Benchmark, the storied venture firm, sees “traps” in today’s AI funding frenzy: “Don’t be Microsoft”
Yesterday in Helsinki, this editor interviewed four of the six general partners at Benchmark, the nearly 30-year-old, Silicon Valley firm that’s known for some notable bets (Uber, Dropbox), paying each general partner exactly the same way, and for continuing to raise similar-size funds over its many years rather than balloon
Read moreHashtag Trending Dec.1 Microsoft joins OpenAI’s board; Google Drive’s missing files unsolved; Study finds that AI’s still dumb
Microsoft becomes a board member of OpenAI, Google Drive unveils a new homepage to find files faster, while the mystery of the missing files remains unsolved and AI is still very dumb. These and more top tech stories on Hashtag Trending. I’m your host James Roy. Microsoft has finally
Read moreBiz in Box initiative empowers individuals from informal settlements to start their own businesses
Yesterday marked a significant milestone in the economic development landscape as the Biz In Box Programme launched an initiative aimed at bringing hope and opportunities to Townships, Informal Settlements and Hostels (TISH). Initiatives like these are pertinent in South Africa, where 31.9% of the population are unemployed. The Quarterly Labour
Read moreWill developers return to hostile offices?
Ben, Ryan, and Eira convene to discuss return-to-office mandates, what’s surprising about employee attrition in 2023, and how technology can preserve digital records of cultural heritage sites before they’re lost for good.
Read moreHTC.Together HUAWEI MEA Ecosystem Summit fosters Innovation and Economic Growth
HTC.Together HUAWEI MEA Ecosystem Summit, held in Dubai, showcased a fusion of collaboration and innovation. The first day of the event was hosted on the 27th of November at the illustrious Dubai Opera, and brought together Huawei Ecosystem partners from China and across the Middle East and Africa. Building bridges
Read moreSmartphone sales to rebound on AI gains, Morgan Stanley says
Smartphone sales will mount a comeback starting in 2024, defying growing warnings of a prolonged slump across the mobile sector, according to separate projections by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley reviewed by TechCrunch. Morgan Stanley’s report predicts global smartphone shipments will rebound by nearly 4% in 2024 and by 4.4%
Read moreNedbank observes shift in consumer spending trends
During the recent Black Friday period, Nedbank observed a significant shift in trends in consumer spending behaviour. This points to the the continual evolution of South Africa’s retail landscape, and a greater awareness by South Africans of the importance of sound personal financial principles. Decline in Card Transaction Volumes According
Read moreSmartCIC partners with local NGO to empower youth in West Africa
SmartCIC, a global managed service provider, has partnered with Maxim Nyansa Foundation, an African non-governmental organisation (NGO), to provide young people across Africa with IT training, hardware, and micro-financing. The partnership is focused on enabling more African youth, in particular young women to build careers and launch successful IT businesses
Read moreAnduril unveils Roadrunner, “a fighter jet weapon that lands like a Falcon 9”
Leading defense tech startup Anduril has developed a new product designed to take-on the proliferation of low-cost, high-powered aerial threats. The product is called Roadrunner, a modular, twin-jet powered autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) air vehicle that’s designed for low costs. Anduril has also developed a variant called Roadrunner-Munition,
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