3 d. ago Absa Becomes First African Bank To Launch Agentic AI For Customers

Absa Bank has become the first financial institution in Africa – and one of the first globally – to deploy agentic AI for customer use, according to Salesforce. The announcement was made at the Agentforce World Tour in Johannesburg this week. The bank’s AI-powered chatbot, Abby, runs on Salesforce’s Agentforce platform and offers dynamic, contextual [...]

Economics

3 d. ago Meta Opens Applications for 2025 Llama Impact Accelerator in Africa

Applications are now open for the 2025 Llama Impact Accelerator, an AI-focused program supporting startups in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Senegal. The initiative aims to help founders build scalable, locally relevant solutions using Meta’s open-source Llama language models. The 8-month program includes a 6-week intensive accelerator and six months of post-program support. Startups working [...]

Politics

5 d. ago AI in African Elections: Kenya and Nigeria Weigh Innovation Against Trust

As Africa’s major democracies explore the use of artificial intelligence in elections, both optimism and caution are shaping the conversation. Kenya, with general elections due in two years, is taking early steps. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has been consulting stakeholders on the role of AI, social media, and digital platforms in election [...]

Politics

5 d. ago Lattice CEO Sarah Franklin: AI Should Serve People, Not Replace Them

For Sarah Franklin, CEO of $3 billion employee performance platform Lattice, the word “balance” is key – especially as companies adopt AI. Speaking at SXSW London and in a follow-up interview with TechCrunch, Franklin emphasized the need to blend AI innovation with a people-first mindset. “We put people first,” she said, noting that while Lattice [...]

Politics

7 d. ago ChatGPT Expands Business Tools With Cloud Integrations, Meeting Notes, and Deep Research Features

OpenAI is rolling out major upgrades to ChatGPT for business users, adding cloud service integrations, meeting transcription, and support for deep research tools. ChatGPT now connects with Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Box, allowing users to search across their own files to answer questions. For example, analysts can tap into slide decks and internal [...]

Politics

8 d. ago Expensya Founders Return with Thunder Code, an AI Startup Backed by $9M in Seed Funding

A year after selling their startup Expensya in a deal reportedly worth over $120 million, co-founders Karim Jouini and Jihed Othmani are back with a new venture: Thunder Code, a generative AI-powered software testing platform that has already raised $9 million in seed funding. Despite vowing never to start another company, the duo was pulled [...]

Politics

8 d. ago ‘Nato’s Baltic drills preparation for potential clash with Russia’

Nato’s annual exercise in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it, is being held this month.

Politics

9 d. ago UNWFP, Unicef condemn attack on humanitarian convoy in North Darfur

The convoy of 15 trucks was attempting to reach children and families in famine-effected El-Fasher

Events

9 d. ago ‘Key issues can be resolved if Zelenskyy, Putin meet at end of month’

Umerov led the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia held in Istanbul yesterday.

Politics

1 week ago Qualcomm Shortlists 10 African Startups for 2025 ‘Make in Africa’ Mentorship Program

Qualcomm has named 10 startups for its 2025 Make in Africa mentorship program, part of its Qualcomm Africa Innovation Platform. The equity-free program, now in its third year, supports early-stage deep-tech startups applying 5G, AI/ML, IoT, and edge technologies to build scalable solutions across sectors. This year, Qualcomm received 435 applications from 19 countries. The [...]

Politics

1 week ago Google Quietly Debuts AI Edge Gallery App for Running Offline Models on Phones

Google has quietly launched a new Android app called AI Edge Gallery, allowing users to run open-source AI models from Hugging Face directly on their phones – no internet required. An iOS version is expected soon. The experimental app supports tasks like image generation, text editing, Q&A, and code writing by running compatible models offline [...]

Technology

1 week ago Visa And Mastercard Bet Big On AI Agents To Power The Future Of Shopping

Visa and Mastercard have launched major AI initiatives aimed at transforming how consumers shop online, signaling a pivotal shift in retail tech. Visa’s “Intelligent Commerce” and Mastercard’s “Agent Pay” go beyond traditional recommendation engines, enabling AI agents to make purchases on users’ behalf. Visa is teaming up with Anthropic, IBM, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Stripe to [...]

Politics

1 week ago Minister grants iThuba temporary lottery licence despite court ruling

Parks Tau issues 12-month licence to iThuba to avoid disruption, despite court's ruling.

Politics

1 week ago Bildup AI Launches NGN500M ‘AI in Every Classroom’ Initiative in Nigeria

Nigerian edtech company Bildup AI has launched a new initiative, “AI in Every Classroom,” aimed at integrating artificial intelligence tools into schools nationwide. The program will be backed by a NGN500 million investment over the next 12 months. Billed as a step toward more personalized and equitable education, the initiative targets underserved communities and seeks [...]

Politics

1 week ago Meta Faces Backlash Over ‘Open Washing’ in AI Licensing Debate

Meta is under fresh criticism for what experts are calling “open washing” after sponsoring a Linux Foundation whitepaper promoting the benefits of open-source AI. The paper argues that open models can significantly cut enterprise costs, claiming proprietary AI tools cost more than three times as much. However, Meta’s role in the report has sparked controversy, [...]

Politics

1 week ago Odyssey Unveils Interactive AI Video Model That Could Redefine Storytelling

London-based AI lab Odyssey has launched a research preview of a new model that transforms video into interactive environments, hinting at a potential new storytelling medium. Initially built for film and game production, the model allows users to influence video scenes in real time using a keyboard, phone, controller – or eventually voice commands. Odyssey [...]

Politics

1 week ago Zuckerberg Says Meta AI Now Reaches 1 Billion Monthly Users Across Platforms

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday told shareholders that the company’s generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) assistant now reaches 1 billion monthly users across its suite of platforms, highlighting Meta’s ambitions to lead in the rapidly evolving AI race. Speaking at Meta’s annual shareholder meeting, Zuckerberg framed the milestone as a major step forward in [...]

Politics

1 week ago Microsoft SA Invites SMMEs To Join 2025 Emerging Partner Programme, Focused On AI Growth and Economic Inclusion

Microsoft South Africa is calling on eligible small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) to apply for the 2025 edition of its Emerging Partner Programme (EPP), a flagship initiative aimed at accelerating business growth, technical capability, and market reach for black-owned ICT companies. The EPP offers selected SMMEs a comprehensive 24-month support plan that includes business [...]

Politics

2 w. ago Extreme Platform ONE Lands in South Africa, Bringing AI Superpowers to Local Networks

After turning heads at the ExtremeConnect Conference in Paris, Extreme Networks’ new AI-powered platform – Extreme Platform ONE – is officially making its way to South African businesses, thanks to local partner Duxbury Networking. And according to Duxbury CTO André Kannemeyer, it’s not just an upgrade – it’s a “fundamental leap.” Designed for businesses feeling [...]

Politics

2 w. ago AI Comments Spark Ethics Backlash After Reddit Users Unknowingly Used in Study

Reddit users are pushing back after discovering they were unknowingly part of a controversial artificial intelligence experiment run by researchers at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Members of the subreddit r/ChangeMyView — a community known for civil debates on divisive topics — were informed by moderators that over 1,700 AI-generated comments had been quietly [...]

Politics