TechNigeria: A weekly digest of what went down in Nigeria’s tech space

Ampersand, Tameed, Koree, Intel, SpaceX, Frontdesk, Airtel, Meta, Samsung, Fidelity, BYD, Multichoice, Imaginario AI, were some of the names that made the headlines this week.

The Korean tech maker, Samsung, is gearing up to introduce its flagship, the Galaxy S24 smartphones, with new AI features.

Also, Airtel Africa plc, a telecommunications and mobile money enterprise, has formally disclosed the retirement of its Chief Executive Officer, Segun Ogunsanya, effective July 1, 2024.

Let’s get into details

The Korean tech maker, Samsung, is gearing up to introduce its flagship, the Galaxy S24 smartphones, with new AI features.

According to the statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday, January 3, 2023, the grand revelation is set to take place on January 17 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, with a live broadcast on Samsung’s social media platforms and YouTube.

Despite the absence of explicit mentions of the Galaxy S24 series in press invitations, Samsung has whet the appetite of their audiences with the promise of revealing a collection of premium smartphones designed to deliver ‘the most intelligent mobile experience yet.’

U.S. artificial intelligence research organization, OpenAI, is looking to launch a dedicated store for GPTs.

According to the company, the app gallery will accommodate bespoke applications leveraging its text-generating AI models, including the upcoming GPT-4.

The development was initially announced during OpenAI’s inaugural developer conference, DevDay, last year.

Ampersand, the electric transport energy firm based in Rwanda, has closed $19.5 million in funding, with a substantial $7.5 million obtained as new debt from the Africa Go Green Fund (AGG), managed by Cygnum Capital.

The raised funds are earmarked for enhancing the production of electric motorcycle batteries, expanding the existing battery swap station infrastructure, and accelerating research and development.

Founded in 2016, Ampersand is dedicated to the development and financing of electric motorcycles.

Airtel Africa plc, a telecommunications and mobile money enterprise, has formally disclosed the retirement of its Chief Executive Officer, Segun Ogunsanya, effective July 1, 2024.

The company has named Mr. Sunil Taldar as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective the same date.

Joining Airtel Africa in October 2023 as Director – Transformation, Mr. Taldar will collaborate with Mr. Ogunsanya during the transition.

Cameroonian fintech firm, Koree, has announced securing a $200,000 pre-seed funding round with backing from diverse investors.

According to the startup, the investment saw the participation of investors including Tunde Akinnuwa, co-founder at Duplo, Cameroon Angels Network, Catalytic Africa, Digital Africa, and various private investors.

The founder, Magalie Gauze-Sanga, in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Thursday 4, 2023, reveals that the funds are designated for broadening the merchant network, expanding the user base, and ultimately achieving product-market fit.

Chip maker, Intel, has announced partnering with global investment firm, DigitalBridge, to jointly introduced Articul8, a dedicated generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) enterprise.

This was contained in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Thursday, January 3, 2024.

According to the statement, DigitalBridge Ventures led the investment in Articul8, and was supported by prominent investors such as Fin Capital, Mindset Ventures, Communitas Capital, GiantLeap Capital, GS Futures, and Zain Group.

SpaceX has deployed its inaugural set of Starlink satellites designed for direct cell phone connectivity, paving the way for planned testing later this year.

In collaboration with T-Mobile and holding regulatory approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, SpaceX aims to assess the capabilities of these satellites over a 180-day period.

The initial launch included six satellites equipped for direct phone connection alongside 15 others aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

Frontdesk, a US-based startup overseeing over 1,000 furnished apartments, has let go of its entire 200-person team following unsuccessful attempts to secure additional capital.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that, the comprehensive layoffs, spanning full-time, part-time employees, and contractors, unfolded in a Google Meet call, during which CEO Jesse DePinto disclosed the company’s intention to file for state receivership as an alternative to bankruptcy.

Established in 2017, Frontdesk had garnered approximately $26 million in funding from investors, including JetBlue Ventures, Veritas Investments, and Sand Hill Angels, as reported by Crunchbase.

Meta has announced its decision to permanently reduce the prices of its Quest 2 headset, with the 128GB version now priced at $249, down from $299, and the 256GB version lowered from $349 to $299.

The revised pricing, according to Meta, was initially introduced during Black Friday, and now settling for a lasting adjustment.

In addition to the headset price cuts, however, Meta is also offering discounted rates on various Quest 2 accessories.

Fidelity, the mutual fund giant, has devalued its investment in X holdings—formerly known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk—by 71.5%, as revealed in a recent disclosure.

This markdown is a substantial reduction from the original share valuation.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that Fidelity invested $19.2 million in acquiring a stake in X in October 2022.

Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has reported a historic quarterly profit, selling an impressive 526,409 fully electric vehicles in the fourth quarter.

This robust performance solidifies BYD’s prominent position in the fiercely competitive high-tech sector, where it contends with both domestic and global rivals.

Headquartered in Shenzhen, the company disclosed a profit of 10.4 billion yuan ($1.42 billion) for the third quarter (July-September), marking its most substantial earnings for a single quarter to date.

Multichoice, the parent company of DSTV, has disclosed plans for a forthcoming price increase across all its African subsidiaries in 2024.

The CEO, Tim Jacobs, confirmed the development in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Monday, January 1, 2023.

The CEO attributed the anticipated hike to growing financial challenges, citing the company’s struggle to maintain a robust balance sheet

Imaginario AI, a Tunisian startup specializing in AI-driven video and audio content processing, has closed $1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by 216 Capital.

The round received support from Blue Lake VC, Earthling Ventures, Comcast NBCUniversal, Techstars, and various business angels, aimed at fueling the startup’s international expansion.

Founded in 2021 by Jose Puga and Abdelhak Loukkal, Imaginario AI seeks to revolutionize video and audio content management through artificial intelligence.

Tameed, a Saudi Arabia-based fintech firm, has secured a $15 million Series A funding round, with prominent participation from Alromaih Investments.

This is contained in a press release signed by the CEO, and co-founder of Tameed, Mohammed Alomayyer, and made available to the media.

Established in 2019 by Mohammed Al Alshaikh and Mohammed Alomayyer, Tameed offers Shariah-compliant P2P financing solutions for SMEs.

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