Monthly Archives: February 2023

Monad Labs, the team supporting the Monad blockchain, has raised $19 million in seed funding led by Dragonfly Capital, it exclusively told TechCrunch. “Monad is an effort to fundamentally optimize smart contract platforms,” Keone Hon, co-founder and CEO of Monad … Continue reading →

Microsoft has confirmed that it’s finally killing off Yammer, the enterprise social network it procured more than a decade ago for $1.2 billion. Yammer was initially created out of San Francisco back in 2008, with cofounder David Sacks formally launching … Continue reading →

PhonePe said it has raised another $100 million as part of an ongoing round, a deliberation that has so far pulled $450 million despite the market slump, as the Indian fintech giant bulks up its war chest following the recent … Continue reading →

As many as 2.8% of Africans are insured, which is less than half the global average of 6.3%, making it the least insured continent in the world. Despite the abysmal number, there’s some good news. According to a McKinsey report, … Continue reading →

After working in Africa’s microfinance space for seven years, including at Botswana’s Letshego, Brian Dempsey took a break in 2020 to build Power Financial Wellness, operating out of Kenya. Dempsey said the launch of Power was informed by the trends … Continue reading →

Africa’s smartphone market shrunk by 18% in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). The slump was driven by a reduction in consumer spending due to inflation, and economic uncertainties, but it was not … Continue reading →

It’s always nice to have a lot of capital to invest, but managing a large new fund can be even more advantageous right now given that many later-stage companies that put off fundraising last year will likely be in the … Continue reading →

Last week, China’s lidar maker Hesai raised an upsized IPO in the U.S. at a time the industry is reeling from layoffs, bankruptcy, and consolidation. The Shanghai- and California- based company, which makes the sensing technology critical to autonomous driving … Continue reading →

A year ago, Akamai acquired Linode for $900 million. At the time, Akamai said it wanted to combine Linode with its edge platform and security services. Unsurprisingly, that’s exactly what it is doing now, with the launch of its new … Continue reading →