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He made your free video player run smoothly. Now he’s doing that for robots.

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You’ve probably used VLC Media Player, the free video player with the orange traffic-cone icon — it’s been downloaded more than 6 billion times. But according to its lead developer, Jean-Baptiste Kempf, robots will soon be almost as ubiquitous as his open source video software.

Convinced that “hundreds of millions of robots and drones” will be roaming the streets in a few years, this French serial entrepreneur and open-source legend has been building Kyber, an infrastructure layer for controlling remote devices in real time. Its core software is an SDK that synchronizes video, audio, sensor data, and control inputs with minimal latency.

This lines up well with the rise of physical AI, and it’s part of why the Paris-based startup was able to raise a $5 million round led by Lightspeed, which has also backed Anthropic and Mistral AI. “Physical AI is only as good as the underlying systems running it,” the American VC firm wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing its investment.

Kyber’s potential applications go well beyond AI, though. Kempf told TechCrunch the platform is built for “all the use cases where the person who’s operating is not in the same place as the compute, which is not in the same place as the action.”

Remote control is one half of the equation; speed is the other — and it’s what inspired the startup’s name, a nod to the lightsaber crystals in Star Wars. “If you control things in the real world, every millisecond matters,” Kempf said.

Kyber’s approach to eliminating lag is rooted firmly in video-streaming technology. The company started as a side project Kempf built while CTO at cloud gaming startup Shadow, and its early focus on streaming makes the VLC connection an easy one to draw. But IoT expertise matters just as much for optimization — tuning performance to a device’s available compute, at scale — the other core piece of what Kyber does.

Kempf says other companies with the resources and the need have already built similar software for their own use cases, like remote driving. “But the largest fleets today have maybe 2,000 or 3,000 vehicles. Imagine you need to manage millions of them; that’s not the same thing.”

That jump in scale also raises the stakes on observability — knowing systems are actually working will matter even more when AI agents, not people, are managing entire fleets and networks. Even at much smaller scale, though, there’s a real benefit: not needing to physically reach every device just to push a software update, for example.

That range — from a handful of devices to millions — means Kyber’s user base will likely span far more companies than will ever become paying customers. True to Kempf’s roots, the core project is open source, while the company sells a productized version to enterprise customers. And it’s not just software: like Palantir and others, Kyber also offers hands-on, custom deployment through forward-deployed engineers, or FDEs.

FDEs make up a large part of Kyber’s team, which currently numbers 25 full-time staffers. The startup is headquartered in Paris but has offices in San Francisco and Singapore to support what it expects will be a global client base across a variety of industries. The company says it is already in commercial deployment with customers in defense, telco, robotics, and AI.

To focus its efforts, Kyber has been prioritizing three segments: robotics, drones of every kind, and remote IT access, where demand has been particularly strong. In that last segment, Kempf says Kyber aspires to be more than just a Citrix challenger — but even that comparison alone points to a sizable total addressable market.

Remote IT access isn’t exactly glamorous, but Kempf seems energized by the problem — and Kyber’s careers page hints at why: “The companies that tried to solve it spent years and tens of millions building custom solutions they’ll never share. We’re building the version everyone else can use.”

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From Producing Nigerian Internationals to Building Their Own Stadium: Buruj Sports Academy Takes Bold Step as Ikorodu Football Dream Attracts Investors

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Buruj Sports Academy is turning years of grassroots football success into an ambitious infrastructure project, unveiling a proposed stadium development in Ikorodu, Lagos State, aimed at transforming opportunities for young Nigerian footballers.

The academy, founded by Dr. Waheed Salaudeen, has presented a new development layout featuring a standard 105m × 68m football pitch, spectator stand, changing rooms, administrative and first-aid facilities, toilets, parking spaces and perimeter security.

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The project represents a significant step toward establishing a permanent home for the academy’s growing football development programme.

Buruj’s ambitions are backed by its record of nurturing promising talents, including former Nigeria Under-15 internationals Raheem Moyinoluwa Salaudeen and Fawas Ayomide Adeleke, who represented Nigeria in youth competitions in Morocco and Algeria.

The academy has also facilitated opportunities for players in Spain and Lithuania, while six Buruj youngsters recently earned selection for an international football exposure programme following the Italian Consulate General U-20 Tournament.

Unlike its earlier three-acre, 5,000-seat stadium concept, the latest architectural proposal adopts a more practical, phased approach, beginning with an approximately 80–100-seat stand and essential football facilities. Punch Newspapers +1

Dr. Salaudeen, who serves as founder and Chief Executive Officer, has consistently championed football development alongside education.

“This dream is bigger than Buruj Sports Academy alone. We are appealing to private individuals, corporate organizations, investors, and well-meaning Nigerians to support this vision.”

His appeal reflects a determination to build a sustainable sporting institution capable of serving generations of young Nigerians. Sports247 Nigeria +1

For potential investors, the project offers opportunities in stadium naming rights, facility sponsorship, youth development partnerships, football tournaments and community sports programmes.

With a survey document and proposed layout now presented, Buruj is inviting partners to help turn its vision into reality, subject to necessary technical assessments and development approvals.

From discovering football stars to building the infrastructure that produces them, Buruj Sports Academy is no longer simply dreaming of the future — it is preparing to build it.

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ADC Postpones Presidential Campaign Flagoff, Fixes New Date

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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has postponed the flag-off of its presidential campaign in Sokoto State, earlier scheduled for Saturday, October 31, to Wednesday, November 4.

The party’s Presidential Campaign Council in Sokoto State announced the postponement in a press statement issued on Wednesday, and signed by its Director-General, Bello Aliyu Goronyo.

According to the statement, the decision was taken to address certain planning and coordination issues to ensure the successful conduct of the campaign event.

The council appealed to party leaders, stakeholders, supporters and members of the public to take note of the new date, while expressing regret over any inconvenience caused by the change in schedule.

“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council in Sokoto State wishes to announce the postponement of its Presidential Campaign Flag-off, earlier scheduled for Saturday, 31st October 2026, to Wednesday, 4th November 2026,” the statement read.

Explaining the reason for the change, the council said, “The decision follows the need to address certain planning and coordination considerations to ensure the successful conduct of the event.”

“The Campaign Council regrets any inconvenience the change may cause and sincerely appreciates the understanding, patience and continued support of party leaders, stakeholders, supporters and members of the public,” Goronyo added.

He urged all concerned to take note of the new date and expressed the council’s readiness to welcome party leaders, supporters and other stakeholders to the event.

The postponement comes amid reports of difficulties involving hotel accommodation in Sokoto ahead of the campaign flag-off originally scheduled for Saturday.

Reports had emerged that hotel rooms were being booked ahead of the planned ADC event, with allegations that some hotel owners were refusing to release rooms to prospective guests.

The development comes as the ADC continues preparations for the 2027 general election, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate.

Rotimi Amaechi // Atiku Abubakar
Rotimi Amaechi // Atiku Abubakar

The party is seeking to strengthen its support across the country as opposition parties prepare to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming presidential election.

Earlier on Wednesday, the ADC Presidential Campaign Council at the national level disowned an unsigned campaign timetable circulating on social media, urging party members, supporters and other stakeholders to disregard the document.

The council said the timetable, which contained proposed dates and locations for campaign rallies and other political activities across the country, had not been authorised by the campaign organisation.

In a statement signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party clarified that the document did not originate from the council or its campaign office.

“The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has disowned an unsigned campaign timetable currently in circulation, clarifying that the document did not emanate from the Council or its campaign office,” the statement said.

Ologbondiyan urged party members and stakeholders to wait for official announcements regarding the campaign schedule.

“Accordingly, all members and stakeholders are urged to disregard the document and await official communications from the ADC-PCC on campaign activities and schedules,” he added.

The unsigned timetable listed Sokoto State as the proposed starting point for the presidential campaign on October 31, 2026, and outlined proposed activities in several other states before a closing rally scheduled for Adamawa State on January 11, 2027.

The document also contained proposed dates for rallies, town hall meetings and other political engagements in states including Kebbi, Zamfara, Ogun, Oyo, Rivers, Delta, Edo, Cross River, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Kano and Borno.

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