirmed that Android 16 release will happen as early as June, which is the fastest new version update we have seen from the tech giant. Google has usually used the Pixel launch event to announce the new Android version roll out which happens around October. Now, we wait to see if Samsung is able to expedite its rollout this year.
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May 26, 2025, 12:16 IST
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Mint
16 minutes ago
- Mint
Elon Musk is running out of road in China
As Elon Musk confronts deepening business and political challenges in the U.S., he's also facing trouble in his other most important market: China. For a while, Tesla was the hottest car on Chinese roads, and Musk was the toast of Beijing. Government officials showered the company with incentives, part of a concerted strategy to turbocharge the Chinese EV industry by injecting Tesla know-how into the country and spurring competition. Tesla's sales took off. But the risk was always that Tesla would start falling behind the rivals it helped create. Now, that is exactly what's happening. Tesla's market share has shriveled as other Chinese automakers become more popular. Meanwhile, Musk's reputation as a partner for Beijing in Washington took a beating as his relationship with Donald Trump soured. Chinese consumers say Teslas increasingly feel tired and out of touch with local tastes. Top China-designed EVs nowadays come with features that aren't normally found in Teslas, such as multiple big screens to watch films and play games, refrigerators to keep drinks cold and in-car cameras for selfies. BYD, which makes both EVs and batteries; and battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, recently said they each had developed new technologies that allow users to charge cars in just five minutes. Consumers walk by Tesla cars in a showroom at a Beijing shopping mall. Tesla's China staff have voiced concerns to headquarters about the company's aging products, but their warnings often drew sluggish responses, China-based employees said. The frustrations have built as Chinese salespeople feel more pressure to hit targets, without the sexiest cars to sell. Many Chinese consumers still appreciate Tesla's brand image as an EV pioneer. And the company retains support in Beijing. Chinese leaders see Tesla as a poster child of successful foreign investment and a useful ally in helping China build a green economy, centered on industries such as renewable energy, EVs and batteries. As trade tensions with the U.S. heated up this year, Chinese Premier Li Qiang made clear that Tesla's local operation wasn't to be targeted by any retaliatory measures, people familiar with the matter said. But Beijing hasn't given Tesla full regulatory approval for its so-called Full Self-Driving (Supervised) assisted-driving software, a technology central to Tesla's ambitions to dominate transportation in the future—and which Chinese companies are also racing to master. At the same time, the public breakup between Musk and Trump is limiting Musk's value to Beijing. In January, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met Musk in Washington and told Musk that Beijing hoped he could play a 'constructive role" in U.S.-China relations, a person familiar with the exchange said. Musk wasn't receptive to China's overtures, however, people who consult with Chinese officials said. And because of the Musk-Trump feud, Beijing no longer views the Tesla chief executive as a geopolitical asset and will shy away from publicly courting him, the people said. 'Tesla remains important for China," said one of the people who consults with Chinese officials. 'But for authorities, helping domestic companies still matters more." For Musk, who has pledged to refocus on Tesla now that he is distancing himself from Washington, success in China is vital. It is Tesla's second-largest market by revenue after the U.S. and the carmaker's biggest production and export hub, making up around half of its global vehicle shipments and supplying components for its worldwide manufacturing. If anything, China's importance to Tesla is growing after its sales declined in the U.S. and Europe due to his earlier association with Trump. China is also a testing ground for technologies that Musk prioritizes, such as FSD and driverless taxis. Tesla has cut prices in China, along with other Chinese EV makers, and aims to launch a new Model Y SUV variant in 2026, which it hopes could help boost sales there. Yet Musk has appeared uninterested in making too many concessions to the market, instead relying on Tesla's reputation for quality and technology to remain a leading player in China. Tesla didn't respond to requests for comment. The company said in April in its earnings presentation about China that while conventional wisdom is that competition will be bad for Tesla, the company believes it would accelerate EV adoption and help Tesla's sales in the long-term. Many experts believe the road ahead for Tesla in China will remain bumpy. American companies have a long history of thriving temporarily in China before falling behind, once local competitors scale up and government officials tilt the playing field in favor of domestic champions. In the early 2000s, Motorola was turfed out by Chinese companies supported by government policies that pressured the American company to share technology and adopt battery standards developed by Huawei Technologies. Apple was China's No. 1 smartphone maker in 2023, but now ranks third behind Huawei and another Chinese brand, which have popular features at lower prices. Apple's slide has been compounded by Chinese restrictions on the use of its devices by government officials and stimulus policies that favor Chinese domestic manufacturers. 'You never want to bet against Elon Musk and the resilience of Tesla," said Michael Dunne, a former General Motors executive who now runs an automotive consulting firm. Still, he says Musk likely knows there is a shelf life to many global companies operating in China, and is looking at investments in places such as India in case China becomes more difficult. Musk 'is probably closer to sunset than sun up in his business in China," Dunne said. Tesla's most immediate challenge in China is its shrinking market share, even as the country's EV market has mushroomed. In May, Tesla sold slightly fewer than 40,000 cars in China, down 30% from the same month a year earlier, while the overall market for new-energy vehicles—a category that includes full EVs and plug-in hybrids—rose 28%. Tesla's market share in the category was down to 4% in May from 11% in early 2021, according to China Passenger Car Association data. BYD, a key competitor, holds around 29% of the EV and plug-in market. Smartphone maker Xiaomi, which only started selling EVs a year ago, has about 3%. Car buyers interviewed by the Journal said Teslas don't seem as leading-edge as before, while government restrictions on Tesla further curbed their popularity. Qian Yang, 34, says he used to have a Tesla Model 3 which he enjoyed driving on weekends until his employer, a state-owned company, last year told him not to park the car in the company compound due to security concerns. China started limiting use of Tesla cars by government and military staff in 2021, citing concerns that data the cars gather could lead to national-security leaks, though some areas have eased the restrictions after Tesla built a local data center to address the concerns. Qian sold his Tesla and paid $34,000 for an SU7 electric sedan from Xiaomi. Now he's a fan of his Xiaomi car, which includes Xiao Ai, a voice assistant that can perform tasks such as opening vehicle doors and connect with other Xiaomi devices. 'You know that feeling when you're leaving work, and you can just tell Xiao Ai in the car to remotely turn on the air conditioning in your room? That's pure bliss," said Qian. 'Teslas are almost like iPhones now. They're getting uninspired and stale, and don't have revolutionary features anymore." Tesla salespeople in China say extra features diminish battery range and impede acceleration, and are encouraging buyers to focus on Tesla's safety record. But they also complain privately about the difficulty of meeting rising internal pressure to hit sales targets. One Beijing salesman said his sales target has recently been raised to selling at least one car a day from typically four cars a week. Many colleagues have been working 12 hours daily in recent months, compared with 10 hours previously, the person said. In a report submitted to headquarters in early 2021, Tesla's China team noted that local consumers were keen to have their cars connect seamlessly with their smartphones and include more entertainment applications. U.S.-based Tesla officials replied that such features weren't a priority, people familiar with the matter said. Tesla's China strategy team raised the issue again in 2023 and 2024, and again felt brushed off, one of the people said. Tesla did start providing some popular Chinese apps to local drivers starting in 2023, such as the streaming service Mango TV. Still, Tesla drivers can access fewer apps than users of Chinese cars. After initially pledging to design a new car a few years ago that local consumers would recognize as more distinctly Chinese, Tesla shelved that plan, people familiar with the matter said, as other priorities took precedence. Instead, Musk pivoted to a strategy of designing a more affordable model which would remove or downgrade features from existing models to save costs and make these cars easier to mass-produce on existing manufacturing lines. Some employees and analysts are skeptical about this strategy, which includes the new Model Y variant Tesla plans. They fear that stripped-down models will easily be outmatched by local rivals if they aren't priced significantly lower. Tesla's Model Y SUV, its bestselling model in China, starts at about $36,700. Meanwhile, the Sealion 07, a rival BYD electric SUV, starts at around $26,400. Tesla's inability to fully roll out its FSD driver-assistance service is adding to its problems. Unlike older software that preprograms rules about most situations a car might encounter, Tesla's current FSD is built on an AI-driven system that learns how to drive from millions of video clips taken from actual road experience. The system, mainly trained with U.S. data, is considered a technology leader, and has been widely available in the U.S. since early 2024. FSD can help drivers park the car and navigate urban streets as well as highways. Currently, drivers must still pay attention while sitting behind the wheel and be prepared to take over at any time. Musk has wanted to launch FSD in China not just to lift sales there, but also because China's EV market generates copious data that can improve FSD's capabilities, thereby cementing Tesla's global leadership. A Tesla Model 3 travels the streets of Shanghai earlier this year. In April of 2024, Musk flew to Beijing and met personally with Premier Li, winning a tentative nod to move ahead with FSD in China. But he underestimated the roadblocks posed by Chinese regulations, which require car companies to train their systems with local driving data to prove their vehicles can safely handle domestic traffic conditions. Under Chinese law, companies are restricted from sending such data overseas for security reasons—a problem for Tesla, since its FSD training has been in the U.S. Tesla initially offered to redact video from Chinese roads to hide sensitive information. But the sheer volume of data Tesla sought to transfer far surpassed officials' comfort levels, people familiar with the matter said. As a Plan B, Tesla considered expanding its FSD training inside China. To do so, however, its China operations need access to the most advanced semiconductors, which have been blocked by U.S. export controls. After nearly nine months of back-and-forth, talks hit a dead end. While Tesla spins its wheels, local competitors have introduced sophisticated driving-assistance technology, often at lower prices. Users report that XPeng's flagship package, XNGP, has similar functionality to Tesla's. BYD has a system named 'Eyes of God," after a deity in Chinese mythology with three eyes, which the company says can cruise on city roads with minimal human intervention. Chinese companies are also moving ahead with robotaxi services that use self-driving technologies, including thousands of robotaxis operated by Baidu and Pony AI. Tesla, which launched its robotaxi in Austin in June, has no robotaxis on Chinese roads. Frustrated by the delays, Tesla in February started releasing some features—such as city navigation—that are part of its U.S. FSD package through over-the-air updates, making use of an ambiguity in China's rules, people familiar with the matter said. At the time, carmakers in China needed to seek official approval before releasing major updates to drivers; for smaller updates, they typically only had to notify authorities. Tesla's move upset some officials, the people said, prompting regulators to clarify that carmakers must secure approval before issuing any driver-assistance updates. Tesla halted the updates. But later in March, to help maintain customer interest and collect feedback, it said it would offer a one-month program for drivers to try some FSD features free. Regulators again told Tesla to stop, saying it shouldn't use drivers as guinea pigs. Chinese authorities further tightened oversight across the entire sector, after a crash involving Xiaomi's driver-assistance technology in late March. Tesla's struggles in China today contrast with the prepandemic years, when Chinese leaders appeared willing to do anything to court Musk. Their hope was that Tesla's expansion in China would propel underachieving local automakers and help build out the country's EV market. Chinese officials likened it to lobbing a predatory catfish into a pond full of sluggish fish. China provided Musk and Tesla with cheap land, low-interest loans and tax incentives. In 2018, Tesla announced plans to build its first overseas car factory in Shanghai, becoming the first foreign automaker Beijing allowed to produce cars in China without a local partner. Tesla's sales in China surged, as did its exports from Shanghai to other markets. Tesla's presence also paid off for Beijing, igniting consumer interest in domestically made EVs and accelerating development of China's EV supply chain. Soon, some Chinese automakers were adopting Tesla technologies such as 'gigacasting," which employs high-pressure aluminum die-casting to create a car's frame, combining hundreds of manufacturing steps into one to save costs and time. Xiaomi was among those that followed suit. In April 2023, Chinese automakers' progress stunned attendees at an annual auto show in Shanghai. During the pandemic, Western auto executives had limited access to the country. But now, they found an utterly changed streetscape, with EVs everywhere and cars that were far more advanced than anticipated. Although Musk came to China to leverage its low costs and enormous market, he wasn't prepared for China's response, said Bill Russo, chief executive of Automobility, a Shanghai-based strategy firm. 'What he didn't bargain for is that Chinese companies would do that, too, and they would probably do it even better than you can," he said. 'He made the same mistake that every foreign automaker made—to underestimate China's ability to out-innovate you." A big risk for Musk now is that the same pattern will play out in other businesses Tesla is banking on for future growth. In late March, Tesla began shipping 'Megapack" batteries, which provide grid-scale energy storage, from a newly built Shanghai factory to its first overseas market, Australia. It's a business Beijing wants to grow and which multiple companies, including CATL, are moving into. Musk also wants Tesla to dominate humanoid robots, a business he says could someday generate revenues north of $10 trillion. Tesla's plans currently call for producing thousands of Optimus humanoid robots in the U.S., a goal that relies on Chinese suppliers for components including planetary roller screws for robot joints and motors for robot hands, people familiar with the matter said. Engineers from Chinese suppliers have worked overtime with Optimus engineers to complete designs. The suppliers' efficiencies have enabled Tesla to cut costs for some components so dramatically that the company didn't bother suspending shipments even after Washington imposed hefty tariffs on Chinese imports, the people said. Visitors look at Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus at its exhibition booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai last July. Now, China has its own batch of robotic startups, such as Unitree and Agibot, gearing up to compete with American companies. As Chinese suppliers work with Tesla, it could speed up that process. 'Once you secure contracts with Tesla, domestic robotics companies will be much more willing to collaborate with you," said Chen Feng, a marketing manager at an Optimus supplier. 'Tesla can play catfish again." During a recent call with analysts, Musk said he believed his Optimus was No. 1 in the sector. But he worried China would eventually dominate the field. 'I'm a little concerned that on the leaderboard, ranks two through 10 will be Chinese companies," Musk said. Grace Zhu contributed to this article. Write to Raffaele Huang at Lingling Wei at and Yoko Kubota at
Mint
44 minutes ago
- Mint
Xiaomi Founder's Bold EV Bet Is Paying Off Where Apple's Failed
(Bloomberg) -- Lei Jun, founder and chairman of Xiaomi Corp., the only tech company to have successfully diversified into carmaking, couldn't resist. Speaking at a triumphant launch event in Beijing late last month for Xiaomi's second electric vehicle, a long-anticipated SUV, Lei pointedly mentioned Apple Inc., which spent a decade and $10 billion trying to make a car before giving up last year. 'Since Apple stopped developing its car, we've given special care to Apple users,' he said, noting that owners of the American giant's iPhones would be able to seamlessly sync their devices to Xiaomi's vehicles. The not-so-subtle dig was followed by a flex: Xiaomi then said it had received more than 289,000 orders for its new sport utility vehicle within an hour of its announcement, more than its first EV, a sedan launched in March 2024. Xiaomi succeeding where Apple failed has burnished Lei's reputation, made his company one of the most valuable in China and shaken up both the tech and automobile industries. The collapse of Apple's moonshot car program has only underscored the effectiveness of Xiaomi's grounded approach, which took inspiration from proven designs from Tesla Inc. and Porsche Automobil Holding SE while staying true to the affordable ethos that's made it a cult brand for Gen Z consumers. Crucially, it also launched into the most fertile EV ecosystem in the world — China. With state subsidies, existing charging infrastructure and a ready made supply chain, Xiaomi had a structural tailwind Apple lacked. Xiaomi declined to comment for this story. Lei and Xiaomi's 'charisma, brand recognition and ecosystem cannot be underestimated,' Yale Zhang, the managing director of Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight, said. 'It's a big influence on young consumers who have filled their homes with Xiaomi products. When it comes time to buy an EV, they naturally think of Xiaomi.' But building cars is a far more complex, capital intensive challenge than making phones or rice cookers. It requires mastering safety regulations, global logistics and production at scale, all while competing against legacy automakers with long histories and large model lineups. Any international expansion will also require navigating complex geopolitical landscapes. As one of the first tech giants to actually manufacture a car, Xiaomi is in uncharted territory. Apple's car project, internally dubbed Project Titan, failed in large part because it wasn't just an EV — it was at one point an attempt to leapfrog the auto industry with a fully autonomous, Level 5 self-driving machine. Its goals were lofty and the direction constantly shifting, the result being over a decade of effort with nothing to show. Lei, 55, was comparatively stingy with time and resources and staked his personal reputation on the endeavor, claiming that making cars would be his 'last entrepreneurial project.' Xiaomi's public narrative is that Lei and his team learned by visiting multiple Chinese automakers, including Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and Great Wall Motor Co., and talked to more than 200 industry experts in some 80 meetings. The reality is also that he used Xiaomi's reputation as an innovative consumer behemoth to get close to China's large carmakers and pick off their top talent. Geely and its billionaire founder Li Shufu welcomed Lei to the automaker's research institute in Ningbo in the months leading up to Xiaomi's announcement that it would enter the car business to discuss topics, including potential collaboration. It's Geely lore that Lei added the WeChat contacts of many staff at the institute, including then-director Hu Zhengnan. Hu later joined Shunwei Capital Partners, the investment firm co-founded by Lei. Xiaomi headhunters also courted Geely staff intensely, according to people familiar with the matter. While it's common for talent to move between companies in the same industry, it was unusual to see this level of aggressiveness around recruitment, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing information that's private. Geely didn't respond to a request for comment. Hu, known for his love of the German luxury marque Porsche, was one of the team members credited as being instrumental to developing Xiaomi's EV business, Lei said at the SU7 launch in 2024. Lei added that Hu left his previous employer after his contract ended. Other executives who joined Xiaomi came from companies including BAIC Motor Corp., BMW AG, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. — the General Motors Co. joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp. and Wuling Motors Holdings Ltd. — and auto supplier Magna Steyr LLC. Besides assembling top Chinese automaking talent, Lei made a prescient bet on investing in a self-controlled supply chain — insulating Xiaomi's operation from manufacturing vagaries. This came from painful lessons learned in Xiaomi's early smartphone-producing days, when external suppliers would cut off components unpredictably. In 2016, some members of Xiaomi's supply chain team displeased Samsung Electronics Co. representatives and the South Korean firm threatened to halt supply of its industry-leading AMOLED screens. To mend the fractured relationship, Lei flew to Shenzhen to meet with Samsung's China head at the time. The pair drank five bottles of red wine during their dinner meeting, according to a Xiaomi company biography, and Lei also made multiple trips to Samsung's headquarters in South Korea to apologize and negotiate the resumption of supply. Representatives from Samsung declined to comment. After Xiaomi went into the carmaking business, it invested into almost all parts of the EV supply chain, from batteries and chips to air suspension and sensors. It pumped more than $1.6 billion via Shunwei or other Xiaomi-led funds into over 100 supply chain companies between 2021 and 2024, according to data compiled by Chinese analytics firm Zhangtongshe and Bloomberg. The components from some of the companies that Xiaomi invested in have ended up in its cars, such as lidars from Hesai Technology Co. and onboard chargers and voltage converters from Zhejiang EV-Tech Co. With the 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) it committed to the first phase of its EV venture, Xiaomi also built its own factory, rather than going down the contract manufacturing route that some Chinese makers, including Nio Inc. and Xpeng Inc., did when they started out. 'Among tech companies that now build electric vehicles, those who previously had hardware products seem to be more successful than those who only had software products or information services,' said Paul Gong, UBS Group AG's head of China autos research. Despite its early success, there are many who argue Xiaomi's one hit car is copied from elsewhere — and that a sole successful vehicle does not a successful auto producer make. Lei's aggressive approach has also raised hackles in China's car industry. Yu Jingmin, vice president of SAIC's passenger car division, reportedly described Xiaomi's approach as 'shameless' in a critique of the SU7 resembling Porsche. The SU7 has been colloquially dubbed 'Porsche Mi' by netizens. SAIC didn't respond to questions about Yu's remarks. Xiaomi's design team, led by former BMW designer Li Tianyuan, has defended the SU7's aesthetics, emphasizing that the choices were driven by aerodynamic efficiency and performance benchmarks. In late March, there was another setback after a fatal accident involving the SU7. The car had its advanced driver assistance technology turned on before the crash, which afterward led to authorities reining in the promotion and deployment of the technology. The usually vocal Lei kept a low profile on social media for more than a month post the March accident. He returned to more active engagement in May with a missive that said this period of time was the most difficult in his career. Fortunately for Xiaomi, its consumer base is sticky. Known as 'Mi Fans,' the loyal customers have played a pivotal role in the company's rise. Xiaomi cultivated this fandom early on by prioritizing user feedback and the grassroots allegiance has helped it build strong brand equity, especially in China. The SU7 has remained a top selling model even after the accident in March. Indeed, dealers have reported that nearly 50% of customers plump for the SU7 without comparing it to other brands. 'A significant number of older consumers are buying the SU7 for their children, indicating that the model has built trust among more conservative buyers thanks to its safety and quality,' said Rosalie Chen, a senior analyst from investment research firm Third Bridge. Xiaomi has set a delivery target of 350,000 units in 2025, up from its previous goal of 300,000, buoyed by demand for the newly launched YU7 and a ramp up in production. The starting prices for the SU7 sedan, at 215,900 yuan ($30,100), and its SUV, at 253,500 yuan, make them competitive alternatives to models like Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y. The EVs are also showing financial promise. Xiaomi posted record revenue for the first quarter this year, driven by car and smartphone sales. Its EV division is expected to turn profitable in the second half of 2025, Lei said in an investor meeting in June. But even if the popularity of Xiaomi's EVs can spring beyond the company's devoted base, production is still on a much more boutique scale. China's top car brand, BYD Co., sold around 4.3 million EVs and hybrids last year, many overseas, while Tesla moved about 1.78 million vehicles globally. Toyota Motor Corp., the world's No. 1 automaker, sold some 10.8 million vehicles and boasts a lineup of approximately 70 different models. Lei doesn't seem to be prioritizing the mass market of below $20,000 yet, which drives significant volume and is where BYD dominates, Automotive Foresight's Zhang said. Without a lineup in that segment, Xiaomi cars will remain niche purchases for middle to higher-income consumers and Xiaomi may face the same risks as Tesla, which is seeing its sales slump exacerbated by a narrow consumer base and limited models. Nonetheless, Lei seems buoyed by Xiaomi's early wins and is now looking at global expansion. Xiaomi will consider selling cars outside China from 2027, he said last week. Success or otherwise, the European Union, the US and Turkey have all slapped tariffs on Chinese EVs, but Xiaomi wants to set up a R&D center in Munich and may test sales starting in European markets such as Germany, Spain and France when the time is right, Chinese media 36Kr reported in April. 'Xiaomi is a latecomer to the auto industry,' Lei admitted on Weibo in June. But, he said, in a market driven by technology and innovation and the rising global influence of China's EV culture, 'there are always opportunities for latecomers.' --With assistance from Vlad Savov, Mark Gurman, Drake Bennett and Jessica Sui. More stories like this are available on
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Startups weigh government nod to use Aadhaar KYC for gig workers
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills ETtech Food delivery, ecommerce, ride hailers and other consumer-facing startups are evaluating applying to the union government for an explicit approval for Aadhaar authentication as they struggle to verify their gig workers via simple Aadhaar eKYC processes , industry insiders comes on the back of the ministry of electronics and information technology's (Meity) crackdown on all forms of unauthorised use of Aadhaar-based digital onboarding services ET reported this development on June even blocked access to the websites of startups like Zoop, Surepass, Digitap and others to arrest unauthorised access to government databases, ET had providers like Protean eGov Technologies can offer access to the Aadhaar rails through a secured channel once the concerned ministry clears the proposal from these private companies.'We now have the capability to offer Aadhaar authentication services to private platforms, particularly relevant for specific use-cases, such as verifying gig workers at scale, where the trust built into Aadhaar can significantly strengthen KYC processes,' said Bertram D'Souza, chief product and innovation officer at Protean eGov Technologies.'We are already in multiple conversations with players in the tech industry. However, it is important to note that ministry approval remains a required part of the process,' he January 31, the government issued a notification allowing private companies to use Aadhaar rails for specific purposes, but only after an explicit clearance from the concerned government department. It is through this route that startups are hoping to impress upon the government the need for them to use the Aadhaar database for authentication of their delivery personnel and frontline regulated entities are allowed access to the Aadhaar database, the challenge lies with unregulated entities using secured channels for authentication of any user, specifically used to onboard blue-collar Ray, chief business officer, Idfy, a Mumbai-based identity verification startup, explained that to verify their delivery executives, some e-commerce players were using the screens of the 'offline' Aadhaar website through unauthorised means, a practice deemed to be illegal by Meity and UIDAI.'We are now in talks with these e-commerce players to migrate them to Digilocker-based verification of Aadhaar or a simple redirection-based process to verify the delivery executive against offline Aadhaar,' Ray added.A senior executive at another identity verification startup pointed out that most gig workers are onboarded through an assisted channel and unless the concerned person has Digilocker on his or her phone, the verification journey becomes Aadhaar rails can be accessed through due permission of the authorities, then identity verification startups can operate as technology service providers acting as a bridge between tech startups and the likes of Protean and drive these verifications through a consent its March quarter presentation Protean eGov reported that it has processed around 327.5 crore Aadhaar-based authentication services since it started. In FY25 alone the publicly listed company said it processed fifty-six crore such transactions with around 10 lakh authorised every day. Protean does around 12 lakh eKYC transactions daily. According to data from UIDAI, in June alone 1.1 billion authentication services and 287 million eKYC services were undertaken through Aadhaar.
