The year 2024 was a testament to the relentless pace of technological advancement, and groundbreaking innovations in AI and internet technology.
Companies like Neuralink and Nvidia pushed technological boundaries, while Amazon and Huawei reshaped traditional industries. Despite challenges like cybersecurity breaches and regulatory hurdles, the global tech landscape showcased resilience and adaptability.
Techloy’s recap delves into the key developments that shaped 2024, spotlighting the technologies and trends that are redefining our world.
January 2024
- The $3 trillion valuation club: Microsoft achieved a $3 trillion valuation for the first time to become the world’s most valuable company at the time. Although it later lost this position to Nvidia, this achievement underscored Microsoft’s dominance in the tech industry. At the end of 2024, Apple was the most valuable company with a valuation of $3.9 trillion, followed by Nvidia with a valuation of $3.4 trillion, and Microsoft came third with a valuation of $3.2 trillion.
- A brain chip breakthrough: Neuralink, the neurotechnology company founded by Elon Musk, announced a groundbreaking achievement – the successful implantation of its first brain chip in a human subject.
February 2024
- India’s first AI unicorn: In February, Krutrim, the artificial intelligence startup founded by Bhavish Aggarwal, the mind behind Ola reached a $1 billion valuation after raising $50 million in a funding round led by Matrix Partners India, making it the first Indian AI startup to achieve unicorn status in a year.
- The largest round for Chinese AI: Chinese tech giant Alibaba led a landmark $1 billion financing round in Moonshot AI, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup. This was the largest single financing round for a Chinese artificial intelligence startup.
March 2024
- A major internet outage in West Africa: A major internet outage affected millions across West and Central Africa. Subsea cable failures caused widespread internet outages. Although telecom operators redirected traffic to alternative cables to restore services, the disruption highlighted the region’s infrastructural vulnerabilities and the pressing need for investment in resilient and reliable internet connectivity to support economic and social development.
- Binance suspended Nigerian Naira services: The crypto exchange’s suspension affected users’ ability to deposit and withdraw Naira on the platform affecting its over 10 million P2P payment users in the country. It came after the Nigerian Central Bank (CBN) had blocked access to Binance’s website and detained staff members.
April 2024
- Google shuttered its Podcasts app: Google announced plans to completely shutter the service globally in 2024 and told its podcast app’s users in the U.S. to migrate subscriptions to YouTube Music by April 2 to continue to stream their favorite shows.
- X (formerly Twitter) became at risk of a shutdown in Brazil: The core issue revolved around Elon Musk’s public refusal of a court order to block “certain popular accounts in Brazil. Musk in the post on X claimed the Brazilian court threatened fines, employee arrests, and even shutting down X’s Brazilian operations entirely.
- Apple removed WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China: The move comes on the back of a cleanup program that was initiated by China in 2023 to remove all defunct or unregistered apps from domestic iOS and Android stores, including local ones.
May 2024
- Amazon’s foray into Africa: In a strategic move to tap into the booming e-commerce market, Amazon.co.za launched to provide customers in South Africa with a selection of local and international brands across 20 different product categories. The e-commerce behemoth now competes with local e-commerce players like Takealot, Bob Shop, Makro, Bidorbuy and Zando as well as Chinese-owned Temu, which launched earlier in January, and later in Nigeria in December.
- African fintech Flutterwave hit by a major cybersecurity breach: Just a month after obtaining a court order to recover $24 million lost to unauthorized point-of-sale (POS) transactions, the fintech suffered a fresh security breach that raised serious questions about Flutterwave’s security infrastructure and internal protocols.
Other top stories: Google’s first-ever subsea fiber optic cable connecting Africa and Australia | Major Bing outage disrupting services on ChatGPT Search, Copilot, DuckDuckGo and others | TikTok is suing the U.S. over a potential ban
June 2024
- HarmonyOS surpassed iOS in China: With a 17% market share in China, overtaking Apple’s iOS (at 16% market share), its success can be attributed to the strong domestic demand for Huawei’s recent 5G smartphone launch – the Mate 60 series.
- SpaceX announced plans to launch cellular Starlink service: Pending FCC approval, the “direct to cell” service aimed to deliver internet connectivity to cell phone users in areas with poor or no service in the U.S. by December 2024.
July 2024
- Uber made a move on Moove: Leading a $100 million Series B funding round for the African mobility startup Moove which specialises in vehicle financing solutions for mobility entrepreneurs, Uber’s investment underscored the increasing interest in African tech startups and the potential for fintech innovations to drive economic growth on the continent.
- India’s Koo shut down: Once touted as a rival to X (formerly Twitter), the platform couldn’t secure the necessary partnerships and funding to sustain its operations. In other news, Rapido raced to unicorn status, while Byju‘s faced its biggest crisis ever.
Other top stories: CashApp announced a Brexit, while Revolut was authorised as a UK bank | Startups in Africa, Ukraine, and others faced account closures by U.S. bank | Chinese EV battery firms courted Morocco for U.S. EV incentives
August 2024
- Indonesia announced a crackdown on websites that promote adult content: While access to pornography and online gambling websites are deemed illegal in the country, it was the end of the road for DuckDuckGo, a U.S.-based privacy-focused search engine, social media platform Reddit and video-hosting platform Vimeo.
- China launched low-orbit satellites to challenge Starlink’s dominance: The launch which saw 18 satellites deployed into low Earth orbit by the Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), marked the initial phase of an ambitious endeavour that aims to create a vast network of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, providing high-speed internet access.
Other top stories: Google pulled the plug on AdSense in Russia | X shut down its operations in Brazil | Wasoko and MaxAB joined forces in Africa’s largest tech merger
September 2024
- Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company – for the second time: After briefly surpassing Microsoft and Apple to become the world’s most valuable company in June, Nvidia secured the top spot again in September, thanks to the growth of the AI sector.
- Nigerian fintech apps charge a ₦50 transfer fee: A new ₦50 ($0.03) fee on transfers of ₦10,000 ($6.27) or more was announced to take effect in December 2024 across all digital payment platforms, as part of the government’s efforts to generate revenue from the rapid expansion of digital payments.
- Bluesky rolled out video support: In addition to previously introducing direct messaging (DMs), a personalized Discover feed, and new tools to hide replies, the social media platform’s efforts to rival X amid its Brazil brouhaha caught the world’s attention. It later increased its user base from 10 million to 20 million in December 2024.
October 2024
- OpenAI achieved $157 billion in valuation: This news confirmed recent speculation that OpenAI was aiming for a valuation near $150 billion in a new funding round, cementing its status as a major player in the global tech landscape.
- Moniepoint joined Africa’s unicorn club: After it raised $110 million in funding, the fintech achieved a valuation of $1 billion and became Africa’s 9th unicorn, following the likes of Interswitch, Flutterwave, Wave, and Chipper Cash that have paved the way to address unique regional challenges in digital payments, financial inclusion, and mobile money services.
More top stories: Nigerians faced transaction issues due to banking IT system upgrades | X came back online in Brazil after a month-long ban | Discord banned in Russia and Turkey
November 2024
- OpenAI and Meta AI to speak African languages: French telecommunications giant, Orange SA is teaming up with tech giants Meta and OpenAI to develop language models for African languages.
- Starlink direct-to-cell service launched: With T-Mobile as its U.S. partner, SpaceX can bridge connectivity gaps and enhance communication networks across the country, even in remote and underserved areas.
More top stories: Telegram faced restrictions in Kenya over exam malpractices | Amazon launched Haul to rival Shein and Temu | TikTok’s offices in Canada shut down over security concerns | TikTok’s founder became China’s richest man
December 2024
- Apple agreed to invest $1 billion in Indonesia to lift the iPhone 16 ban: The end of the saga between Apple and the Indonesian government sees the tech giant confirm that it will invest $1 billion in Indonesia following weeks of the iPhone 16 being banned.
- The TikTok U.S. ban countdown: Concerns over data privacy and national security could lead to a potential nationwide ban of the popular social media platform TikTok on January 19, 2025. Meanwhile, a January 10 hearing could either seal the app’s fate in the U.S. or serve as its saving grace.
More top stories: Europe to launch a rival Starlink project | Elon Musk became the first person ever to amass a net worth surpassing $400 billion | Iran lifted its ban on foreign Internet platforms