LATEST TECH NEWS: Twitter closes 7000 accounts. 4 other things and a trivia you need to know today, July 22, 2020

These 5 latest stories from the tech space will keep you updated with trends today:

1. Twitter closes 7000 accounts linked to conspirators

Twitter has reportedly banned thousands of accounts belonging to an alleged conspiracy group. According to Twitter, in its cyber war with the group, it has clamped down on over 7000 accounts within the past weeks. QAnon, for two years or more, has established its group as a far-right conspiracy theory crew, detailing a supposed secret plot by an alleged “deep state” against U.S. President Donald Trump and his supporters. According to reports, on the group’s activities, the theory began with an October 2017 post on the anonymous “imageboard 4chan” by someone using the name Q.

Although the user was presumably an American individual initially, but not long transformed into a group of people, claiming to have access to classified information involving the Trump administration and its opponents in the United States. Investigations revealed that the group had, in the past, falsely accused many liberal Hollywood actors, Democratic politicians, and high-ranking officials of being members of an international child sex trafficking ring. Tracking their trends, QAnon believers have been noticed to commonly tag their social media posts with the hashtag #WWG1WGA, meaning: “Where We Go One, We Go All”.

2. University of Florida looks to build 700-petaflop AI supercomputer

University of Florida (UF), Wednesday, announced plans to build the fastest AI supercomputer in academia. According to UF, this development comes as it partners with American multinational technology company Nvidia. Speaking on the new partnership signing, Nvidia noted that the proposed system is expected to be up and running by early 2021. The design will see to enhancing existing capabilities of UF’s HiPerGator supercomputer with the DGX SuperPod architecture.

Grading the output, the new product is expected to deliver 700 petaflops, which is equivalent to one quadrillion floating point operations per second, of performance. Experts have stated that should the production turns out successful, its products will spell a paradigm-shifting AI advances in the industry. Meanwhile, UF and Nvidia have expressed excitement over the futuristic product, noting that the revamped HiPerGator will give faculty and students the tools to apply AI across focuses including rising seas, aging populations, data security, personalized medicine, urban transportation, and food insecurity.

Tech Trivia:

Which tech company shares name with an American inventor and engineer?

A. Nokia
B. Tesla
C. Samsung
D. Infinix

Answer: See end of post.

3. Google sets to launch $1m Africa Online Safety Fund

Google, in a new partnership signing with UK-based ISD and South African social impact advisory firm Impact Amplifier, has announced its intent to launch Africa Online Safety Fund. According to press, this new development is a US$1 million initiative that seeks innovative solutions to online safety challenges. Google, in a press statement, emphasised that the need to protect online African users has become more important as over 500 million people have access to the internet in Africa.

Listing its concerns, the tech leader highlighted the increasing cases of identity theft, bullying and harassment, sex trafficking, hate crimes, terrorist recruitment and promotion, misinformation and disinformation, and financial scams, amongst nationals of African countries. Hence, the Africa Online Safety Fund is expected to support innovative existing and new solutions to these challenges. Speaking on the investment magnitude, Google confirmed that the Africa Online Safety Fund, which is a US$1 million commitment, would be awarding grants to organisations that address one or more of the safety issues the internet facilitates.

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4. Tunisian startup Galactech secures 6-figure investment

Tunisian telecoms VAS content aggregation startup Galactech has reportedly raised a six-figure funding round. According to press, the fund is to help the content aggregation company further develop its product and expand internationally. The 4 year old company offers content creators and startups the opportunity to sell their products in gaming, VoD, and utility to mobile network operator (MNO) clients.

Financial analysts have linked the new raiser to its previous success at the Orange Fab Tunisia accelerator. According to them, its previously raised US$200,000 in seed funding also contributed to the new raiser. Galactech, which allows content creators and startups to provide value added services (VAS) to African and Middle Eastern MNOs, will use the funding to enter new international markets while proposing innovative solutions. According to industry insights, the aggregator firm has partnered with 30 international operators.

5. Scalable Capital closes $58M at a $460M valuation

First-class online investment management startup has, today, closed a round of €50 million ($58 million) to expand its business. The startup builds tech-based platforms, helping to make investments continue to be in high demand. According to the company’s leadership, this new raiser will help it build on an expanding market of investors while getting more confident to rely on technology to undercut broker fees and speed up the process. Industry insights from listing companies revealed that Scalable currently has over 80,000 customers across Germany, Austria and the UK.

In a response to press, CEO Erik Podzuweit confirmed that the Series D was made at a post-money valuation €400 million ($460 million). Although the investment is coming from a mix of new and existing investors, including BlackRock, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures and Tengelmann Ventures; It, however, brings the total raised by the startup to €116 million ($133 million). The new raiser also confirmed that despite the wider economic downturn spurred by the global health pandemic, those who have the money to make investments are still playing the equity game to expand their portfolio.

Tech Trivia Answer: Tesla

Nikola Tesla (10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943) was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist who is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.

Born and raised in the Austrian Empire, Tesla studied engineering and physics in the 1870s without receiving a degree, and gained practical experience in the early 1880s working in telephony and at Continental Edison in the new electric power industry.

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