British legal tech company Definely has raised a $7 million (£5.6 million) Series A investment round to advance its GenAI proposition that helps draft, edit, and understand legal documents. Last year, the Microsoft- and Google-backed company released Vault. This tool leverages AI and OCR technology to analyze and extract key information and clauses from an organization’s internal contract repository. Vault then makes this information readily available to users directly within their documents, exactly when and where it’s needed. One Of The 50 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies In The UK Founded by two former
Microsoft Corporation has decided to close the engineering section of its Africa Development Center (ADC) in Lagos, just two years after its inception. Economic Instability Leads to Closure The decision to shut down the ADC in Lagos adds to Nigeria’s broader economic challenges, including a persistent currency crisis, dollar shortages, and high inflation. These factors have impacted business growth and diminished consumer purchasing power, prompting companies like Procter & Gamble, GSK, and Bayer to overhaul their African strategies. “Microsoft has decided to close the Africa Development Centre in Nigeria, and
Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian took to X, formerly Twitter, to thank Snoop Dogg for being one of the platform’s earliest investors during its spin-out and turnaround. Reddit Reddit, a social media platform and online community, ranks among the top 20 most visited sites worldwide and went public in March 2024. American internet entrepreneur and investor Ohanian is best known as the platform’s former executive chairman and co-founder, along with Steff Huffman and Aaron Swartz. He is also the husband of tennis legend and venture capitalist Serena Williams. Huffman and Ohanian began building Reddit for fun while roomates
During a recent speech at the Milken Institute Global Conference, Governor Kathy Hochul of New York faced backlash after making controversial comments that that Black children in the Bronx don’t know what a computer is. A misstep at the Milken Conference Governor Hochul made the remarks while discussing her new AI initiative aimed at enhancing technological access in low-income areas. “Right now, we have young Black kids growing up in the Bronx who don’t even know what the word computer is,” she said. “They don’t know, they don’t know these things.” This
Backpack Healthcare, an online pediatric mental healthcare provider, has announced a $14 million Series A funding round. Backpack Healthcare Backpack Healthcare, formerly Youme Healthcare, is a tech company that offers an app and teletherapy services designed to provide accessible and inclusive mental health support for young individuals. Led by founder and CEO Hafeezah Muhammad, Backpack Healthcare aims to make a positive impact on the lives of children and adolescents struggling with mental health challenges. With studies finding that 1 in 6 children have a mental, emotional or behavioural health disorder, along with more than
Pinky Cole Hayes, renowned for her ventures Slutty Vegan and Bar Vegan, has gifted the 2024 graduating class of Savannah State University a $8.75 million “Entrepreneurial Starter Pack.” The initiative is designed to equip graduates with the essential tools and resources for their entrepreneurial journeys. The gift, which is a collaboration with Operation HOPE and One Million Black Businesses (1MBB), includes a range of resources to nurture and scale Black-owned businesses. During her speech to the graduates, Cole Hayes, a 2023 TIME 100 Next honoree, outlined the components of the entrepreneurial package. Comprehensive Support For Aspiring Business
The latest U.S. jobs report found that while overall job creation has begun to slow, the unemployment rates for Black workers have shown notable improvement, according to Fast Company. An Overall Decrease In Jobs Employers added 175,000 jobs in April, a deceleration from previous months. Yet, this slowdown comes after an unprecedented streak of low unemployment rates, remaining under 4% for 27 consecutive months—the longest stretch in over half a century. The overall unemployment rate experienced a slight increase to 3.9%, yet this minor increase doesn’t signal a weakening labor market.
Black-owned music tech startup AudioStrip has won grant funding from the British government’s ‘AI in the Music Industry‘ Innovate UK fund. AudioStrip AudioStrip is a free online tool musicians use to split vocals from the backing music in audio files. It uses AI and Deep Learning, trained on large music datasets, to give users the best results and allow them to separate music quickly. The website uses the music source separation results from research. It is intended to make the AI models easier to use for musicians without requiring them to have
Professor Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua has become the world’s first Black woman to hold a PhD in Cybernetics, according to The Citizen. A PhD In Cybernetics Ekeng-Itua earned a degree in Cybernetics from the University of Reading in the UK under the supervision of her first PhD supervisor, Prof. Kevin Warwick, also known as Captain Cyborg. Cybernetics is the science of how information is communicated in machines and pieces of electronic equipment, compared with how information is communicated in the brain and nervous system. “Every challenge became fuel for my determination,” she said in an
Actor, writer, and comedian Issa Rae is launching a new company, Ensemble, to connect brands with diverse creators. Ensemble Connecting Brands With Diverse Creators Ensemble is a next-generation branded entertainment company bringing production and distribution infrastructure to a diverse group of creators. The company collaborates with brands, platforms, and publishers to produce and distribute content that shapes culture while engaging audiences. Their primary mission is to make the creator economy more equitable for underrepresented creators, as research has previously found that Black creators, on average, made 35% less than white creators. Ensemble is funded
