Underdog has unveiled a new speech model with a parameter size of 32MB that can generate both speech and music outputs. The model demonstrates capability in audio generation despite its significantly reduced size compared to larger alternatives.
Source: TechCrunch
Research indicates that fewer than one in four South African firms have confidence in their identity verification systems, raising concerns about AI-driven fraud risks. The findings highlight a significant trust gap in identity management practices across the South African business sector. Source: ITWeb
South Africa ranks 13th globally and second among African Commonwealth nations in youth AI readiness, driven by training partnerships. The country is positioning its younger population to engage with artificial intelligence development and deployment. Source: ITWeb
Physicl has raised $10 million in funding to address the simulation-to-reality gap, which is a challenge in robotics where systems trained in virtual environments struggle to perform effectively in physical spaces. The company is leveraging a pipeline originally designed for online product visualization to help bridge this technical
Absa has deployed AI technology to reduce debt review processing time from four days to one day, demonstrating a move from experimental AI projects into production use. The South African bank's implementation shows practical AI application in financial services operations. Source: ITWeb