Google's Gemini joins the billion-user club, drawing level with ChatGPT
Gemini has passed a billion monthly users, Google's fastest climb yet, as AI assistants reach a scale once reserved for the biggest internet platforms.
Christian Maidman
The cheapest Uber is going away: UberX bows out in South Africa on 1 September
The budget ride that put Uber on local roads in 2014 is being retired as the app trims its menu and the low-cost fight with Bolt and InDrive heats up.
Shoprite opened more stores last year than Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Spar combined
While much of SA retail trod water, the Checkers owner added a net 262 stores and guided full-year earnings up to 14.7% higher.
Meta's new AI model is small enough to run on your laptop
Alongside a 6,500-word manifesto from Mark Zuckerberg, Meta released Muse Glimmer — a model built to put an AI agent on your own machine.
Nedbank is about to debit some customers for fees it forgot to charge
A billing glitch undercharged certain debit-order fees between February and May. On 17 August, the bank claws back the difference.
The Roundup — Wednesday, 12 August 2026
Editor’s pick
Tiny trades, big profits: the trick the FSCA is now chasing
South Africa's market watchdog has three live investigations into a scheme that moves a sleepy share to cash a much bigger side bet.
Big story
While everyone chased gold, the company that runs the JSE quietly cleaned up
JSE Ltd grew its half-year profit almost 17% by taking a small cut of a very busy market.
SARS just opened its new tax-certainty deal to far more companies
After industry called the original bar unrealistic, the taxman cut the entry threshold for its new upfront pricing deals from R50bn to R10bn.
One metal is holding up two South African scoreboards at once
A climbing gold price did the heavy lifting for both the JSE and the rand last week — even as local factory data disappointed.
Coal is paying off again for Thungela
The miner expects its half-year profit to more than double — helped by firmer coal prices, a steadier Transnet, and a one-off asset sale.
Breaking
eNCA wants to cut more than half its newsroom
South Africa's first 24-hour news channel has begun a process that could axe 171 of its 309 staff — and its journalists are not taking it quietly.