So, will China really win the AI race?

So, will China really win the AI race?

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Kent Nishimura/Reuters “China is going to win the AI race,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told an AI summit in London earlier this month. The Taiwanese-born boss of the chip maker, the world’s most valuable public company, believes the Chinese are already just “nanoseconds” behind the Americans and well placed to overtake…

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Pick n Pay customers spend R1.4m monthly in Bitcoin

Pick n Pay customers spend R1.4m monthly in Bitcoin

Deven Moodley, executive head: VAS, FS and mobile at Pick n Pay. Pick n Pay customers collectively spent a monthly average of R1.4 million in crypto-currency over the past 12 months, across its retail stores nationwide. According to the retail giant, Bitcoin payments are following mainstream retail trends, as more crypto holders are now using…

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Fragmented digital IDs are slowing Africa’s fintech boom

Fragmented digital IDs are slowing Africa’s fintech boom

Businesses that are required by law to collect know-your-customer (KYC) information are set to benefit from improved speed and reliability as digital identity systems become more commonplace in Africa. The banking, insurance and automotive sales sectors are among the key beneficiaries, though areas such as driver’s licence issuance, qualifications verification and criminal record checks are…

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CompCom orders social media giants to invest in SA media

CompCom orders social media giants to invest in SA media

Social media platforms have enormous power to direct traffic based on their algorithms. South Africa’s Competition Commission has ordered social media platforms YouTube, Meta, TikTok and X to significantly invest in supporting South Africa’s media sector, to restore fairness, transparency and sustainability in the media ecosystem. This is one of several key remedies proposed by…

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Discovery Bank opens the crypto gates

Discovery Bank opens the crypto gates

Discovery Bank CEO Hylton Kallner Discovery Bank’s Thursday announcement of a deal with cryptocurrency platform Luno, which will allow the former’s customers to trade cryptocurrencies online, is yet another sign that cryptocurrencies are becoming mainstream in South Africa. The move follows another deal announced in October between Scan to Pay and MoneyBadger that allows users…

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SABC sees streaming subscriptions, gamification, gaming in its future

SABC sees streaming subscriptions, gamification, gaming in its future

The SABC introduced its own freemium-based, over-the-top platform in 2022. The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC’s) goal is to generate R200 million annually through monetisation of its video streaming platform SABC+, says chief operating officer Lungile Binza. However, the public broadcaster is still far from achieving that target, the COO acknowledged. Binza spoke yesterday at…

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Amazon Leo steps up to challenge to Musk’s Starlink

Amazon Leo steps up to challenge to Musk’s Starlink

The most direct competitor to Starlink, Amazon.com’s Project Kuiper, has changed its name to Amazon Leo. According to a statement on Thursday, the “Leo” in the new name refers to low-Earth orbit, aligning the brand more closely with the type of service it provides to its customers. “Like most early Amazon projects, the programme needed…

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InfoReg exposes POPIA violators as data breaches mount

InfoReg exposes POPIA violators as data breaches mount

In the 2024/25 financial year, 2 374 data breaches were reported to the Information Regulator. Data breaches are on the rise in South Africa, with the Information Regulator reporting a sharp increase in incident notifications. This emerged yesterday at a media briefing by advocate Pansy Tlakula, chairperson of the Information Regulator. Tlakula presented the high-level…

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Seize these 3 opportunities to build a digital Africa

Seize these 3 opportunities to build a digital Africa

Huawei’s Song Xiaodi At AfricaCom 2025, Song Xiaodi, president of Huawei’s small cell product line, delivered a keynote speech titled, “Seize Three Opportunities to Build a Digital Africa”. Highlighting the digital economy as a new force driving global progress, Song underscored Africa’s immense potential in digital transformation. He urged stakeholders to seize three pivotal opportunities…

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