Kenyan B2B e-commerce company MarketForce is winding down its B2B e-commerce business that served informal merchants (mom-and-pop stores) after a turbulent two-year period that saw it scale down operations severely. RejaReja was intended to enable informal retailers to order fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) from distributors and manufacturers, solving several challenges encountered by informal retailers such as stockout and financing. The marketplace, launched in 2020, hoped to tap the informal retail sector in the continent, which accounts for about 80% of household trade in sub-Saharan Africa. At its peak, it employed more than 800 people and served 270,000 informal merchants. MarketForce had raised $42.5 million, including $40 million debt-equity in a Series A round in 2022 at over $100 million valuation, to fuel the business. However, a mix of challenges ' including aggressive expansion, a capital-intensive business model, razor-thin profit margins and a funding crunch after an investor reneged on their promise ' made the business hard to sustain, leading to the closure. Several B2B e-commerce companies in Africa have also scaled back operations as the funding crunch persists....

After years of booming growth, the AI industry is now experiencing a significant slowdown in investment, as detailed in a recent report from Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI). The report highlights a notable decrease in both private and corporate investments in the AI sector for the second consecutive year, with overall investments dropping by 20% in 2023 compared to the previous year, Kyle reports. Despite this general downturn, certain segments like generative AI continue to attract significant funding, indicating a selective yet substantial interest in specific AI applications. AI investment is slowing down for a few reasons, like the crowded market and the steep costs of building big AI models. According to Gartner analyst John-David Lovelock, the money is now flowing more toward big, established companies that are strengthening their positions, while it's getting tougher for new players to get a piece of the pie. Investors are getting pickier and want to see real, solid returns instead of just throwing money at hopeful growth. (That isn't stopping them from raising billion-dollar funds focusing on AI, of course.)...

Crows, chimps and elephants: these and many other birds and mammals behave in ways that suggest they might be conscious. And the list does not end with vertebrates. Researchers are expanding their investigations of consciousness to a wider range of animals, including octopuses and even bees and flies. Armed with such research, a coalition of scientists is calling for a rethink in the animal'human relationship. If there's 'a realistic possibility' of 'conscious experience in an animal, it is irresponsible to ignore that possibility in decisions affecting that animal', the researchers write in a document they call The New York Declaration of Animal Consciousness. Issued today during a meeting in New York City, the declaration also says that there is a 'realistic possibility of conscious experience' in reptiles, fish, insects and other animals that have not always been considered to have inner lives, and 'strong scientific support' for aspects of consciousness in birds and mammals. As the evidence has accumulated, scientists are 'taking the topic seriously, not dismissing it out of hand as a crazy idea in the way they might have in the past,' says Jonathan Birch, a philosopher at the London School of Economics and Political Science and one of the authors of the declaration....

You might not think about your monitor too much, but whether you're working or gaming in your home, that array of pixels blasting light at your face is important. A computer monitor can vastly improve your productivity if you're currently working off a laptop, and a dual display setup can take things further. It can also make your games or movies look much, much nicer (or much worse). The folks on the WIRED Gear team use these large external screens every day in a variety of arrangements as we write our reviews, and naturally, we decided to review those too. These are the best computer monitors of the many we've tested so far. There are hundreds of different kinds of PC monitors out there, so we're continually testing and updating this guide. You'll also find monitor buying advice at the bottom that explains any jargon you might not know. Be sure to check out other home office guides, including Best WFH Gear, Best Laptops, and Best USB Hubs and Docks. Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day....