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.
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
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
Movable Ink is hiring on pocitjobs.com At Movable Ink, innovation is powered by people like Michael Green Jr., who brings creativity and technical expertise together in unique ways. As Director of Data Science for AI Insights, Michael helps teams and clients understand how their AI models work, turning complex data into clear, actionable insights. He’s also a fantasy novelist and entrepreneur, building a career that reflects both his analytical mind and creative spirit. He told POCIT how his passion for writing sharpens his approach to data science and how Movable
Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content. Techish hosts Abadesi and Michael dive into how AI is shaking up applications and why some grads are crushing it while others are stuck, Timbaland swapping out human artists for AI, and the future of adult content. Chapters00:27 Is It a Graduate Recession?11:29 Timbaland Debuts AI-Generated Artist TaTa24:59 OnlyFans on Sale for $8 Billion [Patreon-Only] Listen To The Episode You can find the Techish podcast on Spotify, Apple, and all good podcast apps. Watch On YouTube Extra Reading & Resources No
Nigerian startup Salpha Energy has raised $1.3 million in funding from All On, an impact investment firm supported by Shell. Salpha Energy is the only female-founded startup that runs a solar home system assembly facility in sub-Saharan Africa, according to Distrupt Africa. The company is dedicated to providing affordable and reliable solar power to underserved communities across Africa. Having local manufacturing capacity enables the company to manage product quality and design more effectively, while also generating employment opportunities in the area. $1.3 million funding from All On The fund will be
Renowned producer Timbaland has launched his own AI entertainment company, Stage Zero, with its first artist, TaTa. The company was co-founded with his creative partner, Zayd Portillo, and film producer Rocky Mudaliar, according to Rolling Stone. Timbaland will handle most of the production for this new artificial intelligence venture, calling the new genre “A-Pop.” “I’m not just producing tracks anymore,” Timbaland said in a statement. “I’m producing systems, stories, and stars from scratch. [TaTa] is not an avatar. She is not a character. TaTa is a living, learning, autonomous music
Workday will face a collective-action lawsuit alleging that its AI-powered hiring tools discriminate against workers age 40 and older. The lawsuit was filed in February 2023 by Derek Mobley, a Black, disabled man in his 40s, who claims that he applied for over 100 jobs without securing a role, as stated by ITPro. The Independent reported that another plaintiff, Jill Hughes, said that she received automated rejections for hundreds of job applications “often received within a few hours of applying or at odd times outside of business hours,” as stated by
