Egyptian’s Mtor secures $2.8m in Pre-Seed Funding. 2 others and one trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today

1. Egyptian’s Mtor secures $2.8m in pre-seed funding

An Egyptian online auto parts marketplace, Mtor, has secured $2.8 million in pre-seed funding, with Algebra Ventures spearheading the investment.

Notable contributors in this funding round include Dutch Founders Fund (DFF), Aditum Ventures, LoftyInc Capital, and a diverse array of local and global angel investors.

Founded by Mohamed Maged in April 2022, Mtor aims to address inefficiencies and fragmentation within Egypt’s auto parts supply chain, with a particular focus on local workshops and car mechanic spaces.

Maged, drawing upon his automotive sector experience in Germany, identified a substantial information and technical knowledge gap between global suppliers and local service providers in Egypt.

Initially concentrating on supplying spare parts to local workshops and managing logistics, Mtor has progressively expanded its operations.

The startup has forged partnerships with importers to streamline distribution in Egypt’s automotive after-sales market, valued at over $5 billion.

The startup’s focus on B2B customers positions it within the automotive sector, aspiring to empower independent workshops and elevate the overall experience for car owners by enhancing quality, lead time, and pricing.

Trivia: Which of these is a common form of Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)?

A. URL
B. UPS
C. UPC
D. UML
Find answers below

2. Airtel Africa unveils Nxtra

Airtel Africa, a telecommunications provider on the continent, has unveiled the introduction of Nxtra by Airtel, a strategic move aimed at meeting the surging demand for dependable and sustainable data centre capacity in Africa.

According to the board, Nxtra is set to establish an expansive network of data centres located in major cities within Airtel Africa’s operational footprint.

The goal is to cater to the evolving requirements of African enterprises by offering high-capacity data centres designed for the next generation of computing.

These facilities will be deployed in key cities, strategically positioned to complement Airtel Africa’s existing edge sites.

Nxtra’s data centre infrastructure will adhere to global security standards, ensuring ‘five nines’ availability. It will provide secure and scalable integrated solutions to a diverse range of entities, including global hyper-scalers, large enterprises, startups, SMEs, and governments.

By capitalizing on locally available data centre capacity, Nxtra aims to enhance the speed of accessing digital services while concurrently reducing the cost of data management.

The inaugural Nxtra facility is slated to be established in Lagos, Nigeria, boasting a total power capacity of 34 MW.

3. Meta and IBM unveil open source AI alliance amid industry shift

Meta and IBM have jointly introduced the AI Alliance, a comprehensive industry solution, in response to the dynamic landscape of AI advancements and growing apprehensions regarding safety.

The initiative is geared towards fostering an inclusive community that enables developers and researchers to accelerate responsible and reliable AI innovation.

The AI Alliance places a strong emphasis on scientific rigor, safety, security, diversity, and economic competitiveness.

Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs, underscored the Alliance’s dedication to sharing tools and knowledge, irrespective of whether models are openly shared, with a focus on responsible innovation in AI technology.

The AI Alliance will kickstart or enhance projects with well-defined goals, including the creation of benchmarks to foster responsible AI system development.

Comprising more than 50 global organizations and academic institutions, the AI Alliance includes notable names such as Intel, NASA, Cleveland Clinic, and Yale University.

Trivia Answer: URL

A URI is a string of characters that uniquely identifies a file or other resource. It may include a resource’s unique name, its location on a network, or both. All URIs follow a standard structure, allowing applications like web browsers and file transfer utilities to locate specific files or resources.

The most common type of URI most people encounter is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), which provides the location of a web page or other file on a network. A URL includes information about where a specific resource is, as well as how an application should interact with it.

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