To cool down China’s overheated robotics industry, go back to the basics – TechCrunch

He Huang is a partner at Northern Light Venture Capital supporting early-stage enterprise companies. It’s been a tumultuous few years, but China’s manufacturing industry is now on the rebound. Once an industry characterized by low-end manufacturing and intensive labor, it has transformed into a high-end manufacturing hub aided by technology. Automation and robotics has the…

Asset financiers to the rescue as Bolt plans to sign-up 200,000 new drivers in Africa to meet growing demand for ride-hailing services – TechCrunch

Bolt, the Estonian mobility tech company that recently closed a huge round, is planning to onboard an additional 200,000 drivers in Africa this year, as it kicks-off expansion to more cities within its existing markets while keeping up with the growing demand for e-hailing services across the continent. Bolt’s Africa regional director, Paddy Partridge, told…

Inside Iyin Aboyeji’s plan to build charter cities for African tech – TechCrunch

African cities, particularly sub-Saharan ones, have the fastest global urban growth rate. But with challenges around overcrowding, congestion, infrastructure, power and poor governance, these cities are maxed out in what they can provide to the average African living in urban environments. Some experts think charter cities offer a solution. They are granted a special jurisdiction…

The robotic arm of the law – TechCrunch

It’s hard to know where to start this week. Any temporary slowdown we might have experienced over the holidays has been wiped away. Once again, we find ourselves knee deep in robotics news, like the trash compactor scene in A New Hope — only without the closing walls, Death Star and weird little one-eyed monster.…