Microsoft eyes OpenAI’s Sam Altman. 3 other stories and a trivia

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

1. Microsoft eyes OpenAI’s Sam Altman

American tech giant, Microsoft, is eyeing to hire the recently sacked CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, emerging reports revealed.

The CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, on Monday made the announcement, noting that his company is considering hiring Sam Altman and other members of his team.

Ripples Nigeria had earlier reported that Altman was sacked by the OpenAI board, citing lack of confidence in the leadership of the embattled executive.

Nadella, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, stated that Altman “will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team,” along with OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and their colleagues.

Reacting to the development, however, Altman in a follow up post expressed his excitement about what lies ahead.

“The mission continues,” Altman, the former ChatGPT boss, posted on X.

Trivia: A caption that appears when you hover your mouse over a button is called what?

A. Legend

B. Window

C. Tooltip

D. Prompt

Find answer below 

2. Senegalese Tolbi secures funding to boost agric

One year old African agriculture firm, Tolbi, has unveiled a pivotal investment from Fuzé.

The CEO, Mouhamadou Lamine KEBE, confirmed this in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Monday, November 20, 2023.

This financial infusion signals a significant milestone for the agtech landscape in the region, as Tolbi’s solutions hold the potential to reshape farm management practices and foster environmental sustainability.

Tolbi’s groundbreaking methodology integrates satellite imagery and artificial intelligence, providing farmers with precise insights to optimize practices, enhance yields, and curtail operational expenses.

Demonstrating a strong commitment to sustainable agriculture, the startup has also established a marketplace facilitating the estimation and trade of carbon credits.

The funding injection from Fuzé is poised to propel Tolbi’s expansion across Africa and accelerate the implementation of advanced features within its digital solution.

Expressing excitement about the partnership, Mouhamadou Lamine KEBE, CEO & Founder of Tolbi, stated, “We are thrilled to welcome Digital Africa to our investment round. Their alignment with our vision and impactful initiatives in Agtech will undoubtedly accelerate Tolbi’s growth. With their robust financial and technical support, our team is poised for rapid scalability and progress.”

3. Pricepally closes $1.3m Seed Funding for expansion

Nigerian online grocery store, Pricepally, specializing in fresh produce and packaged food, has closed $1.3 million in seed funding.

The funding comes from diverse investors, including Samurai Incubate, a Japanese VC that also participated in the startup’s 2021 pre-seed round.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that other contributors include SOSV, ELEA, Hi2 Global, Chui Ventures, and former Unilever executive David Mureithi.

The infusion of funds is earmarked for expanding Pricepally’s operations beyond its current reach of three cities in Nigeria.

Pricepally’s unique business model involves sourcing fresh produce directly from farmers, some under contract, and obtaining packaged food from manufacturers.

Founded in 2019 by Luther Lawoyin, Deepak Bansal, Mosun Lawoyin, and Jummai Abalaka, Pricepally facilitates same- or next-day delivery through digital channels, including an app and WhatsApp chatbot.

4. WayUp Sports banks Seed Funding for innovation

WayUp Sports, Egypt’s premier ecommerce platform specializing in performance-based sports gear, has announced banking a Seed round led by Beltone Venture Capital, Index Sports Fund, and strategic angel investors.

The Co-founder of WayUp, Mohamed Afifi, confirmed this in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Monday, November 20, 2023.

The investment will be channeled into three key areas: regional expansion, the introduction of the WayUp Sports private brand, and the enhancement of user experience across the application and website.

Catering to a diverse range of sports, WayUp Sports provides performance-based sportswear and equipment sourced directly from local and international brands.

From young aspiring athletes to seasoned professionals, the platform offers a flexible journey, managing product warehousing, quality checks, sales, delivery processes, and customer service assistance for sports enthusiasts.

Commenting on the Seed round, Mohamed Afifi, co-founder and co-CEO of WayUp Sports, expressed its significance in supporting the company’s growth to meet rising local and regional demands.

Trivia Answer: Tooltip

As computer users, we have become accustomed to icons that represent files, folders, programs, and other objects on the computer. Many software programs also use icons to represent tools, which are often found in the program’s toolbar.

While these icons can save screen space and make the program’s interface more attractive, it can sometimes be difficult to tell what all the tool icons mean. While some tool icons are obvious (such as a printer icon to print and a scissors icon to cut a text selection), others are a bit more ambiguous. For this reason, programs often include tooltips that explain what each tool icon represents.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now