Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta launches AI suite for speech translation. 2 other stories and a trivia

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

1. Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta launches AI suite for speech translation

Mark Zuckerberg company, Meta, has launched a new AI translation model, SeamlessM4T, designed to streamline translations across approximately 100 languages to text and 36 languages to speech.

According to the team, the company is enhancing the tool with an advanced “v2” architecture, as it aims to improve the spontaneity and expressiveness of conversational translations, crucial for authentic cross-language communication.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that the primary addition to the suite is “SeamlessExpressive,” a feature that incorporates expressive elements into translated speech.

These elements encompass pitch, volume, emotional tone (ranging from excitement and sadness to whispers), speaking rate, and pauses.

Meta clarified, however, that the challenge lies in the diverse sentence structures across languages, prompting the development of an algorithm specifically tailored to analyze incomplete audio inputs.

Trivia: Which feature is not supported by RCS messaging?

A. Message recall / undelivery

B. Delivery and Read receipts

C. Location sharing

D. High-resolution images and video

Find answer below

2. Kenyan Amini secures $4m in seed funding

Amini, a climate-tech startup based in Kenya, has secured $4 million in a seed funding round.

The substantial investment was spearheaded by Salesforce Ventures and the Female Founders Fund, while featuring contributions from Climate-tech VC Satgana, Pale Blue Dot, and Superorganism.

It would be recalled that Superorganism has initially supported Amini in its $2 million pre-seed round earlier this year.

Amini harnesses satellite data, integrating it with diverse datasets, including sensors, research, and ground truthing.

The fusion enables the delivery of valuable insights into biodiversity, soil and crop health, as well as farming practices such as water and fertilizer use.

At the core of Amini’s offerings is a platform that supports real-time monitoring tools and machine learning models, empowering actions such as flood detection.

The CEO, Kate Kallot, while speaking on the development, underscored the pivotal role of artificial intelligence and space technologies in ensuring easy access to environmental data in Africa.

3. Flow48 closes $25m in Pre-Series A funding

Flow48, a UAE Fin-Tech startup founded in 2022 by Idriss Al Rifai, has secured $25 million in pre-Series A funding.

The funding round, a combination of equity and debt, witnesses participation from prominent investors such as Speedinvest, Daphni, 212, Blockchain Founders Fund, Unpopular Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, TLG, and several angel investors.

Specializing in providing upfront financing to SMEs in the UAE, Flow48’s platform integrates with enterprise resource planning (ERP) providers, payment gateways, and e-commerce platforms.

It utilizes data from various sources to conduct a precise and efficient credit assessment through its proprietary risk engine.

With the infusion of new capital, Flow48 sets its sights on global expansion, particularly targeting South Africa.

The company identifies the SME lending market in South Africa as “robust” and supported by an “advanced fintech ecosystem.”

Trivia Answer: Message recall/undelivery

RcS Stands for “Rich Communication Services.”

RCS is a communication technology for sending and receiving text messaging on smartphones. It is an extension of older SMS text messaging technology that increases message length and adds modern features, like delivery receipts and high-resolution media. Most mobile phone carriers and Android smartphones can use RCS messaging, but iPhones still lack support.

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