Google is announcing an HD version of its vehicle mapping solution. Unlike Google Maps, Google’s HD map is not a consuming-facing application but an additional layer of data that are served to the vehicle’s L2+ or L3 assisted-driving systems through Google Automotive Services.
The additional information sits on top of Google Maps’ data and delivers details such as precise lane makers and localization of objects to help assisted-driving vehicles orient themselves on the road.
Google spokesperson says the HD mapping is initially focused on high-traffic roads like freeways, but the spokesperson stopped short of saying exactly which cities or freeways.
They said Google is working with automakers to determine where the HD map is most helpful.


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Nigeria’s House of Assembly has postponed the public hearing on the proposed amendment of the establishing act of the country’s digital economy regulator, the National Information Technology Development Agency.
The postponement is due to the absence of key stakeholders of the amendment bill.
The public hearing will now be held on a yet-to-be-decided date in January 2023.
The NITDA bill could have far-reaching consequences for internet freedom, media, social media companies, and all other technology companies operating in the country. The hearing was therefore supposed to allow tech stakeholders, media companies, civil society organisations, and the government to discuss the provisions of the increasingly controversial bill.

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Twitter banned links promoting other social networks. The list currently includes Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr, and Post.
Plus, link-in-bio tools like Linktree and Lnk.Bio are also banned — these services are commonly used by both creators and businesses.
The Elon Musk-owned company no longer allows free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter.
The company says that it is removing all accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social networks.
It also plans to remove links to content from above mentioned social platforms.

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Google has announced that it is bringing India’s online document storage service DigiLocker to the Files app on Android to let users access verified government-issued documents from the app.
Google announced its partnership with the Indian government to roll out the DigiLocker integration within the Files app.
The search giant also announced a machine learning-based model that will help identify and organize important files including official documents and government ID cards.

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Google chief executive Sundar Pichai says that India is going through an important period of time as it drafts several key regulations and asserted that it stands to benefit from open and connected internet.
India is in the process of shaping and shipping several other key regulatory frameworks that seek to bring a series of major changes to how telecom services, on-demand video players and firms in other sectors operate and handle consumers’ data.
India’s IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw says the government is working on a range of bills that reflect the country’s realities.
He says they are creating three horizontals: First we have the telecom bill that is for the carriers. Second is the digital protection bill, which is focused around enforcing citizens’ privacy rights. And this is, the Digital India bill that will look at practically everything else that is required to be seen.

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Drone delivery firm Zipline has partnered with the government of Rwanda to provide about two million instant deliveries and fly more than 200 million autonomous kilometres in Rwanda by 2029.
Rwanda is planning to integrate drones into its national operations in the financial, e-commerce, and eco-tourism sectors. This partnership is the first of its kind on the continent.
Rwanda’s ministry of agriculture delivered more than 500,000 doses of animal health vaccines and more than 8,000 units of swine semen to vets and farmers using Zipline this year.
Rwanda hopes that increased access to instant delivery, such as Zipline offers, can bring the country closer to solving its national health and security problems.

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Lodre Mainmarket, an e-commerce solution geared towards facilitating bulk trade between African manufacturers and wholesalers was introduced to the public in a launch held at Zone Tech Park on the 16th of December 2022.
TLodre Mainmarket boasts of seven key categories which includes Consumer Electronics, Fashion, Vehicle Parts and Accessories, Sports and Entertainment, Home and Garden, Beauty and Personal Care and Food and Groceries. These categories and sub-categories are in place to guarantee that merchants and buyers needs are covered on the platform.
Lodre Mainmarket unique, Founder and CEO, Ikenna Victor Nwudu says they connect bulk manufacturers and retailers on a platform that not only provides custom-designed storefronts for merchants but also ensure satisfying closure of sales and purchases and a simple, efficient user experience for everyone.

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Executive Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has described the Smart Digital Identity initiative of the state as the most ambitious in Nigeria and a critical enabler of the government’s technology program implementation roadmap.
Governor Obaseki says the Edo Card is unique in that it links directly with the National Identity Management Commission database to provide one single form of identity for residents of the state in line with global best practices.
He says the launch of the smart residency card marks a significant milestone in our journey and the target is to have no less than 1 million cards issued by 2024.

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Snyk hasn’t been afraid to take money over the years, scoring an ever larger investment haul with each passing round, and with each one has come a correspondingly large valuation increase.
That previous round was $530 million with $300 million in primary funding and the remaining $230 million in secondary funding to pay off early investors and employees, anxious to see some return on their equity. The primary money came on an $8.5 billion valuation, $1.1 billion higher than today’s round.
Snyk CEO Peter McKay says getting the right terms were more essential than increasing the valuation, especially in the current market.
He says it was more important that we get the right terms than that I absolutely have to get to $8.6 billion. If the market is saying you’re at 7.4, then we’re at 7.4.

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Digip digitizes much of the process, helping its customers file trademarks by themselves instead of going to law firms.
The Stockholm-based legaltech startup announced it has added $1.3 million to its seed round, bringing the total to $3.4 million. The new funding was led by Industrifonden and Seed X, with participation from family offices and angel investors.
Co-founder and CEO Viktor Johansson says that Digip was founded after its team saw that entrepreneurs are reluctant to use traditional law firms that bill by the hour.
To file trademarks, businesses usually ask a lawyer to conduct trademark searches. They are billed per search, which adds up quickly if a business has multiple brands they need to trademark.

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