Monday 27 May 2019

KaiOS - !!!

Okay, okay. It's all KaiOS, KaiOS, KaiOS - !!! Apparently. But not chaos magic, you'll be glad to hear.

Hong Kong, 22 May 2019 - KaiOS Technologies, maker of KaiOS, the leading mobile operating system for smart feature phones, announced today $50 million in a Series B funding round led by Cathay Innovation, with continued participation from Kai's existing shareholders Google and TCL Holdings. To date, more than 100 million devices running on KaiOS have been shipped, enabling digital transformation in over 100 countries. This investment from Cathay Innovation and other industry leaders will further strengthen Kai's leadership position in the rapidly growing smart feature phone segment.

Yeah, yeah. This is, uh ... a PR email from last week, dear reader(s). 'Haven't you got any new ones, boss?' Er, this is a very nice one, Voice, and it's a bank holiday today, so, uh ... NO!!! is the short answer. And I don't know what I'll write about tomorrow morning. 'Music?' Christ! This is a finance blog, son.

With this Series B, Kai plans to expand into new markets, and to invest in product portfolio research and development. It will also enable Kai to mature its ecosystem by accelerating the growth of the KaiOS developer community.

Fair enough. But what does Sebastien say? 'Sebastien?!' That's right.

"Our mission is to open up new possibilities for individuals, organizations, and society by bringing mobile connectivity to the billions of people without internet in emerging markets, as well as providing those in established markets with an alternative to smartphones," said Sebastien Codeville, CEO of KaiOS Technologies. "We achieve this by collaborating closely with our business partners, enabling them to transform their business models with exciting new products and offerings, especially for first-time internet users. This Series B round allows us to accelerate these efforts and increase the impact we can make in societies around the world, one phone at a time."

Okay, okay. And Denis?

"KaiOS is already the third mobile OS globally and one of the most impactful tech startups in the world. It has the potential to transform the lives of billions of people by giving them access to the internet for the first time. We are proud to join KaiOS' fantastic investor base and to lead this round to support the company's next phase of rapid expansion. We look forward to leveraging our global platform and ecosystem to help accelerate KaiOS' growth in new markets," said Denis Barrier, Co-Founder and CEO of Cathay Innovation.

Thanks, Denis!

...

Anything else? Anything else - ?!?!?! Yeah, big time. Listen to this! [I mean, read it.] The old Michael Fowke is dead. Long live the new Michael Fowke! 'What are you going on about?' I saw that Rocketman film on Friday. You know, the film about Elton John. [The first time I've been to the cinema in five years.] Well, in the film, someone gives Elton - actually, Reginald - advice. They say - To become a star you've got to kill the person you were born to be, and become, uh ... the person you want to be. Or something like that. Something along those lines, you dig? That's what I'm doing now. From today. David Bowie did it as well, according to Dylan Jones in that book of his. 'I give it a week, boss.' You give what a week, you little cretin?! 'A week from now, you'll be your normal self again, depressed about something or other.' Ha! I didn't say I wouldn't be depressed, Voice. Stars get depressed. Elton took an overdose of pills at one of his parties and jumped into a swimming pool in front of all his guests. But he did it as a fucking star, man! A star is a star. Full stop!

So, I'm going to stop listening to the Vance/Musk audiobook, and all self-help audiobooks. I don't need them no more. I've got great songs. My performing skills are really close to what I need. I've got a new life. I'm a new person! I'm nearly there, Voice, kook(s).

Oh, oh ... also, in the film, you see the importance of great songs. There's a scene where Elton is composing the music to Bernie Taupin's Your Song lyric, and everyone is amazed.

Maybe I'll record this week and then go off to Cornwall to celebrate ... ? However, I won't jump into the sea like Bodhi.

Laters!