Build your own quantum computer {{ FIRSTNAME }}? The first open-source one, from Open Quantum Design, is live, and you can run local simulations of its software or just download the blueprints and build your own from their GitHub.

In This Open Letter

Globally, the restaurant industry is a $4 trillion (R64 trillion) game, but it’s losing a third of its revenue due to missed phone calls – but this YC-selected SA startup’s got just the thing…

For most restaurants, their phone line is a double-edged sword… 

It’s still the most valuable channel for high-value catering, large group bookings and direct orders. But worldwide, restaurants receive between 50 and 187 phone calls per day, and, because of the nature of the industry (mad lunch and dinner rushes), some 40% of calls go unanswered.

In fact, it’s estimated that restaurants lose out on 27% potential extra revenue due to missed calls, losing both direct business opportunities (bookings, orders) and suffering reputational damage.

Especially painful if you’ve paid money to have your spot appear in search engines…

The startup answering calls from SA to the valley

Certus AI is an autonomous voice agent designed specifically as the digital front-of-house for the hospitality industry. Its specialised AI phone agent ensures no call (and the potential revenue that comes with it) ever goes unanswered.

Able to handle calls 24/7 and integrate directly into over 45 point-of-sale systems, it can help filter calls, so that management only receives what needs to be escalated or sommer send orders straight to the kitchen (with a 98.6% order accuracy) and upsell customers by suggesting sides, drinks or pairings.

And, while they pride themselves on quickly integrating with existing restaurant solutions, Certus AI also caters for old-school kitchens, deploying a Raspberry Pi hardware solution that prints AI-taken orders directly onto physical kitchen tickets. Very cool.

The family business

Certus AI was founded by South African Gurveer Singh, who grew up answering phones at his family’s restaurant. Seeing the silent bleed of missed revenue firsthand, he teamed up with fellow South Africans Adam Gamieldien and Isaac Nichols to build a solution for restaurants around the world to turn every phone call into cash.

The team was selected for the Y Combinator Summer 2025 batch and recently secured $500’000 in pre-seed funding. And, if you’re looking to raise funding, don’t miss our masterclass this Friday (30 Jan) with Keet Van Zyl from VC Knife Capital on what SA founders need to know to raise in 2026 — join our Founder Collab community to get access.

Certus AI is a masterclass in South African hustle meets deep-tech engineering, and proves that even the most sophisticated global solutions can be born from solving a simple problem in a local family business. 

We’re watching this space…

Why SMEs are leaving banks. Lula’s SVP of business development, David Winter, explains how embedded finance lets businesses access funding directly inside the tools they already use. Listen here.

Let users build inside your product. Legato turns plain-language requests into production-ready apps, workflows and automations embedded directly in your SaaS. See it here.

Model SaaS deals properly. DealQuary lets teams compare pricing in different scenarios, margins and payback in real time — without spreadsheet pain. Check it out.

Most companies spend years building a strong brand…

But if your leaders aren’t visible, trusted or heard online, your growth eventually hits a wall. Personal posts perform 5x as well as company posts.

That’s why FDC helps you build what matters:

✅ We turn founders and executives into industry voices.
✅ We manage the full strategy, content and engagement.
✅ You focus on running the business while we grow your influence.

From PaySpace to Taylor Brunswick Group, over 300 leaders in 22 countries have used FDC to transform LinkedIn into a channel for real business growth.

If you’re ready to turn your profile into a growth engine, see if you’re the right fit.

🚙 Locking It Down. Chinese vehicle manufacturer Chery’s South African division has reached an agreement with Nissan SA to acquire its local manufacturing assets in Rosslyn. The move will secure the facilities and employment for most of the plant’s workforce. Very cool.

🧑‍🌾 Farming On Mars? NASA just launched Mars to Table, a competition where participants can create a complete meal plan for a crew on Mars, along with concepts for food systems and technologies. Hopefully no poop-grown potatoes, though.

💪 Unbreakable Smartphones. The HONOR X9d just broke the Guinness World Record for the highest drop of a smartphone, surviving a 6.133m drop. Wow. So only 500m less than a Nokia 3310.

🤖 A(I)dvanced Driving. Discovery Insure’s latest product is an AI-powered advanced driving instructor, which uses hyper-personalised goals and rewards to turn customers into better drivers. Wonder if one of the goals for BMW owners is to use their indicators…

🎯 Cash Flow Unblocked. Pink Scissors Hair Salon had the creativity and demand, but seasonal cash flow slowed growth. So, SA small business banking specialist Lula helped fund stock and expansion, giving the salon the cash flow confidence to grow from hair into a full beauty hub.*

* From our partners. Find all the best service providers for your business in our Founder Stack.

Yesterday, we showed you IER’s new emergency response tech, asking who you’d call in an emergency. Most head to the community WhatsApps…

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👮 The official 10111 line (10%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 👀 My neighbourhood watch/CPF WhatsApp group (47%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 📱 A private emergency app (like iER) (25%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🚧 I’ve moved into a gated estate with 24/7 guards and medical (14%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🦸 I’ve got Leo Prinsloo on speed dial (4%)

Your 2 cents…

Awesome, Edmund, glad you like it! 🚀

On 27 January 2010, Apple launched the iPad for the first time — the pivotal tech that inspired the push towards mobile computing.

Rare recordings show that Jobs had conceived of the idea in 1983, long before WiFi existed, and Apple had built two precursors, the Newton MessagePad (1993) and an unreleased 1998 prototype, but the surrounding tech just wasn’t ready until 2010.

🎙 Tool to Try: Freeway turns your voice into text on Mac, fully on-device, so nothing leaves your computer.

🐦 That’s Interesting: An actual raven (bird) called Jimmy played in most of the movies in the 1930s and 1940s, around 1'000+ films, including The Wizard of Oz and It’s a Wonderful Life.

🚙 Next Level: Watch the mayor of a Philippine town survive a direct hit from an RPG last Sunday, thanks to a bulletproof Toyota Land Cruiser.

🛞 Hack: A visual guide to decoding the markings on your car’s tyres.

🎬 Wow Site: ActorsRanked shows how actors stack up based on average movie ratings.