There has been a sudden twist in the report that Oracle has been chosen by ByteDance over Microsoft for the acquisition of TikTok’s US operations. Chinese state media, CGTN reported Monday that ByteDance will not be selling TikTok to Microsoft or Oracle, as the Chinese company is not willing to give its source code to any US buyers.

CGTN broke the news citing sources. The new development thus aligns with Chinese government’s stand on the US’ move to force the sale of TikTok’s America operations.

The Chinese government on Friday August 28, updated its list of technologies subject to export restrictions to cover a number of new areas that includes voice recognition and chip design. The update means that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, will need Chinese government’s approval to sell the app.

TikTok is powered by a number of artificial intelligence cutting-edge technologies that the Chinese government is not willing to let into the hands of Americans. Beijing said last week it would prefer the app’s US operations getting shut down to selling to American company. Experts said that China is unlikely to approve a sale of TikTok as it’s considered giving away its core algorithm.

“The newly-added article 21 over ‘personalized information push service technology based on data analysis’ and article 18 about ‘artificial intelligence interactive interface technology’ may have something to do with ByteDance,” said Cui Fan, a professor of International trade at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

He added: “If ByteDance plans to export related technologies, it should go through the approval procedure. The company’s rapid development in international business relies on its strong domestic technical support, and it continues to provide overseas companies with its latest core algorithm.”

ByteDance’s rapid rise has been attributed to its use of algorithms to serve up videos, memes, news articles and other contents across its platform, among other things. Its artificial intelligence learns human behavior faster and more accurately to serve users what they really need.

As TechCrunch noted in a report, machine learning does away the need for human curation and even social and interest graphs, forming virtuous cycles within ByteDance services- the more content one consumes, the better the apps get at predicting one’s interest. The data-driven process transcends cultural differences, arguably why TikTok became the first consumer app from China to conquer the West.

TikTok has been trying to avoid a sale of its US operations. The company sued the United States government last month and has lobbied for more time to finalize possible deal with Microsoft, Walmart or Oracle.

But US President Donald Trump said last week there is no going back on the September 15 deadline that TikTok has to sell its US operations, and ByteDance said it will abide by the new Chinese that requires the government’s license to sell technologies such as TikTok’s.

“We are studying the new regulations that were released Friday. As with any cross-border transaction, we will follow the applicable laws, which in this case include those of the US and China,” ByteDance General Counsel Erich Andersen said in a statement.

Caught between unwavering powers, TikTok’s future in the United States hangs in the balance. There is one more day left on the deadline, pushing the short video app to the cliff of losing its growing population in the United States.

Tekedia Mini-MBA for Governments is celebrating an amazing moment. Thank You the good people of Enugu State. We will work to make INNOVATORS out of inventors! Thank you for the confidence.

Through Tekedia Mini-MBA for Governments, a flavour of Tekedia Mini-MBA for Corporates, but structured for the public sector, we work with governments across many dimensions which include training of workers, training of constituencies (like youth), acceleration of innovation initiatives, and more.

Learn about Tekedia programs.

Tekedia Academic Programs

Jobberman, the single largest online training and job placement website, in a press conference yesterday, announced its plans to host Nigeria’s largest ever Virtual Career Fair, which will take place on Wednesday September 30th 2020. As part of its #Champions campaign, 250 potential employers from various sectors including digital, agriculture and creative, and 10,000 highly qualified candidates will come together under one virtual roof for this landmark must-attend event.

As unemployment and underemployment reaches an all time high in Nigeria at over 40% due to the pandemic, the search for jobs has become an overcrowded marketplace, with 18-35 year olds mostly impacted. The one day Virtual Career Fair will be centred on how to navigate the increasingly competitive job space and provide the necessary tools to get hired, with one-one interviews between candidates and employers and sessions such as CV Preparation masterclasses.

The online event is part of Jobberman’s mandate to use its soft skills training to place 3 million young Nigerians in dignified employment in the next 5 years. Jobberman is the only recruitment services platform in Nigeria that offers to train and place candidates in dignified employment. The ongoing online training program equips young people (18-35) with critical tools including business etiquette, emotional intelligence and more, to help them transition into their new roles and increase workplace productivity. The Virtual Career Fair is free to all candidates who have completed the online program and passed the end of course assessment test.

Companies mainly from agri-tech, digital and the creative sectors with operations in Lagos, Kano and Kaduna will be in attendance to showcase their brands and company cultures. Employers already listed on the Jobberman platform are able to sign-up for free for the groundbreaking event and are required to commit to hiring within three months of the fair.

According to Hilda Kragha, Managing Director of ROAM Africa Jobs, “The Virtual Career Fair perfectly encapsulates Jobberman’s commitment to alleviating the strains of unemployment and employability, by connecting thousands of qualified candidates to reputable employers, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As an innovative and technologically driven company, I am delighted that we were able to find a solution to this immediate and challenging issue, by creating this first ever virtual space of opportunity for both employer and candidate. We strongly encourage signing-up.”

With over a decade in the recruitment business, Jobberman is using its platform and network  to create democtratic and transparent opportunities that eliminates nepotism, enabling a more productive workforce.

Prospective employers and candidates can register to attend the Virtual Career Fair via www.jobberman.com/careerfair.

*This is from a Jobberman press release

Intel faces a tough future as Nvidia becomes the absolute category-king in the modern microprocessor business; Nvidia market cap is about $300 billion for Intel’s $209 billion. With ARM in the arms of Nvidia, there is a new order right now. Yes, Nvidia is acquiring one of the most important technology companies in the world right now for $40 billion. ARM which makes a spectacular Central Processing Unit (CPU) technology is largely the operating system of modern mobile computing. 

With Nvidia’s AI technology being armed by these CPUs, you have a new basis of competition in the market, with industry-shaping implications for players like Intel. As that happens, Softbank goes home with a “profit” of $8 billion. The Japanese company (there is nothing soft in its name with its fat bank account) bought ARM for $32 billion four years ago.

Uniting NVIDIA’s AI computing with the vast reach of Arm’s CPU, we will engage the giant AI opportunity ahead and advance computing from the cloud, smartphones, PCs, self-driving cars, robotics, 5G, and IoT.

NVIDIA will bring our world-leading AI technology to Arm’s ecosystem while expanding NVIDIA’s developer reach from 2 million to more than 15 million software programmers.

Our R&D scale will turbocharge Arm’s roadmap pace and accelerates data center, edge AI, and IoT opportunities.

Arm’s business model is brilliant. We will maintain its open-licensing model and customer neutrality, serving customers in any industry, across the world, and further expand Arm’s IP licensing portfolio with NVIDIA’s world-leading GPU and AI technology.

Read more here.

SoftBank Closes $40 Billion Deal to Sell ARM to Nvidia