Neuralink, the Elon Musk-founded company developing implantable chips that can read brain waves, has raised an additional $43 million in venture capital, according to a filing with the SEC.
The filing published this week shows the company increased its previous tranche, led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, from $280 million to $323 million in early August. Thirty-two investors participated, according to the filing.
Neuralink has devised a sewing machine-like device capable of implanting ultra-thin threads inside the brain. The threads attach to a custom-designed chip containing electrodes that can read information from groups of neurons.

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Fintech Patricia identified a Nigerian politician, William Bonse, as a culprit in its 2022 $2 million hack.
The Nigerian Police Force says, Bonse, who was a gubernatorial candidate in Nigeria’s 2023 elections, reportedly diverted ₦607 million ($760,000) from the fintech’s account into his through a cryptocurrency wallet.
Bonse, who is allegedly working with others, had been apprehended by the police who say the politician has registered his involvement in the hack.
The company says it had pinpointed a single culprit, it declined to disclose any details regarding the individual.

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Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest lender by assets plans to expand into Asia early in 2024. Access Bank Group will join South Africa’s Standard Bank Group and TymeBank, the South African challenger fintech to open a shop in Asia. Standard Bank has offices in Singapore and Dubai, while TymeBank recently expanded to the Philippines.
Hebert Wigwe, chairman of Access Holdings, the parent company of Access Bank, warned that Africa could be cut off from the global financial system.
The bank chief says they will keep pushing that wall until they are on the global stage.

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Deputy governor for the CBE Ihab Nasr revealed that Egypt has announced plans to roll out an electronic know-your-customer process next year.
that Egypt’s apex bank was on track to launch an e-KYC process next year that will cut out the need for going to banks.
The process will allow Egyptians to use fingerprints and facial recognition on their smartphones. While the CBE has not given an official release date for the service, Egyptian publication Al Mal reports that e-KYC is set for a Q3 2023 launch.

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Airbnb acquired a secretive AI startup, GamePlanner.AI for around $200 million.
GamePlanner was co-founded by Adam Cheyer, who famously helped co-launch the startup Siri, which Apple acquired and whose technology became the basis for Apple’s AI-powered Siri assistant.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky hinted that the 12-person startup combines expertise in AI and design toward crafting AI-driven experiences — sort of like an AI-focused consultancy.

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The Central Bank of Ghana has barred eight money transfer organisations (MTOs) from operating in the country. The eight companies include Xoom, Wise, LemFi, Transfer Go, SendValu, Aza Finance, Boss Revolution and Supersonicz.
The apex bank says these fintechs don’t have the regulatory approval to operate in Ghana. The bank has also warned all financial institutions in the country to stop dealing with these fintechs.
Ghana’s laws say companies can’t trade foreign currency without a licence. If caught doing so under Section 29.1, the companies could face a fine of up to seven hundred penalty units or be in jail for up to eighteen months, or even both.

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inDrive, the mobility platform has launched a new venture and merger and acquisition (M&A) arm, New Ventures Investments, with a dedicated fund of up to $100 million to invest in promising startups.
New Ventures will be led by investment professional, Andries Smit, who will be joining the company as the vice president.
The investment criteria: inDrive’s New Ventures unit will target post-seed/pre-Series A companies with proven product-market fit, rapid organic growth, healthy economics, and cash flow.
The company will focus on rapid growth and reduce positive community impact with investments spread across companies tackling injustice and improving the lives of individuals and communities.

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Paystack, the Nigerian fintech acquired in 2020 for $200 million by Stripe, is laying off 33 workers in Europe and UAE.
The company’s CEO, Shola Akinlade says the layoff is happening because Paystack is reducing its operations outside Africa.
Akinlade says the affected staff will be getting a severance package which includes four months’ salary, accelerating equity vesting, and an extension of health insurance by three months.

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Enugu, a south-eastern state in Nigeria has announced plans to build 250 smart schools over the next 14 months.
Governor Peter Mbah noted that the schools will be built across 260 wards in the state to allow students in the remote parts of the state access to quality education.
The smart school says there will be a creative production studio in each school, 25 inclusive classrooms furnished with interactive digital whiteboards, and Android tablets for student utilisation.
Governor Mbah also revealed that instructors spearheading the model smart schools in Enugu State are presently undergoing training conducted by international experts.”

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The parent company of ChatGPT announced the sudden departure of CEO Sam Altman after the board of directors decided he was not being “candid in his communications” and could not be trusted to move the company forward.
The board’s decision came a month after Altman announced a new feature that would allow users to build their own versions of ChatGPT—a service that is barely a year old, and achieved over 100 million active monthly users in its first quarter!
Co-founder and president of OpenAI Greg Brockman, who was also removed as chairman of the board, also quit in solidarity with Altman. Several senior researchers at the company also followed suit.

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