By Adedapo Adesanya

A social video intelligence platform, Dig, which gives enterprises the visibility and speed to detect and respond to fast-moving narratives across the most influential video platforms, has closed a $14 million Series A financing round to fuel market expansion and deepen the company’s patented AI platform.

The investment was co-led by New Era Capital Partners and Osage Venture Partners, with participation from 97212 Ventures, Maccabee Ventures, Ginossar Ventures, Itai Tsiddon, and other investors.

Dig will utilise the new capital to scale global sales and marketing, expand coverage across additional video and messaging networks, and continue to enhance its proprietary AI stack, including in-house large language models that reduce compute costs by up to 100 times compared to off-the-shelf services.

The growth of social video platforms, such as TikTok, has led to the video takeover of social media. 2025 is estimated to be the first year in which more than 50 per cent of social media posts will be video posts. This number is expected to grow substantially in the coming years with the emergence of generative video platforms like Veo-3. In a world dominated by social video, the lack of automation leaves brand and insights teams blind to fast-moving risks and consumer signals.

Dig’s selling point is unlike text-only social listening platforms that rely on keyword matching and Boolean queries, the company noted that its video-first LLM-native platform understands briefs and research questions, and is able to detect more than 90 per cent of relevant videos, images, or text posts, automatically filtering out irrelevant mentions by matching narratives rather than keywords.

Dig claims it automatically detects social network policy violations, such as disinformation or deepfakes, and alerts communications teams immediately, prioritizing the threat and recommending next steps before it escalates.

Speaking on the funding, Mr Ofer Familier, Co-founder & CEO of Dig, said, “Social video builds and breaks reputations faster than any other medium. Our mission is to give brands immediate, precise visibility into those narratives, along with the tools to respond before risk becomes a crisis.

“With support from New Era, Osage, and our other partners, we’re doubling down on product innovation and bringing Dig’s value to marketing, communications, and insight teams worldwide.”

“We’re incredibly excited to continue partnering with Dig as they build the future of social video intelligence. When we first backed Dig at Seed, the team predicted video would eclipse text as the language of the internet”, said Mr Ran Simha, Managing Partner, New Era Capital Partners.

“Their growth, to more than 70 enterprise deployments in under 18 months, proves that thesis, and we’re excited to help scale a category-defining company. Brands today face both immense opportunity and real risk in the world of social video – content spreads faster than ever, and a single post can influence perception globally within minutes.

“Dig’s technology empowers companies to truly understand and manage this dynamic landscape, turning social video from a source of unpredictable risk into a strategic growth channel,” Mr Simha added.

“Dig pairs computer-vision depth with a business model that meets Fortune 500 security and ROI standards,” said Mr Nate Lentz from Osage Venture Partners. “The speed at which customers move from proof-of-concept to production is unlike anything we’ve seen in market intelligence software.”

Dig’s platform is deployed across brand, consumer insights, communications, and social media functions. Its current customers include global luxury brands, CPG and fashion brand houses, and Fortune 500 tech firms, who leverage Dig for unique, advanced reputation and insights services, such as early detection of viral narratives, brand perception benchmarking tracker, dynamic customer cohort segmentation, campaign and narrative impact analysis, and others. 

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has confirmed that its decision to return to market-driven pricing in the telecoms sector has spurred over $1 billion in infrastructure investment in 2025.

The Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Mr Aminu Maida, made the disclosure in Lagos on Friday, noting that the policy shift, introduced in January and February 2025, allowed mobile network operators to adjust tariffs by up to 50 per cent after nearly a decade of stagnant pricing.

“This act alone has allowed investments to flow in. We will be revealing more specific figures in the coming weeks after verification, but we are talking about over a billion dollars worth of investment in 2025 alone,” he said.

Mr Maida said that the move restored investor confidence in the sector and reversed a trend of under investment that had slowed network growth and service quality improvements.

According to him, the imbalance in the value chain, where tower companies can adjust prices annually for inflation and exchange rates but mobile network operators cannot had discouraged new investment.

“This is an industry that requires continuous investment. The world is moving ahead, and if we do not create the right conditions, we will be left behind,” he said.

The NCC boss said the commission decided to return to the guiding principles of the 2000 Telecom Policy and the 2003 Communications Act, which allowed market forces to determine fair prices while maintaining healthy competition to protect consumers.

He disclosed that some of the new equipment ordered by operators had started arriving in the country since June, with network expansion and upgrade works already underway.

“We are closely tracking the rollout. We hold weekly calls with operators to monitor how many sites are being built, upgrades done and we step in when they encounter challenges with authorities,” Maida said.

He added that the investments would help address capacity challenges, improve service quality, and ensure Nigeria remained competitive in the global telecom landscape.

The NCC boss also highlighted operational cost pressures facing the industry, noting that operators consumed over 40 million litres of diesel monthly to power their base stations, with most of the product imported.

He said the industry’s dependence on foreign exchange (FX) for importing all network hardware and software added to the challenge, as no major telecom equipment was manufactured locally.

“There is nothing you need to build or upgrade a network today in Nigeria that you can buy locally. Everything from the hardware to the software has to be imported and that requires FX,” Mr Maida said.

On protecting telecoms infrastructure, he said the commission was working with the Office of the National Security Adviser to develop a framework for rapid response forces tailored to the unique challenges in each region.

He noted that threats vary by location, with some coastal areas requiring community-based engagement, while high-insecurity zones may need stronger civil defence presence.

According to him, the protection strategy goes beyond force and focuses on addressing structural issues that make telecom sites vulnerable, such as poor security measures, generator theft and community disputes.

A new global study by Salesforce reveals a fundamental shift in how Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) approach Artificial Intelligence (AI). Once seen as a cautious investment, AI is now a core strategic asset, with financial leaders betting on it for long-term revenue growth, not just cost-cutting.

According to the research, which surveyed 261 global CFOs, the number of financial leaders with a conservative AI strategy has plummeted from 70% in 2020 to just 4% today. This rapid transformation highlights a widespread consensus that AI is no longer an emerging technology, but a crucial engine for enhancing efficiency, optimizing operations, and driving long-term growth.

Redefining ROI and Embracing AI Agents

The study shows that this shift is largely driven by a fundamental rethinking of how CFOs evaluate technology investment returns. Over 61% of CFOs say that AI agents—digital labor capable of performing tasks autonomously—are changing their perspective on ROI. They are moving beyond traditional metrics to encompass a broader range of business outcomes, including revenue generation, productivity gains, and improved decision-making.

“The introduction of digital labor isn’t just a technical upgrade; it represents a decisive and strategic shift for CFOs,” said Robin Washington, President and Chief Operational and Financial Officer at Salesforce. “With AI agents, we’re not merely transforming business models; we’re fundamentally reshaping the entire scope of the CFO function. This demands a new mindset as we expand beyond financial stewards to also become architects of agentic enterprise value.”

The report also found:

• CFOs are dedicating, on average, 25% of their AI budget to AI agents.
• 74% of CFOs believe AI agents will drive revenue, projecting an anticipated increase of nearly 20%.
• Over half (55%) of CFOs believe AI agents will take on more strategic work than routine tasks.
• The top three tasks CFOs are delegating to AI agents are risk assessments (74%), financial forecasting (58%), and expense management (54%).

A New Mindset for a New Era

This new approach requires a mindset shift from valuing short-term savings to recognizing long-term strategic success. The research found that while CFOs faced pressure to accelerate tech investment ROI last year, they now see the value of AI in its ability to deliver long-term business outcomes.

“The ROI of older technology often depends on immediate, measurable results,” said one CFO survey respondent. “While AI’s returns may accrue over the long term through an ongoing process and new business models.”

For African CFOs, this research provides a valuable framework for adoption. According to Linda Saunders, Salesforce Country Manager & Senior Director Solution Engineering for Africa, the report offers a data-driven path to navigate the complexities of AI implementation.

“This research helps African CFOs build a strategic case for AI adoption while addressing concerns around extended ROI timelines,” Saunders said. “It also identifies high-impact areas like risk assessments and financial forecasting, offering a practical starting point with proven success instead of navigating uncharted territory.”

The report also tackles core concerns like security, privacy threats, and the time required to evaluate ROI, encouraging a thoughtful and risk-aware approach to AI implementation.