LATEST TECH NEWS: Salesforce acquires Slack for $27.7bn. 2 other things and a trivia you need to know today, December 2, 2020

These latest stories from the tech space will keep you updated with trends today.

1. American Salesforce acquires Slack for $27.7B

A whopping sum of $27.7 billion has been paid to acquire team management platform Slack by Salesforce, an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California.

The buyer, a 21 year old company, provides customer relationship management service and also sells a complementary suite of enterprise applications focused on customer service, marketing automation, analytics, and application development.

Having recorded substantial growth in revenue over the years, the company has positioned itself as a major industry leader within its marketplace, capable of absorbing such a promising yet fast growing startup as Slack.

Before bidding to purchase Slack, Salesforce has been celebrated as a global CRM powerhouse. Recently, it reportedly surpassed $20 billion in annual revenue.

Industry experts, familiar with trends around Slack, noted that the news of the acquisition will further lead to a rise in the demand for the purchase of shares in Slack.

Confirming the development, Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff expressed his pleasure as his company pushes to finalise the megadeal. He said: “This is a match made in heaven. Together, Salesforce and Slack will shape the future of enterprise software and transform the way everyone works in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world.”

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Tech Trivia:

Pick the odd tech leader in the pack

A. Mark Zuckerberg
B. Jack Dorsey
C. Jack Ma
D. Allen Zhang

Answer: See end of post.

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2. Sherpa Ventures launches $1m pre-seed for Africans

In a bid to further its vision to empower and support African startups, Sherpa Ventures has announced its launch of a $1m pre-seed fund. Sherpa Ventures, a VC firm founded by startup investment veteran Aaron Fu, ex-Uber Africa launcher Alastair Curtis and ex-IROKO executive Nikhil Patel, will, through the initiative, invests in early-stage tech and tech-enabled startups in Africa. According to press, Sherpa’s US$1 million Basecamp Fund will invest US$25,000-US$50,000 in startups who are usually raising less than US$500,000. Aside funding, the VC, through the engagement of the funded startups, will also work with them over six-to-nine months before deciding to follow-on with more substantial capital.

Read also: LATEST TECH NEWS: OneSpark launches operations after new raiser. 2 other things and a trivia you need to know today, December 1, 2020

In achieving this, the Sherpa team, together with a community of investors that includes the likes of Twiga Foods co-founder Grant Brooke and investors Emilian Popa and Lexi Novitske, will work with founders to strengthen and scale their startups by injecting capital and extensive local experience and expertise. Speaking on the development, Aaron Fu described the initiative as more than a venture fund. He said: “We are a supportive and collaborative community – a community of capital, expertise and experience who have built and operated some of the strongest startups on the continent and across the world. We can’t wait to partner with extraordinary teams in the region, to realise the power of one generation of startup operators in Africa investing in and sprinting alongside the next generation.”

3. myFanPark announces merger with Silicon Valley company Starsona

With its undying spirit to spread its tentacles globally, South African startup myFanPark has announced its merger with the Silicon Valley-based Starsona. The merger will see to the possible formation of a global celebrity engagement platform, with traceable footprint across Africa, Europe, North America and the Indian subcontinent. The south African firm which launched in 2019 allows users to request a personalised shout-out video from their favourite celebrity in form of birthday or congratulatory messages. Upon payment by user, the celebrity has seven days to record the video message, which myFanPark then delivers to the fan via email and WhatsApp.

Reports indicate that the merger with US-based celebrity engagement platform Starsona came on the heels of a hugely successful period for myFanPark. According to reports, the success saw a 492 per cent increase in the number of users on the platform and a 959 per cent surge in total orders. To this end, the product looks to enter the United States (US) market as the company’s fourth international market expansion this year. Commenting on the development, Joy Des Fountain, who will now serve as co-CEO alongside Peter Karpas; the goal at myFanPark was to reimagine how people around the world are able to connect, engage, share with, and inspire each other.

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Tech Trivia Answer: Jack Ma

Jack Ma built an ecommerce product, Alibaba while other techpreneurs on the list built a social media platform. Mark Zuckerberg built Facebook, Jack Dorsey built Twitter while Allen Zhang built WeChat.

Jack Ma is a Chinese business magnate, investor and philanthropist. According to his portfolio statement, he is the co-founder and former executive chairman of Alibaba Group, a multinational technology conglomerate. Ma is a strong proponent of an open and market-driven economy.

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