Okra Solar, a technology startup working with local utilities to transform communities, has closed its Series A funding round. Mesh grid technology With 770 million people living without clean, reliable access to power, the tech startup aims to transform off-grid communities with mesh grids. Mesh grids are the fastest-growing technology solution for electrifying off-grid households. With a mesh grid, neighbors are connected, sharing renewable energy 24/7, which allows them to consume more than they would on their own. Each house contains a solar panel, battery and an Okra Pod, ensuring
TIME chose the 100 Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence for the TIME100/AI, featuring several people of color. TIMES’ most knowledgeable editors and reporters spent months fielding recommendations from dozens of sources to assemble hundreds of nominations they whittled down. “We wanted to highlight the industry leaders at the forefront of the AI boom, individuals outside these companies who are grappling with profound ethical questions around the uses of AI, and the innovators around the world who are trying to use AI to address social challenges,” said executive editor Naina
Friends Benedict Owanga and Chinelo Adi launched their startup Owanga to deliver clean energy solutions to Congo, Africa. The startup launched in 2022 after Owanga had the idea during his sophomore year at Emory University School of Law. While pursuing an internship, he lost power for two hours during training. The inconvenience made him consider the experience of Congolese people back home. “It got me thinking if someone like me loses power for two hours and it takes me two weeks to figure out something, what about people back home
Tools like ChatGPT, WordPress, and React have made creating a website easier than ever, opening the doors of web design to a broader audience. However, this democratization of web design has presented opportunities and challenges, particularly for those who have long relied on it for their livelihood. In South Africa, where web design was once a lucrative profession, AI-powered web design tools bring promise and uncertainty to professionals in the field, Rest of the World reports. An oversaturated market In 2018, web designers in South Africa could earn an average
Black-led venture capital firm Growth Warrior Capital is launching Elevo, an AI-powered pitch deck generator to help founders secure funding for their startups. Investing in overlooked founders Elevo is the brainchild of Promise Phelon, the founder and managing partner of Growth Warrior Capital. An experienced entrepreneur, Phelon’s track record includes raising $100 million in capital, transforming companies, and successfully navigating exits and acquisitions. Phelon’s early-stage venture capital firm, invests in “dangerous” startups led by traditionally overlooked founders that have the potential to “fundamentally change the way we work, earn, and
An American Association of Advertising Agencies (The 4A’s) report has found unsolved issues in the advertising industry. A step in the wrong direction for diversity While 2021 witnessed a surge in diversity and inclusion efforts, momentum seemingly dwindled in 2022. At the time, numerous corporations embraced more diverse hiring practices and over 200 tech firms committed to change. However, over the last year, these efforts have begun to decrease, including the media industry losing four Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) leaders in two weeks. Furthermore, the 4A’s report indicated a
Cardi B has reportedly threatened to sue an X – formerly known as Twitter – user who shared fake AI-generated imagery and voice notes of Offset having an affair. What Happened? On Sunday, an X user, @ayywalker, shared what was allegedly evidence that Offset had cheated on Cardi B. The post featured a supposed photo of Offset and a voice memo of a man trying to set up a meeting with a woman. The user captioned the post, saying, “Offset has allegedly cheated on Cardi B once again. How embarrassing.” Cardi
An American Staffing Association (ASA) survey found that nearly 50% of Americans say automation could easily replace their jobs. Black and Hispanic Americans were especially likely to worry about automation replacing their jobs but remained optimistic about how AI tools would shape their future careers. AI tools and automation in the workplace Automation uses technology to perform tasks where human input is minimized; for example, operating systems perform predictable and repetitive tasks without direct human input. Developments in generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, have made it easier to automate workplace tasks. The ASA
After experiencing a close call with a tornado in 2015, Robert Washington founded Shelter Share, a mobile app helping Oklahoma residents find nearby shelters during natural disasters. Shelter Share Oklahoma has had over 800 tornadoes, but Oklahoma City only has 26 shelters per 1500 residents, with no public shelters available. Shelter Share, founded in 2022 by Robert Washington, is a mobile app that helps users locate nearby shelters during natural disasters. Washington experienced a close call with a tornado in 2015. He was in a two-story apartment building, holding his newborn
Google’s Product Inclusion and Equity Team, led by Dominique Mungin, is working to ensure that the next generation of AI-driven image generation and recognition technologies does not perpetuate societal biases. Mungin, who has been at Google for 13 years, has worked on projects like the Monk Skin Tone Scale and Google’s Real Tone Tech. Now, her team has collaborated with Tonl, a stock photography company, to supply more diverse imagery for training machine learning models. In an interview with Tech Brew, Mungin admitted that skin tone challenges persist. An entire
