Hi Guys! It’s the end of another busy week in the world of tech. From Lydia fundraising to the freezing of Multichoice accounts and the ban of the DiDi app in China, the week was packed with surprises.
Here is a quick roundup of some of the major stories around the globe you might have missed.
Stripe takes its first step towards IPO
Paystack’s parent company, Stripe has taken its first major step toward a stock market debut by hiring a law firm, Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP to help with preparations.
There has been no decision on the timing of the IPO, and the next step would be the hiring of investment banks later this year, the sources told Reuters.
According to the source, Silicon Valley’s most valuable private company, valued at $95 billion, is considering going public through a direct listing, rather than a traditional IPO, because it does not need to raise money.
They, however, added that plans could change and the listing would be unlikely to happen this year.
WhatsApp is finally allowing high-quality photos and videos
WhatsApp is finally working on a setting that will allow you to send high-quality pictures and videos.
The “best quality” option will let users bypass its image compression and send photos and videos in the highest available quality. The option will likely join “auto” and “data saver” choices in a future version of the app.
The settings are present in an update WhatsApp submitted to the Google Play Beta Program as spotted by WABetaInfo. The new options will probably arrive on Andriod and iOS soon, although it’s not clear when.
Facebook to fund 2km Network infrastructure project in Africa
Facebook is partnering with African fibre company, Liquid Intelligent Technologies to build over 2,000 kilometres of fibre network on the continent.
According to a statement on Liquid’s website, the project will require the work of at least 5,000 people from local communities to create the network.
“We know that deploying fibre in this region is not easy, but it is a crucial part of extending broadband access to under-connected areas. We look forward to seeing how our fibre build will help increase the availability and improve the affordability of high-quality internet in DRC.”
Ibrahima Ba, head of Network Investments in Facebook’s Emerging Markets unit.
Liquid Technologies, currently present in more than 20 countries in Africa, says it has been working on the digital corridor for more than two years.
The network is expected to create a digital corridor from the Atlantic Ocean through the Congo Rainforest (the second-largest rainforest after the Amazon), to East Africa, and onto the Indian Ocean.
China halts download of 25 More DiDi Apps
In its latest rebuke to the ride-hailing giant Didi, China ordered 25 more of the company’s apps removed from mobile stores in the country.
This onslaught comes soon after the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange
According to the country’s internet regulator, several apps including Didi’s carpooling app, its finance app and its app for corporate customers showed problems related to the collection and use of personal data.
The latest announcement was nearly identical to the order to remove its main ride-hailing app, Didi, from stores earlier this week.
Although the regulatory body didn’t reveal any detail about the specific data and security problems that sparked concerns, Didi has said it would “sincerely accept and resolutely obey” the government’s demands.
Square to build Bitcoin hardware wallet
American fintech company, Square has confirmed that it’s making a hardware wallet for Bitcoin. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and Square, had revealed in June that the company was considering making one.
According to Square Inc.’s hardware Lead, Jesse Dorogusker, the company has started assembling a team to handle the project, emphasizing that the product is very much in the drawing-board stage.
He added that the company will bring a mobile-friendly, “assisted-self-custody” wallet to a global audience.
“We have decided to build a hardware wallet and service to make Bitcoin custody more mainstream. We’ll continue to ask and answer questions in the open. This community’s response to our thread about this project has been awesome – encouraging, generous, collaborative, and inspiring.”
This hardware wallet won’t be Square’s first cryptocurrency-focused product. The company already lets users buy and sell Bitcoin from Square’s Cash App.
You can check out other news that happened during the week here. Have a nice weekend!!
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