Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

OpenAI has recently appointed its inaugural chief economist, Aaron Chatterji, who brings a wealth of experience from his previous roles as the chief economist at the Commerce Department under President Joe Biden and as a senior economist in President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. Chatterji, who is also a…

Google has recently unveiled a series of new safety features for its Messages app, aimed at bolstering scam detection, particularly focusing on texts linked to potential fraud. The tech giant highlights that the update brings “enhanced analysis of texts that may be scammy,” with an initial focus on scams related…

Thanks to a groundbreaking collaboration between Qualcomm and Google, car manufacturers will soon have the capability to craft bespoke AI voice assistants for their vehicles. Qualcomm revealed earlier that it is joining forces with Google to create a novel AI development platform specifically for automakers. This innovative platform is built…

BasiGo, a prominent provider of electric bus solutions in sub-Saharan Africa, has just announced a substantial infusion of new capital totaling US$42 million. This financial boost includes US$24 million from a Series A equity funding round and US$17.5 million in debt facilities, contributed by British International Investment (BII) and the…

Meta has teamed up with GoFundMe to enhance the way people contribute to charitable causes through social media. With this collaboration, sharing GoFundMe campaigns on social media platforms will not only continue but will also see significant enhancements, particularly on Instagram and Facebook. The partnership introduces an upgraded GoFundMe link…

MTN Nigeria’s CEO, Karl Toriola, has emphasized the critical need for the telecommunications industry to regain profitability to maintain its services. This statement comes amidst ongoing requests from telecom operators for tariff hikes to cope with economic pressures. During a visit to MTN’s facilities by the Media Innovation Programme Fellows…

tappi, a SaaS startup specializing in digital commerce, has forged a strategic alliance with Safaricom, leveraging the telecommunications giant’s M-PESA platform to empower 650,000 Kenyan micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The collaboration is designed to enhance the digital footprint of these businesses, significantly bolstering their online credibility and visibility,…

Equinix, the American data center and colocation service provider, has successfully completed the integration of MainOne, a Nigerian connectivity services company, following a significant acquisition worth $320 million in 2022. This move is a strategic one for Equinix as it seeks to solidify its presence in the burgeoning Nigerian data…

The venture capital firm Sawari Ventures, based in Egypt, is gearing up to introduce its latest investment vehicle, “Sawari Ventures II,” in the early part of 2025. According to a report by Launch Base Africa, the firm has set an ambitious fundraising goal of $200 million for this second fund.…

Madica, an investment initiative with a focus on nurturing early-stage African startups, has recently publicized its financial backing of Earthbond, a pioneering climate technology enterprise based in Nigeria. Earthbond’s mission is to make solar energy solutions more accessible and cost-effective for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region. The…

Accounts on Instagram and Threads that were dedicated to monitoring the private jet travels of various celebrities, including Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Kylie Jenner, were recently suspended. The accounts were managed by Jack Sweeney, a college student from Florida. Meta, the parent company…

In August, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, known as xAI, announced its intention to release an application programming interface (API) for Grok, its leading generative AI model that powers various functionalities on the platform X. The long-awaited API has now been launched, though it currently offers a rather basic set…

Meta is reintroducing facial recognition technology into its platforms, over three years after discontinuing Facebook’s “face recognition” feature amid widespread concerns about the technology. The company aims to utilize facial recognition on Facebook and Instagram to combat fraudulent activities and assist users in regaining access to their accounts, as stated…

X is revising its privacy policy to include provisions that permit the sharing of user data with external “collaborators” for the purpose of training artificial intelligence models. This updated policy, set to be implemented on November 15, 2024, appears to pave the way for agreements similar to those on Reddit,…

The upcoming release of Apple’s iOS 18.1 is set for next week, as reported by multiple sources including The Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch. This update is significant as it introduces new features such as hearing aid compatibility for AirPods Pro 2 and expanded Apple Intelligence across various devices. Apple…

Intelsat, a prominent provider of satellite communication services, has reported a significant service disruption on its Intelsat 33e satellite as of October 19, 2024. The outage has impacted a wide customer base across Europe, Africa, and certain areas of the Asia-Pacific region. Despite the passage of 48 hours since the…

IHS Towers, the largest provider of telecommunications towers in Africa, has successfully obtained a substantial loan amounting to $439 million. This financial infusion is aimed at mitigating currency-related risks and bolstering the company’s operations that span various regions. A significant portion of this loan, nearly half, is denominated in South…

Worldcoin, the startup co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is undergoing a significant rebranding by shedding the “coin” from its name. The company is pivoting its focus away from cryptocurrency and towards the enhancement of its identity verification technology. In line with this shift, the startup has also revealed an…

Stripe, a prominent payments company, has completed the acquisition of the stablecoin platform Bridge in a landmark deal valued at $1.1 billion, as reported by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington. This transaction stands as the most significant acquisition within the cryptocurrency sector to date. Michael Arrington confirmed the completion of the…

Premier Bank, a leading financial institution in Somalia, has partnered with Mastercard and Tappy Technologies to unveil Tap2Pay, a groundbreaking payment solution designed to enhance the payment experience for consumers in Somalia. This innovative service leverages near-field communication (NFC) technology to embed payment capabilities into everyday accessories like eyeglasses, rings,…