Month: February 2019

Naspers Ltd. spins off African pay-TV unit MultiChoice Group Ltd for $3 Billion

olivia Craig
DStv

Naspers Ltd. spun off African pay-TV unit MultiChoice Group Ltd. at an initial valuation of about 42 billion rand ($3 billion), enabling the continent’s biggest company to focus on its current incarnation as a global internet-technology firm. MultiChoice shares started trading at 95.5 rand in Johannesburg, and was at 96.15 rand as of 9:13 a.m. Naspers, which makes up almost a fifth of Johannesburg’s stock exchange, traded 2.3 percent lower at 3,069.99 rand after the spin off. Key Insights MultiChoice’s valuation could eventually settle at about $5 billion to $6…

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Global Consumer Internet of Things (CIoT) Market to hit USD 143.5 Billion By 2025

Vivo

New York, NY, Feb. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zion Market Research has published a new report titled “Consumer Internet of Things (CIoT) Market by Node Component (Sensor, Logic Device, Processor, Connectivity IC, and Memory Device), by Network Infrastructure (Storage, Gateway, Ethernet Switch and Routing, and Server), by Solution (Software and Platform), and by Application (Home Security and Smart Domestic, Wearable Technology, Personal Healthcare, Asset Tracking, Smart Office, Smart Homes, and Others): Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 2018–2025’’. According to the report, the global consumer internet of things (CIoT)…

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Co-creation Hub’s Design Lab in Kigali, Rwanda wants to own local problems

The launch of Co-creation Hub’s Design Lab in Kigali, Rwanda last week was important in many ways. The ‘CcHUB Design Lab’ is a revolutionary vision from the hub, and will be key to tackling some of Africa’s socio-economic problems. Designers and engineers at the lab will also be working with scientists from around the world to design solutions for some of Africa’s biggest issues in public health, education, governance, and the private sector. It is often said that “African problems require African solutions,” a phrase coined by Ghanaian economist George Ayittey.…

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Uber and lyft race to debut on the stock market

Dianne Jacobs

With the SEC up and running again after the government shutdown, the IPO gears are grinding back to life. Uber Technologies and Lyft Inc., both planning highly-anticipated public offerings, could be two of the first unicorns to take the plunge in the public markets this year. It’s not confirmed publicly which rideshare giant plans to go first, but both reportedly have received feedback from the SEC on their IPO proposals. But the significant disparity in their sizes and valuations could influence how both are ultimately received by the market. That could put pressure on the rival…

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Amazon backs down on New York HQ Plans

Editor
Amazon CloudFront Edge

“After much thought and deliberation, we’ve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens,” the company said in a statement. Amazon has announced it will no longer build a headquarters in New York. “After much thought and deliberation, we’ve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens,” Amazon said in a statement Thursday. The change would have brought 25,000 jobs to the Queens area, but the company would…

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Google’s CSquared parnters with local firms to enhance Africa’s affordable broadband

Editor

CSquared, a pan-African broadband infrastructure provider owned by Google and other partners, has said that one of its top priorities is ‘fiberizing’ Africa through affordable broadband internet connectivity. “Fiberizing Africa is about creating value by changing the way Africa perceives internet,” said Lanre Kolade, the newly-appointed CEO of CSquared. “The continent should transition from being just consumers of internet and move to the extra mile of generating its own local content.” Started as a project within Google to build and operate open-access broadband infrastructure in Africa and increase access to…

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Spotify in advanced talks to acquire Gimlet Media for over $200

Editor

Spotify is in talks to acquire Gimlet Media, one of the leading podcast production houses. If this deal completes, it will signify a major change in the trajectory of podcasting as an industry. The significance of the deal goes well beyond that of the eye-opening $200 million valuation being discussed. Gimlet has raised approximately $28.5 million in venture funding from investors including WPP, Stripes Group, LioneTree Partners, Graham Holdings, Betawarks, Cross Culture Ventures, and Lowercase Capital. Two years ago, the startup was reportedly valued at roughly $70 million. Podcasting has…

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Microsoft to offer paid Windows 7 Extended Security Updates after January 14, 2020

Editor

Microsoft said last Fall that it would offer paid Windows 7 Extended Security Updates on a per-device basis for big customers willing to pay for them after the company ends Windows 7 support on January 14, 2020. Microsoft officials wouldn’t talk about how much those updates would cost, beyond saying they’d get more expensive over time.  Windows 7 Extended Security Updates for three years, meaning through January 2023. These will be security patches/fixes like the ones Microsoft is currently providing for free for Windows 7 users, as Windows 7 is still in “Extended”…

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Mobile App ‘State of Mobile 2019 Report’

Voice App

Global app store consumer spend reached $101 billion in 2018, up 75 percent from 2016. This figure is expected to exceed $120 billion in 2019, according to mobile data and analytics provider App Annie. The company released its annual The State of Mobile in 2019 Report — a comprehensive guide for businesses looking at mobile. Screenshot from App Annie 2019 Annual State of Mobile Report China accounted for nearly 40 percent of total consumer spend in 2018. Globally, on a category level, games accounted for 74 percent of consumer spend…

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