The funding round was led by VoLo Earth Ventures, which focuses on climate-related technologies. The company said the investment will help it grow its team, build its platform and strengthen talks with large technology firms.

Spending on data centres is expected to reach nearly $700 billion this year, driven largely by AI workloads. At the same time, energy use from these facilities is projected to double by 2028.

Refiant is trying to tackle that problem by making AI models smaller and less power-hungry. The company said it has already compressed a 120 billion parameter model so it can run on a standard laptop. Normally, such a model would require far more powerful hardware.

According to the company, the compressed version runs on a MacBook Pro with 12GB of memory. It keeps between 95% and 99% of its original performance. It can also run alongside another model on the same device.

Sid Gutta, co-founder of Refiant, said: “AI’s growing energy footprint is one of the most urgent and underappreciated challenges in the climate space. The industry’s default answer is to build more data centres and consume more power. Ours is to make the AI itself dramatically more efficient.”

The company, based in California, said it tested energy use inside a Faraday cage to ensure accurate readings. Under those conditions, the system reached about 3,000 tokens per kilowatt-hour.

That is up to 100 times more efficient than running the same model in a traditional data centre.

In practical terms, the energy used for one AI task on standard infrastructure could handle about 100 similar tasks using Refiant’s approach.

The founders argue that improving efficiency is a better long-term path than expanding infrastructure. Running AI locally on smaller machines could also help organisations avoid sending data to large cloud providers, which usually means higher costs and less management.

Recent developments from Google have pointed in a similar direction. Its TurboQuant compression method reduced memory needs significantly, reinforcing interest in making models leaner rather than simply scaling hardware.

Dr Viroshan Naicker, co-founder of Refiant, said: “The AI industry is spending hundreds of billions scaling infrastructure when the real breakthrough is the ability to do more with radically less. Nature doesn’t build by brute force. Evolution optimises. We’ve applied that principle to AI, and the results speak for themselves.”

The company believes its work could also help businesses balance AI adoption with environmental targets.

Mathew Haswell, another co-founder, said: “Those two mandates don’t have to be in tension. AI adoption and sustainability commitments can coexist, but only if the technology itself becomes more efficient. 

“Organisations shouldn’t have to choose between deploying AI and meeting their energy targets – and they shouldn’t have to send their data halfway around the world to do it.”

Joseph Goodman, managing partner at VoLo Earth Ventures, added: “AI’s biggest constraint isn’t demand, it’s energy. What’s been missing is a fundamentally more efficient way to compute.

“Refiant’s architecture replaces brute-force scaling with a far more efficient, nature-inspired approach that lowers energy use while increasing capability. That’s the kind of breakthrough needed to make AI sustainable on a global scale.”

Refiant said it is already in discussions with several multinational firms. It plans to push its technology further, with a focus on stronger compression, longer context handling and better tracking of how models operate.

The round was co-led by Moxxie Ventures and Mercuri, joined by EWOR, Tekton Ventures, Amigos Venture Capital and six unicorn founders. 

Their support comes only months after the company’s two young founders topped AndroidWorld, an influential benchmark for mobile-device automation, beating long-established research groups from Google DeepMind, ByteDance, Microsoft Research and Alibaba.

Unlike web developers, mobile teams usually wait weeks to push even small updates through. Minitap argues that this drag has held the industry back for years. 

The company says its platform lets teams work at a pace closer to the web, cutting feature-delivery cycles from six weeks to a few days.

Nicolas Dehandschoewercker, Minitap’s co-founder and CEO, said the long delays in mobile development impacted their motivation. “We spent two years building our first viral mobile product, today, and I’m embarrassed by that timeline,” he said. He added that “Mobile is 60% of internet usage but moves at 10% of web speed. Every consumer app company (Duolingo, Calm, Hinge etc) ships 5x more experiments on web than mobile. We built Minitap to close that gap for everyone.”

His co-founder, Luc Mahoux-Nakamura, stressed the need for faster testing across consumer apps. “Every consumer mobile company needs to experiment faster. The companies that run 10x more experiments will win their markets. We’re building the infrastructure that makes that speed possible.”

The pair grew up in a small village in Burgundy, studied side by side, and later built several projects together before launching Minitap. Their path included early products, time in military school, engineering research, and work on drone infrastructure, an experience they now say gave them a rare mix of skills.

Investors appear to agree. Daniel Dippold, founder and CEO of EWOR, described the team’s speed and technical range as a competitive advantage. 

“Nicolas is leading one of the fastest teams I’ve seen. It comes from years of working together, knowing mobile inside out, and understanding how to build AI systems that hold up. The combination of AI research capabilities, mobile development skills, and sheer hunger of will is unprecedented and ideal for solving this specific problem.”

Minitap’s platform is built on two key components: mobile-use, an open-source framework that allows automated systems to operate smartphones like real users; and minitap cloud, an infrastructure capable of spinning up thousands of mobile configurations at once. 

Together, these tools help teams generate code, test it across devices, flag errors, and deliver working features far faster than traditional workflows.

Their speedy progress on AndroidWorld brought attention earlier this year. Within their first 40 days, they reached the top of the benchmark and later released their framework openly, drawing more than 1,900 GitHub stars.

The seed round also attracted founders behind companies such as Hugging Face, Last.fm, Adjust, SumUp, FlixBus and Worldcoin, alongside operators from OpenAI, DeepMind, LangChain and LlamaIndex. Investors say the founders’ momentum was difficult to overlook. 

Katie Jacobs Stanton of Moxxie Ventures said: “When you see two 23-year-olds from rural France beat Google in 40 days, you recognize something rare. Nico and Luc are solving a massive problem that they uniquely understand and are moving at an urgent speed.”

Today, Minitap is being used by consumer mobile teams that want to run more experiments without expanding their engineering headcount. The company says its tools will eventually allow product managers to describe a feature, drop in a design, and have code generated and tested in a single afternoon.

Mercuri partner Esha Vatsa believes the long-term potential is vital. “Minitap is one of the first companies that is bringing agentic AI to mobile use and possibly the very first that is taking a full-stack approach to enable the use of AI coding agents for mobile app development. This is a substantial challenge and a huge opportunity that Nico and Luc are uniquely positioned to solve.”

Minitap founders say their vision is to enable the development of mobile apps that adapt themselves automatically, running experiments, studying user behaviour, generating improvements and rolling out new versions with minimal human involvement.

The fresh capital lifts the firm’s total funding to $16 million and enhances its real-time discovery technology deeper into global retail, marketplaces, and travel platforms.

The round was led by MMC Ventures with backing from Redalpine, Daphni and a group of angels. The company’s system already handles billions of live interactions each month and delivers tens of millions of predictions for partners across several industries.

The startup was created in 2024 by Dr Kevin Kahn and Dr Matteo Ruffini, both former Amazon AI leaders, alongside entrepreneur Johan Boissard. They argue that the growth of generative AI has overshadowed the need to understand how people behave, browse, and change their minds in real time.

Most recommendation engines still work off batch-trained models and recycled data. They guess based on what users liked yesterday. Albatross takes a different route. 

Its transformer-based architecture reads live activity, learns from it instantly, and adjusts results within milliseconds, without any manual retraining. According to the company, no previous system has been able to adapt at this speed.

Speaking on the company’s mission, Dr Kahn, co-founder and CEO, said: “Our mission is to close the discovery gap. Everyone has felt the frustration of seeing the same generic recommendations over and over. Our system perceives and adapts instantly, so every search and feed reflects the user’s intent at that very moment. 

“From our conversations with a broad range of CEOs, we know they all want to adopt AI, but most efforts fail because they treat it as an add-on. The real opportunity is to rethink how experiences are shaped, to make every interaction intelligent, adaptive, and alive. That’s what Albatross does: it learns and reasons in real time, understanding intent the moment it happens.”

The company’s flagship tools, the Real-Time Discovery Feed and the Multimodal Search engine, are designed to enhance what users see as their behaviour shifts. The system can connect online and in-store journeys, react to image inputs, and run at near-zero latency.

Early trials have delivered strong results, with some partners recording triple-digit growth in engagement and product discovery. Deployment takes less than seven weeks, and the platform now powers what the team presented at RecSys 2025 as the industry’s most advanced approach to cold-start discovery.

For investors, the timing shows a change in how personalisation technology is evolving. Mina Samaan, General Partner at MMC Ventures, said: “Personalisation is entering a new era. Albatross moves beyond static algorithms to build systems that understand context as it happens. Their real-time architecture represents a step change for how businesses engage customers online.”

Redalpine, which led the startup’s first round, also increased its commitment. Dr Marc Moesser, Investor at Redalpine, said: “We backed Albatross from the very beginning because of the team’s exceptional depth in AI and personalisation. In just a year, they’ve gone beyond what even the largest platforms achieve with real-time infrastructure that adapts instantly to user behaviour.”

Albatross seeks to build systems that react as quickly as the people using them, and remake the online discovery experience in the process.

Alake shared this figure at a breakfast meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, during the ongoing GITEX Global tech expo, where he highlighted the State’s position as Africa’s largest tech hub.

Lagos is home to more than 2,000 tech startups, with a concentration of innovation and business ventures that make the city a driver of technological advancement on the continent. 

He noted that if Lagos were a separate country, it would rank among the top five or six economies in Africa, pointing to the economic importance of the tech ecosystem.

The Commissioner attributed this growth to the dynamic nature of Lagos, pointing out that around 80% to 90% of Nigeria’s entire startup ecosystem is based in the State. This, he said, makes Lagos a key player in technology across Africa. 

Among the prominent companies shaping the industry are fintech giants like Flutterwave and Opay, while other sectors such as agri-tech and construction technology are also gaining ground.

Alake emphasised that fintech dominates the ecosystem, with approximately 40% of startups in Lagos focusing on financial technology. However, innovations in other sectors are also contributing significantly to the region’s growth. 

He added that the Lagos State Government is playing an active role in supporting these ventures, from investing in startups to refining regulations to create a more conducive business environment.

The Commissioner also pointed out Lagos’s evolving position in the global tech landscape. Leveraging Nigeria’s partnership with the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), organisers of GITEX, Lagos aims to bring international attention to the local ecosystem.

Alake urged global investors to seize the opportunity to engage with Lagos’ talented and dynamic workforce, which is shaping the future of African tech.

Notably, Lagos has the largest artificial intelligence (AI) market in Africa, with companies deploying various AI use cases. Earlier this year, the State launched Nigeria’s first large language model, which Alake said was designed with a focus on solving Nigeria’s specific challenges.

In a related development, Nigeria is set to host the GITEX conference in September next year, in collaboration with the DWTC. According to Trixie LohMirmand, executive vice president of DWTC, the event will provide Nigerian startups with access to capital and global business insights. 

LohMirmand highlighted the need to bring the world’s attention to Nigeria, stating that only a small percentage of the country’s 6,000 startups had previously been able to connect with global investors during the Dubai event.

Lagos remains a rich tech hub, attracting both local and global interest, with startups benefiting from a supportive entrepreneurial culture and a wealth of talent. 

However, challenges remain, particularly in infrastructure and regulatory frameworks, which must be addressed to ensure long-term success. 

As he disclosed the Lagos State 2024 Budget, the governor stated that his administration, through the Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC), has disbursed this fund to more than 40 tech startups in the state, aiming to support them in attaining scalability.

Governor Sanwo-Olu emphasised that these disbursements have resulted in the creation of innovative solutions to address the challenges faced by the state. Notably, he highlighted the success story of LagRide, an initiative born out of a startup that secured second place in the inaugural Transportation Hackathon challenge launched by the state in 2019.

The governor showcased the impact of such investments by pointing out that the Lagos Cowry Card, akin to the UK’s Oyster card, which is usable across BRT, Ferry, and Train services, was developed by Touch and Pay Technologies, a startup run by young entrepreneurs who benefited from the support.

Highlighting further initiatives, Governor Sanwo-Olu mentioned the empowerment of over 350 young technology entrepreneurs through the Lagos Innovates Voucher Program. This program provides access to essential resources such as electricity, internet services, and other benefits through partner hubs.

As part of the broader effort to nurture the startup ecosystem, the governor introduced Startup Lagos, a government-run information portal facilitating investor exchanges and disseminating vital news and opportunities for both investors and innovators. Currently hosting a database of more than 3,000 startups, Startup Lagos aims to contribute to the growth of successful startups in the region.

In addition to startup support, the Lagos State government is making substantial investments in technology infrastructure. Governor Sanwo-Olu highlighted the ongoing Metro Fibre Project, connecting over 100 public schools, hospitals, offices, and other facilities to a fiber network. The first phase of the project, covering 3,000km, is nearing completion, with the second phase scheduled to commence in 2024.

The governor also noted various technology initiatives, including the Live Camera Update (LCU) Project, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) Cameras, Command and Control Centre for the state waterways (Search and Rescue), and the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Project. 

These initiatives contribute to enhanced security, proactive responses to traffic issues, and improved overall governance through the Digital Cabinet Dashboard—an application digitizing public data for informed decision-making within the government.

This exciting initiative, made possible through funding from FSD Africa and the Canadian Government, builds on TECA’s (Triggering Exponential Climate Action) expertise in fostering blue innovation over the last year through a successful pilot wave supported by FSD Africa.

The Africa Blue Wave will support high-potential individuals who demonstrate a passion for addressing climate issues in Africa’s blue economy. It will be implemented by TECA, an initiative of BFA Global, with support from OceanHub Africa.

The wave will recruit 40 innovators from Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros, Madagascar, and Mozambique.

Selected participants will receive tailored support in the form of mentorship, guidance from industry experts, networking opportunities, and initial capital investment that can help them build and bring their climate and ocean solutions to market.

At the end of the wave, participants will have the opportunity to showcase their solutions and pitch their businesses to investors, potential partners, and industry leaders to secure additional support and investment.

“As we embark on the Africa Blue Wave, we carry with us the invaluable lessons learned from our inaugural wave. These insights will be the cornerstone of our commitment to making this new wave bigger, better, and more impactful than ever before. We’ve demonstrated that solutions can be homegrown by local talent, and I am excited to work with innovators to create more solutions that contribute meaningfully to local and global climate challenges,” Shirley Mburu, TECA Program Director, BFA Global.

“Our investment in TECA is core to our mission of financing innovation and supporting innovation in finance. Through our seeding of TECA’s first blue wave this past year, we have seen firsthand the power of combining young African talent with access to expertise, networks and finance, creating new tech-enabled businesses that are solving for climate issues. We are excited to partner with IUCN and BFA Global on the Africa Blue Wave, extending TECA’s reach to new geographies, new challenges and new innovators, leading to more, new genuinely African climate solutions.”  

Juliet Munro, Director Digital Innovation, FSD Africa, has this to say:

“The initiative aims to invest in Africa’s young innovators to catalyse solutions to address ocean challenges and achieve sustained ocean health across five priority seascape areas in Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania. Our long term goal, as envisaged in the Great Blue Wall initiative, is to transform coastal economies into drivers of positive conservation and socioeconomic development. We commend and greatly support Africa’s leadership and efforts in accelerating the development of a regenerative blue economy on the continent,” stated Thomas Sberna, Regional Head, Coastal and Ocean Resilience, IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa.

Applications are now open and will close on 15th October 2023. 

Aviram Awards targets existing and conceptual products that will create a positive impact through social and environmental breakthroughs.

The goal is to connect business and technology to stimulate the creation of a new era of well-being for the Middle East and West African region, as well as the world at large.

Benefits

The first-place winner will receive $500,000 and win mentorship with Ziv Aviram, including a profile in a story on Forbes.com. The second-place prize is $100,000, while the third-place receives $50,000.

Eligibility 

To be eligible for the competition, the following criteria must be met:

• Be a business owner or team leader of a tech startup in the pre-seed or seed stage, with an established concept that positively impacts humanity
• Live in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates 

How to apply

Do you meet the above eligibility criteria? Then submit your entry before the deadline on Monday, January 30, 2023.