A new augmented reality (AR) experience is bringing the stories of Portsmouth, New Hampshire’s African Burying Ground to life. The platform is being unveiled today as part of the Black Heritage Trail’s Juneteenth celebrations, marking the tenth anniversary of the African Burying Ground Memorial Park. Portsmouth’s African Burying Ground The African Burying Ground dates back to at least 1705 and served as the final resting place for more than 200 people of African descent. Over time, the site was paved over and forgotten until 2003, when workers uncovered five coffins
Sundial Media & Technology Group, the parent company of ESSENCE, AFROPUNK, and Refinery29, has partnered with Creator Currency Networks to launch a new platform for women creators. CreateHer Network is the first creator platform dedicated to bridging the economic gap between women’s cultural influence and how much they’re paid. It has already secured partnerships with key industry players, including ESSENCE, Refinery29, BeautyCon, Curly Culture, and CurlyCon, according to a press release. CreateHer: A Platform For Economic Power Women drive 85% of US purchasing decisions and influence $31.8 trillion in global
Technology investor Invictus Growth Partners has secured $574 million for its second flagship fund and related co-investment vehicles, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Founded in 2019 by John DeLoche and William Nettles, Invictus specializes in growth buyouts of lower middle-market businesses in sectors such as cloud, cybersecurity, and fintech. Invictus targets founder-led, bootstrapped companies generating at least $10 million in annual recurring revenue. Betting Big On AI With its new fund, the California-based firm will strengthen its focus on AI and machine learning technologies driving key industries.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned that slavery had been abolished – two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The first Juneteenth was observed in 1866 and has been celebrated by Black Americans for generations before finally being recognized as a federal holiday in 2021. Corporations Pull Support This year, many traditional Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or canceled due to declining support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, according to AP
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Black Chamber of Commerce is launching a new Innovation Center to support Black-owned businesses and address food inequality in Charlotte, NC. “Think of it as a one-stop shop for professionals and small businesses,” Cathay Dawkins, a local entrepreneur and chairman of the chamber, told The Charlotte Observer. What is the innovation center? The property, located at 2601 Wilkinson Blvd, near Interstate 77, will feature spaces for business meetings, co-working areas, an agri-tech program to assist farmers in utilizing advanced technology, and a retail store distribution center for small
South African tech academy WeThinkCode_ has been awarded $2 million in funding from Google’s charitable arm, Google.org, to expand its AI training programs. The programs will provide 12,000 learners in South Africa and Kenya with the necessary tools to succeed in the job market. There is a significant digital skills gap on the continent, with 90% of companies being negatively impacted by the lack of AI skills, according to a recent SAP report. WeThinkCode_ bridges the gap by providing training to unemployed youth from low-income backgrounds, helping them become software engineers. WeThinkCode_’s funding from
LemFi, a Nigerian-founded fintech company based in California, has acquired Pillar, a London-based startup focused on providing credit access to immigrants. Speaking to Semafor, LemFi CEO Ridwan Olalere confirmed that the deal was finalized in May. He said the acquisition will pave the way for LemFi to launch a credit card feature within its app. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by either company. LemFi acquires Pillar Ashutosh Bhatt and Adam Lewis founded Pillar in 2021, after both working at Revoult. It raised £13 million less than
Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content. In this episode, Techish hosts Michael and Abadesi break down startup hype culture, especially all the smoke and mirrors around AI. They chat about tweaking revenue numbers, investors turning a blind eye, and why tech needs more ethics and less ego. They also chat about Apple’s latest WWDC drops, MAGA influencers in the White House, and why good journalism still matters. Chapters00:25 Unicorn Faked Its AI With 700 Indian Engineers? 16:09 Can Liquid Glass Rescue Apple From Its Flop Era? 25:18
Shaquille O’Neal will pay $1.8 million to settle claims that he deceived investors by promoting a now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, CBNC reports. The case had been pending since November 2022. The FTX Class Action Lawsuit The class action lawsuit also includes notable celebrities such as Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Steph Curry, Naomi Osaka, Larry David, and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. However, O’Neal was the only celebrity defendant to remain associated with the company after he was served legal papers. After avoiding rocess servers for months, O’Neal was served with two complaints during
Fireflies.ai, the AI meeting assistant used by 75% of Fortune 500 companies, has reached a $1 billion valuation. Co-founders Krish Ramineni and Sam Udotong met while studying at the University of Pennsylvania and later at MIT, according to Tech Funding News. Udotong is a Nigerian American with a background in aerospace engineering and computer science. Ramineni, who is originally from India, worked at Microsoft before co-founding Fireflies. What is Fireflies? Fireflies enables workers to summarize key information from meetings. It currently serves over 20 million people and more than 500,00 organizations. Its
