By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa’s Cassava Technologies has announced a partnership with Nvidia to establish Africa’s first artificial intelligence (AI) factory in South Africa.
This groundbreaking initiative, expected to launch by June 2025, is designed specifically to advance AI computing rather than simply functioning as a traditional data center.
The factory will leverage Nvidia’s advanced AI technology and is anticipated to expand into other African countries, including Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria, although specific timelines for these expansions have not yet been disclosed. This project represents a concerted effort to bring AI technology closer to the continent.
Powered by Nvidia supercomputers utilizing GPUs (graphics processing units), the AI factory will offer AI as a service across Africa. It will be supported by an extensive fiber-optic network and energy-efficient data centers, enhancing its operational capabilities.
Masiyiwa emphasized that this initiative is a crucial step for Africa’s participation in the global AI economy. The factory aims to empower local businesses, startups, and researchers with cutting-edge AI technology, thereby strengthening the continent’s position in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has highlighted the importance of an AI factory, describing it as a specialized facility that manages the complete AI life cycle from processing raw data to producing trained AI models.