Author: Akin Naphtal

Artificial intelligence (AI) startup and ChatGPT creator, OpenAI, has signalled its intent to tap into Japan’s growing AI market by inaugurating its first office in Tokyo, which also stands as OpenAI’s first office in Asia. In a video message, OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, expressed his optimism about the venture, stating, “this is just the first step in what I hope will be a long-term partnership with the people of Japan, government leaders, businesses, and research institutions.” The move aligns with OpenAI’s intents to diversify its revenue streams globally, leveraging the success of its ChatGPT generative AI chatbot, which launched in…

Apple has faced a setback in the first quarter of 2024 with its smartphone shipments falling by approximately 10%, according to data from research firm IDC, highlighting increased competition from Android smartphone makers vying for the top spot in the market. The US tech giant’s Global smartphone shipments, however, saw a 7.8% increase to 289.4 million units during January-March. Meanwhile, Samsung has overtaken Apple for the spot of top phone maker with a 20.8% market share. Apple currently stands with a 17.3% market share. The decline in iPhone shipments is surprising given Apple’s strong performance in the December quarter when…

Eco-friendly energy solutions provider, EcoFlow, has unveiled the RIVER 2 Pro and DELTA 2 Max power stations in South Africa, promising upgraded capacity and faster charging to cater for the country’s rising energy needs amid stage 6 loadshedding. B2C Sales Director at EcoFlow South Africa, Bradley Chetty, highlighted the significance of these releases in addressing the growing challenges posed by loadshedding. He remarked, “as loadshedding continues to grow, the EcoFlow RIVER 2 Pro and DELTA 2 Max ensure our consumers have access to a simple, flexible, and reliable energy source wherever and whenever they should need it.” The RIVER 2…

Chinese tech giant Huawei has begun allowing customers to register their interest in an upcoming smartphone model it has yet to disclose, sparking rumours that the company may be on the verge of releasing the latest iteration of its P series phones. The move follows Huawei’s re-entry into the premium smartphone market last year with its Mate 60 series, a launch hailed by state media as a significant achievement amid US sanctions. Notably, the resurgence of Huawei’s flagship Mate series has been linked to a decline in iPhone sales in China. Speculation has been rife in recent months regarding the…

Facebook and Instagram parent company, Meta Platforms, has revealed that it would be testing new features aimed at protecting teenagers on Instagram from harmful and sexual content, and potential scammers. The tech giant made this decision due to growing pressure over concerns regarding the addictive nature of its apps and their impact on the mental health of young users. One of the key features Meta plans to implement is blurring messages containing nudity in Instagram’s direct messages. This protection mechanism will utilise on-device machine learning to analyse images and determine if they contain nudity. Importantly, this feature will be enabled…

Wireless infrastructure provider, American Tower, and ProFuturo, the technology-enabled education innovation program of Fundación Telefónica and Fundación “la Caixa”, have partnered to bring educational innovation and technology to underserved communities, starting with 44 schools across Africa and Latin America. The Managing Director of ProFuturo, Magdalena Brier, and Rodrigo Jimenez Castellanos, Group Head of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability of American Tower for EMEA and LatAm, formalised this partnership. ProFuturo and American Tower share a vision of leveraging technology to improve educational outcomes, bridge the digital divide, and improve the quality of life for individuals in marginalised communities. Through this partnership,…

IDEMIA Smart Identity has announced a renewal of its collaboration with Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), to upgrade the country’s biometric identification system, to enable it to accommodate 250 million records. The project, supported by the World Bank’s ID4D initiative, shows the efforts Nigeria is making to establish a robust and reliable civil database. With each citizen’s identity set to remain unique within the system, the initiative aligns with the United Nations’ (UN) sustainable development goals, specifically targeting universal legal identity by 2030. On February 28, 2024, IDEMIA Smart Identity and NIMC formalised their commitment to enhancing Nigeria’s biometric…

Mastercard and Women Choice have expanded their partnership to launch two programs – ImpactHer and EmpowerHer – to support women entrepreneurs grow their businesses and create jobs across the Middle East and Africa. Women Choice – an international organization dedicated to advancing women’s personal and professional development – launched the pilot cohort in 2023. The next cohorts will be participating in the new programs this year and will aim to impact 50,000 women. Mastercard has been at the forefront of providing women with access to digital tools, training to help them start and grow their businesses, creating mentorship and networking…

Facebook parent company, Meta Platforms has revealed details about the next generation of its in-house artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator chip, aiming to decrease its reliance on Nvidia’s AI chips and cut energy costs. Reuters previously reported Meta’s plan to deploy a new version of a custom data centre chip, internally named “Artemis,” to tackle the increasing demand for computing power in Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp’s AI products. The new Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) chip, produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co on its “5nm” process, promises three times the performance of its predecessor. “This chip’s architecture is fundamentally focused…

Tech giant, Apple, has ramped up its iPhone production in India, assembling approximately $14 billion worth of iPhones in fiscal year 2024, according to a Bloomberg News report, as the tech giant seeks to diversify its supply chain and reduce reliance on China. The report indicates that Apple now manufactures approximately 14% of its flagship devices in India, translating to roughly 1 in 7 iPhones being made in India. Key manufacturing partners contributing to this effort include Foxconn and Pegatron Corp, with Foxconn assembling nearly 67% of the India-made iPhones and Pegatron accounting for about 17%. Additionally, Wistron Corp’s plant…