Zuckerberg confirms increase in time spent on Instagram. 2 other stories and a trivia

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

1. Zuckerberg confirms increase in time spent on Instagram

Meta founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has confirmed that the time spent on Instagram grew by 24% with TikTok-style AI Reel recommendations.

Meta CFO Susan Li also confirmed the development in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Thursday.

The CFO credited the increment to its AI-powered content recommendations.

According to Zuckerberg, the AI used is a kind of non-connection recommended videos that TikTok built its entire brand upon.

“We’re very pleased with what we’ve seen Reels drive in terms of incremental engagement on the platform so far,” Li said

Li noted that while Reels and AI suggestions are increasing Instagram engagement, this has not yet directly increased income.

Tech Trivia: Which of the following tasks would you accomplish by using a spreadsheet?
A. Writing a multi-page text document
B. Performing calculations on structured data
C. Preparing an image for printing
D. Generating audio from a sheet music file
Answer: see end of post

2. Texas-based startup, Entre launches Communities to rival Slack, Discord

A Texas-based startup, Entre, has unveiled new communities management tool to rival Slack and Discord.

Read also:Nigerian B2B e-commerce startup, Alerzo, lays off 15% workforce. 2 other stories and a trivia

This was contained in a press release by the startup on Thursday.

According to the release, Entre’s innovative Communities function will allow users to find and join groups of like-minded people in their field or build their special communities.

The company was founded by Juan Carlos del Valle, and Michael Marra in 2019.

“Users can effortlessly find and join groups tailored to their interests, while also creating and managing their communities.

“This offers a more personalized and impactful networking experience that reflects the changing dynamics of the digital workplace,” the statement reads.

Entre recently secured a $1.6 million seed round that was led by Octane Fund and included participation from Service Provider Capital, CreatorLed Ventures, Kube VC, Umami Capital, Dharmesh Shah (CTO of Hubspot), and other angel investors.

3. Kakao Pay acquires majority stake in Siebert

South Korean fintech company, Kakao Pay, has acquired a majority stake in Siebert Financial, a brokerage firm based in New York.

Gloria Gebbia, Siebert’s controlling shareholder and board member, confirmed the development in a statement on Thursday.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that Kakao invested $17 million in this deal, and as a result, the business now controls 19.9% of Siebert.

According to sources privy to the development, Kakao Pay would become the largest shareholder of Siebert, owning a 51% stake in total.

Kakao Pay “plans to create a new overseas stock trading solution that combines the user-centric MTS (money transfer services) of Kakao Securities with Siebert’s brokerage’s infrastructure, which could be expanded to foreign fintech companies, including those in Southeast Asia,” Gebbia stated.

Gebbia noted that Kakao Pay’s acquisition today is its first M&A deal outside of its home market.

Trivia Answer: Performing calculations on structured data

Because of their ability to quickly and easily process data, spreadsheets are often used for scientific and financial data analysis.

They are also helpful for visualizing data by creating charts.

By Kayode Hamsat

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