Author: Gugu Lourie

To understand the new smart monitors and other pro devices of tech health, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cook’s “sitting is the new factor” line. Routinely evaluating your risk factors for various medical conditions, screening for cancer and other diseases, and assessing your lifestyle habits helps you stay healthy. It’s…

To understand the new smart monitors and other pro devices of tech health, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cook’s “sitting is the new factor” line. Routinely evaluating your risk factors for various medical conditions, screening for cancer and other diseases, and assessing your lifestyle habits helps you stay healthy. It’s…

EOH turnaround plan is slowly starting to pay off as the JSE-listed technology group narrows headline loss for the six months ended 31 January 2021. The company said total headline loss per share (HEPS) improved by 83%, with losses narrowing from 350 cents per share to 60 cents per share. HEPS is South Africa’s main profit gauge. EOH said it is making a headline loss because of its over-indebted capital structure and inefficient legal entity structure. The management team continues to address this as a core focus area. Revenue was R4.4-billion, from R6.2-billion in the prior six-month period, EOH said. EOH…

Facebook or Instagram users can now appeal content to the self-styled Oversight Board which they want to be removed. For now, users could only appeal to have content restored to the platform after it had been removed by Facebook moderators. Content eligible for appeal to the board still includes posts/statuses, photos, videos, comments, and shares. “The Board will use its independent judgment to decide what to leave up and what to take down. Our decisions will be binding on Facebook,” the Oversight Board said in a statement on Tuesday. From today, this option is being rolled out and will be…

To understand the new smart monitors and other pro devices of tech health, we should look to Silicon Valley and the quantified movement of the latest generation. Apple’s Watch records exercise, tracks our moves throughout the day, assesses the amount of time we are stood up and reminds us to get up and move around if we have been sat for too long – let’s not forget Tim Cook’s “sitting is the new factor” line. Routinely evaluating your risk factors for various medical conditions, screening for cancer and other diseases, and assessing your lifestyle habits helps you stay healthy. It’s…

How much is Epic Games valued as a unicorn? The maker of popular game Fortnite announced today that it completed a $1 billion (R14,5 billion) round of funding, which will allow the company to support future growth opportunities. Epic’s equity valuation is now $28.7 billion (R422 billion). This round includes an additional $200 million (R2,9 billion) strategic investment from Sony Group Corporation, which builds on the already close relationship between the two companies and reinforces their shared mission to advance the state of the art in technology, entertainment, and socially-connected online services. Other investment partners include Appaloosa, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity…

Capitec Bank CEO Gerrie Fourie had his pay cut in half in 2021, compared to 2019. Fourie’s total pay dropped to R49 million in 2021 versus R94.9 million in 2019. In 2021, his total salary cut was R23 million. Fourie’s guaranteed pay amounts to R13 million and R31.8 million in long-term incentives. Total guaranteed pay in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Capitec board decided that executive directors will not receive an increase in their guaranteed pay from May 2021. Capitec chief financial officer, Andre du Plessis, was paid R33.3 million in 2021 versus R52 million…

Capitec Bank revealed that its retail clients using digital channels climbed by 28% to 8.6 million for the year ended 28 February 2021. “We are the biggest digital bank in South Africa with 8.6 million active users of either the Capitec banking app, USSD channel or a combination of digital channels,” the digital bank said. Capitec Bank continued to grow its active client base during the past year by an average of 160 000 clients per month – a 14% increase to 15,8 million customers. Gerrie Fourie, CEO of Capitec Bank, says the bank’s agility and tech focus came to the fore…

Microsoft has entered into a definitive agreement to buy Nuance Communications, a market leader in conversational AI and ambient intelligence, for $19.7 billion (R277 billion). Today’s acquisition announcement represents the latest step in Microsoft’s industry-specific cloud strategy. Microsoft’s acquisition of Nuance builds upon the successful existing partnership between the companies that was announced in 2019, the company said. By augmenting the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare with Nuance’s solutions, as well as the benefit of Nuance’s expertise and relationships with EHR systems providers, Microsoft will be better able to empower healthcare providers through the power of ambient clinical intelligence and other Microsoft…

Tim Hogins has launched Blacqmarket, the first online global marketplace securely backed by a blockchain in South African townships. Hogins is the founder of South Africans Green Outdoor Gyms, GOG Lifestyle Parks (GOG Gardens Soweto) and Happy Island, the biggest water theme park in Africa. Hogins, who hails from Randfontein, owns Hogins Enterprises, a diverse group of companies. A former security guard turned business magnate (serial entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist), says Blacqmarket is an equal opportunity large scale employer, proud supporting SMME entrepreneurship. “We live in unprecedented times. With the constant threat of unemployment, economic downturn and the COVID 19 pandemic…

The BMW brand delivered 560,543 vehicles to customers reflecting a 36.2% rise in the first quarter of this year. With 70,207 units sold in the first quarter of the year, the BMW Group more than doubled its global sales of both plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and fully electric cars. “Our sales performance was boosted by strong demand for our electrified vehicles, in particular. In the past three months, we doubled our global sales of electrified vehicles compared to the same period last year,” said Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Customer, Brands and…

Naspers unit Prosus Ventures announced on Thursday it has co-led a $350 million (R5 billion) investment in HealthTech company API Holdings, which owns India’s largest integrated digital healthcare platforms. The investment was co-led by Prosus Ventures and TPG Growth. Existing investors including Temasek, CDPQ, LGT Lightrock, Eight Roads & Think Investments also participated in the Series E round. Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures)  is the venture investing arm of Prosus that identifies new consumer needs that are being transformed by technology and finds founders and entrepreneurs at companies across the globe who are addressing those needs in the most innovative…

Naspers unit Prosus has co-led a €223 million (R3, 8 billion) investment round in Norwegian e-grocery business, Oda. Oda also rebrands today from Kolonial.no. The startup based out of Oslo offers same-day or next-day delivery of food, meal kits and home essentials. The funding round led by Prosus and SoftBank. Vision Fund 2[1]. Existing investors Kinnevik and REMA both participated in the investment round managed by Carnegie. As part of the transaction, Neil Cunha-Gomes, Investor at SoftBank Investment Advisers, and Roger Rabalais, CFO Food Delivery at Prosus Group, will join Oda’s board. While the food delivery companies within the Prosus portfolio…

T-Mobile is finally bringing the much-hyped 5G Home Internet to households in America. The telco announced today its Un-carrier move, described as a sweeping set of initiatives that mark the beginning of the #5GforAll era. The US-telco said its Home Internet launches today with more than 30 million households eligible and 10 million of which are in rural areas. Over the past few years, billions of dollars have been spent to build 5G networks. Billions more have gone for breathless ads touting the promise of a 5G-powered future. But for most people, 5G has been a total nonevent. Why? Because…

The Dutch arm of South African internet titan Naspers, Prosus announced on Wednesday it would sell a 2% stake in software giant Tencent worth $15 billion (R218 billion) at current prices in an accelerated offering to institutional investors. The sale would lower Prosus stake in Tencent to 28,9% from 30,9%. Prosus intends to use the proceeds of the sale to increase its financial flexibility to invest in growth, plus for general corporate purposes.  “Tencent is one of the world’s best growth enterprises. It has consistently delivered value since listing in 2004. Prosus’s commitment to Tencent remains steadfast,” Prosus Chair Koos…

Signal revealed on its blog on Tuesday is testing Signal Payments, a new feature that enables you to send and receive privacy-focused payments as easily as sending or receiving a message. The new feature is on beta version of its apps. The feature currently supports a privacy-focused payments network called MobileCoin, which has its own currency, MOB. “We want payments in Signal to be fast, private, and work well on mobile devices,” wrote Jun Harada, Signal’s head of growth and communication, in a blog post. Signal Payments makes it easy to link a MobileCoin wallet to Signal so you can…

The M B Ontwikkelings Trust is taking Cell C to court for “wrongfully and culpably” interfering in a contract it has with a large retail outlet that supplies starter packs. The trust, which is situated in Maletswai – previously known as Aliwal North – a town on the Orange River, is demanding more than R21.3 million in damages from the embattled mobile phone company. In papers filed at the Eastern Cape High Court, the trust claims Cell C wrongfully and culpably interfered with its contract with DNI Retail, the largest wholesaler of starter packs for the mobile company in the country. Herman Zurich,…

The U.S Supreme Court on Monday sided with Google against Oracle in a fierce copyright dispute over the software used in Android, the mobile operating system. The court found that Google did not violate the law when it used more than 11,000 lines of software code belonging to Oracle in building its Android mobile operating system. Oracle owns a copyright in Java SE, a computer platform that uses the popular Java computer programming language. In 2005, Google acquired Android and sought to build a new software platform for mobile devices. To allow the millions of programmers familiar with the Java programming…

LG Electronics Inc. (LG) announced on Monday that it is closing its cash-guzzling mobile business worldwide. The South Korean firm said the decision to exit the mobile phone sector will enable it to focus resources in growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence, platforms and services. LG said in a statement the decision was approved by its board of directors earlier today. “The wind down of the mobile phone business is expected to be completed by July 31 although inventory of some existing models may still be available after that,” the company said.…

Telkom has unveiled its April 2021 Big Deal, which promises to amplify the way you connect to the Internet. The uncapped fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) promotion for 25.5Mbps is available for R399 a month on a 12-month contract. The deal, which is only available on the Openserve Fibre Network, provides fibre services on a month to month basis. In cases where the router and installation are included, this is subject to the fibre service is active for 12 months. There is no FUP (Fair Usage Policy) thresholds apply. The offer has limited HD streams allowed during peak hours The promotional campaign runs…

Smile Telecoms, a Pan-African telecommunications group, announced on Thursday it has secured $51 million (R750 million) in fresh capital to avert liquidation and fund operations. The company said its restructuring plan has been approved and agreed with the lenders. Smile Telecoms said the debt restructuring plan sees an injection in fresh money funding from its majority shareholder, the Al Nahla, and rescheduling on debt repayment until post-March 2022. Al Nahla, a Saudi Arabian-based company owns 49% of Smile. The PIC is a minority shareholder along with Renven Investment Holdings, a pan-African investment vehicle; Verene, representing Smile senior management and social…

China’s Huawei Technologies on Wednesday posted a 3.2% rise in net profit to CN¥64.6-billion ($9.8 billion) for the 2020 financial year versus growth of 5.6% in 2019. It also said sales revenue in 2020 rounded off at CNY891.4 billion, up 3.8% year-on-year. In May 2019, the US commerce department added, Huawei into the Entity List, which prohibits the company from purchasing US technologies as well as software services. In 2020, the Donald Trump administration further restricted Huawei from purchasing semiconductor products and cancelled licenses for existing suppliers. The United States government has been campaigning against Huawei in the past two years…

Jeff Bezos and other Silicon Valley investors are taking a bet on an accounting startup Pilot that seeks to help small businesses and startups outsource back-office tasks. The San Francisco-based company closed a $100 million (R1,5 billion) funding round this week, doubling its valuation to $1.2 billion (R18 billion). The funding was led by Bezos Expeditions (the personal investment company of Bezos) and Whale Rock Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures. Stripe and Index Ventures co-led Pilot’s $40 million (R600 million) Series B in April 2019. The latest financing brings the company’s total funding raised to over…

New York-based Chainalysis has raised $100 million (R1, 5 billion) and is now valued at over $2 billion (R30 billion). The blockchain analysis company announced on Friday that this latest round was led by Paradigm, with participation from TIME Ventures, the investment fund for Marc Benioff, and previous investors Addition and Ribbit. Chainalysis was founded in 2014 as the official investigators into the hack of Mt. Gox, then the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. “We’ll use the funds to accelerate business growth, expand our product portfolio and continue our mission to build trust in blockchains,” Chainalysis Co-Founder and CEO Michael Gronager and Jonathan…

In townships, people pay data by the minute, by the text, and by the gigabyte. This simply means any new network wanting to bring affordable data to this market needs to fit in with these township consumer habits. South Africa’s big mobile phone operators and fibre providers have so far failed to satisfy township consumers with their expensive products to access the Internet. As a result, many people continue to be excluded from the digital world. Eduard Walker, CEO of FibrePoynt, says an opportunity for a wireless fibre operator to connect townships, peri-urban areas, and small towns to the digital…