Ariel Alternatives has acquired Groome Industrial Service Group, a provider of industrial cleaning and maintenance solutions. JPMorgan Chase & Co. joined the deal with a minority stake through its asset management division. Founded by business leader Mellody Hobson, Ariel Alternatives is the private equity arm of Ariel Investments, one of the largest Black-owned money managers in the US. The acquisition will help Groome, which employs more than 900 people across more than 20 US sites, expand its market share by tapping into the firm’s ties in the energy and utilities
Meek Mill is reportedly developing an AI tool that will transform lives. “Working on a ai tool that can change the world lol,” the rapper wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on August 31. He has been teasing the project on X in recent weeks, suggesting it is one of his most ambitious ventures yet. “I can’t wait to get a chance to show the world how smart I really am!” he said on August 25. Days later, on September 2, he added: “I have some genius tech guy that’s building
NBA star Stephen Curry will team up with Google in a long-term strategic partnership, shaping the company’s hardware, features, and AI services. Curry will join the company as a “performance advisor” for Google’s Health, Pixel, and Cloud products. In his role, Curry will actively shape the future of Google Health and Fitbit products and features. Curry becoming Google’s performance advisor Curry will work with Google’s health and AI engineers to alter products, train algorithms, and craft next-generation health experiences. He will also test and provide feedback for Fitbit’s new personal
Right-wing influencer Robby Starbuck has been appointed as an AI bias advisor at Meta to help the company’s chatbot be less “woke.” The announcement came after Meta settled a lawsuit filed by Starbuck, claiming that he was part of the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to MSNBC. “Since engaging on these important issues with Robby, Meta has made tremendous strides to improve the accuracy of Meta AI and mitigate ideological and political bias,” Meta and Starbuck said in a joint statement to Advocate. Who is Robby Starbuck? Starback is a former Hollywood director
Mastercard released a whitepaper highlighting Africa’s readiness, opportunity, and roadmap for responsible artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. Harnessing the transformative power of AI in Africa shares insights into how AI can unlock significant outcomes across the continent’s major industries, including agriculture, healthcare, education, energy, and finance. The whitepaper also details the potential positive impact of AI on digital infrastructure, policy and governance, research and development, local language processing, and investment into Africa. Additionally, it examined how AI can create more jobs, with up to 230 million digital jobs projected by 2030 on
Lava Payments, a fintech startup founded by Mitchell Jones to transform AI-driven transactions, has secured $5.8 million in seed funding. The round was led by Lerer Hippeau and supported by Harlem Capital, Streamlined Ventures, and Westbound. Lava is a digital wallet that lets merchants use usage credits to facilitate transactions, according to TechCrunch. Why Lava Exists Jones launched the startup after leaving his previous Y Combinator-backed fintech startup, Lendtable, where he began experimenting with AI. While building a basic form-filling agent, he continued to experience the same issues. “I was using
Howard alumni Lawrence Blackmon and Roger Roman are the founders of LegalEase, a justice‑tech startup helping people find their expungement eligibility and file court petitions within minutes. Their Expungement.ai platform provides users with a conversational experience to discover their expungement through voice, web chat, or SMS text. Helping people find jobs and housing In the US, nearly 8% of adults and around 33% of African American men have a felony conviction, according to a 2010 study by the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs. Additionally, a report by
Sports tech company, Ballin AI, just announced the close of a $500,000 angel round. The startup, founded by Division I athlete Nyla Pollard, analyzes players’ gameplay to help them improve their performance and increase their recruitment chances. After players upload their film, the footage is examined by a nationally recognized evaluator, who then scores it across various criteria, including defense, shooting, rebounding, scoring, transition, ball handling, and finishing. How does Ballin AI work? “We created Ballin because every athlete deserves the opportunity to have the information they need to develop
Google will invest $37 million across Africa to expand artificial intelligence developments on the continent. A majority of the funds will be allocated to enhance food security and expand digital access in local languages, with $25 million being invested in an AI Collaborative for Food Security. This initiative will help African researchers and nonprofits create AI tools that tackle hunger, climate-related crop threats, and farming inefficiencies, according to TechPoint Africa. The program aims to safeguard millions of smallholder farmers against damaging economic and environmental shocks by leveraging AI in early
Torch, a leadership and coaching enterprise, has acquired Praxis Labs, an immersive learning platform that uses AI to build inclusive workplace cultures, for an undisclosed amount. As part of the acquisition, the entire Praxis Labs team will join Torch. Praxis Labs’ co-founders, Elise Smith and Heather Shen, will join Torch as Head of AI Growth and Head of AI Product, respectively. About Praxis Labs Founded in 2019, Praxis Labs is an AI platform that builds critical human skills with research-backed practice simulations, AI coaching, and skills assessments. The startup has
