Pan-African VC Verod-Kepple closes its first fund at $60M

April 9, 2024

Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) plans to back up to 21 growth-stage companies across the continent after closing its first fund at $60 million. The pan-African VC hit the milestone following fresh backing from Nigeria’s SCM Capital formerly Sterling Capital Markets Limited, and the only non-Japanese investor. Other recent investors (limited partners) include Taiyo Holdings and […]

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Shure MV7+: The best USB podcast mic gets better

April 9, 2024

I was happy — excited, even — to check out Shure’s latest USB microphone. Its predecessor, the MV7, has been my default podcasting mic since it was launched toward to end of 2022. I’ve recorded more than 100 episodes of my show on the thing — not to mention using it for meetings, social engagements […]

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Lucid Motors ekes out a new delivery record as it searches for more EV buyers

April 9, 2024

Lucid Motors delivered more EVs in the first quarter of 2024 than it has in any other quarter, though it set the record by a very slim margin. The Saudi-backed, California-based electric vehicle company said Tuesday morning that it shipped 1,967 luxury sedans in the quarter. That’s just a few more than it shipped in […]

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Symbolica hopes to head off the AI arms race by betting on symbolic models

April 9, 2024

In February, Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google‘s DeepMind AI research lab, warned that throwing increasing amounts of compute at the types of AI algorithms in wide use today could lead to diminishing returns. Getting to the “next level” of AI, as it were, Hassabis said, will instead require fundamental research breakthroughs that yield viable […]

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The Download: how China plans to regulate AI

April 9, 2024
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Why the Chinese government is sparing AI from harsh regulations—for now The way China regulates its tech industry can seem highly unpredictable. The government can celebrate the achievements of Chinese tech companies one…