RIF Launches €580,000 Call To Strengthen Business Innovation In Cyprus

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

August 19, 2025

The Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) has announced a new funding opportunity under its “Enhancing Business Capacity for New Product Development” programme (code: NPD-CAPBLD/0825), allocating a total budget of €580,000 to support Cypriot enterprises in developing innovative products and services.

How to Apply

Businesses from all sectors with at least 10 full-time employees are eligible to submit proposals for the development of new products or services.

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Each project may receive up to €30,000 in funding.
Applications must be submitted exclusively through the IRIS Portal at http://iris.research.org.cy/ by Friday, 3 October 2025, at 13:00 (local time)
RIF has introduced a simplified process with an expedited evaluation to accelerate support.

For questions or technical assistance, companies can contact the RIF Partner Support Centre at support@research.org.cy or by phone at 22 205 000.

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Amazon Deepens Prime Video Shopping With New X-Ray And Lens Features

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 11, 2026

Amazon is adding new shopping features to Prime Video, allowing viewers to discover products connected to thousands of titles through its existing X-Ray experience.

The company is also introducing “Shop the Scene,” powered by its Lens visual search technology, alongside updates designed to connect video content more directly with shopping.

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From Viewing To Shopping

The new tools build on Shop the Show, launched last year through Amazon’s mobile shopping app. Previously, viewers had to search for “shop the show” to find products related to a program.

Now, X-Ray users can open a Shop tab directly from Fire TV to see products associated with the title. Purchases are completed through the Amazon Shopping app, which can recognize the content being watched and open a synchronized product feed.

The app can also identify what is playing and take viewers directly to a storefront, removing the need for a separate search.

Amazon Targets Shoppable Streaming

Amazon is joining a broader push to combine entertainment and commerce. YouTube offers creator merchandise and shoppable connected-TV ads, while Peacock has tested shoppable programming through Must ShopTV.

Roku has enabled shopping through its remote, while Disney has experimented with shoppable television across Disney+, Hulu and ESPN.

Shop The Scene Uses Visual Search

“Shop the Scene” uses Amazon Lens to identify products or similar items based on what appears on screen, including clothing and home decor.

Exact matches will not always be available because some costumes and other items are custom-made, high-end or unavailable through Amazon sellers. The feature can instead help viewers find similar products or recreate a particular style.

Shop the Scene is available on iOS and Android in the U.S. across more than 600 titles. Meanwhile, Shop the Show is expanding from 1,300 titles to more than 8,000, including Prime Originals, selected licensed content and live sports.

For Amazon, the changes bring shopping closer to the viewing experience, potentially creating another way to generate commerce from Prime Video’s audience.

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