AI in Business
South African advertisers lose approximately R12 billion annually to ad fraud, with global data indicating that one in five ad impressions is fraudulent. Programmatic online advertising fraud is proliferating across the digital advertising ecosystem. Source: ITWeb
AI in Business
South Africa's cloud market is projected to double by 2029, creating growth opportunities for agentic AI deployment. However, CFOs face financial headwinds from dollar-denominated cloud costs and rand currency volatility that threaten cost predictability and ROI. Source: ITWeb
AI in Business
Albertsons Companies is implementing ChatGPT Enterprise and OpenAI's API to improve internal operations and customer shopping experiences. The deployment aims to enhance team productivity and streamline grocery retail processes. Source: OpenAI
AI in Business
Logicalis research shows that nearly two-thirds of organisations globally lack mature 24/7 security operations, highlighting a gap between cybersecurity investment and operational readiness. The report notes that AI is accelerating both the speed of attacks and defensive capabilities. Source: ITWeb
AI in Business
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky discusses the integration of AI agents into Airbnb's platform and argues that AI agents require a dedicated operating system to function effectively. Chesky also comments on the current state of consumer AI and its development trajectory. Source: TechCrunch
AI in Business
JustSolve identifies critical failures in AI implementation, noting that organisations must balance both strong business cases with data reliability, and clean data with realistic adoption pathways. The analysis highlights that neither compelling business cases with poor data quality nor clean data without adoption feasibility constitute genuine AI readiness. Source: ITWeb
AI in Business
Photon, a startup developing AI agents that operate through messaging platforms like iMessage and SMS, has raised $4.5 million in funding. The company positions its technology as a replacement for traditional mobile applications, allowing users to interact with AI agents directly through existing communication channels. Source: TechCrunch
AI in Business
NEC XON has introduced smart-cart technology to South African retail that integrates frictionless shopping with AI-enabled personalisation and retail media capabilities. The solution represents an application of artificial intelligence to enhance the retail customer experience and operational efficiency. Source: ITWeb
AI in Business
Mr Price Group reduced its application estate by nearly 75% through a cloud-led modernisation strategy, addressing legacy system challenges. The retailer's head of retail modernisation discussed the risks and benefits of migrating applications to cloud infrastructure. Source: ITWeb
AI in Business
South African fintech company Nutun is preparing to expand its Zoey agentic AI debt collection system globally after testing and refining it in South African operations. The company used its local market as a development and validation environment for the AI-powered solution before international rollout. Source: ITWeb
AI in Business
Flow Engineering, an AI startup focused on applying AI agents to hardware design, raised funding at a $750 million valuation with backing from Valor, Atreides, and Sequoia, and added Roelof Botha as an angel investor and board member. The startup is developing AI solutions for the hardware design sector. Source:
AI in Business
ElevenLabs, an AI voice synthesis startup, has doubled its valuation to $22 billion through a $300 million employee tender offer co-led by Wellington and T. Rowe Price. The funding round represents significant investor confidence in the commercial text-to-speech and voice cloning technology sector. Source: TechCrunch