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Cassava Technologies is considering an investment of up to $720 million in Africa’s first artificial intelligence factory, which will be developed by Nvidia Corp, according to Bloomberg.
Founded by Zimbabwean telecoms tycoon Strive Masiyiwa, the pan-African tech company aims to roll out Nvidia’s accelerated computing systems and AI software across key markets including South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco.
“If we don’t take the first step to deploy our capital, however limited it may, we can’t expect others to go first,” Hardy Pemhiwa, the president and group chief executive at Cassava, said in an interview. “This is about ensuring that Africa doesn’t get left behind.”
South Africa to host first Nvidia-powered AI data
South Africa is set to be the first country to receive AI-powered data centres, with 3,000 graphic processing units (GPUs) from Nvidia scheduled for deployment by June, with further expansion planned for Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria.
“We intend over the next three to four years to install 12,000 of them across Africa, starting with the 3,000 in South Africa,” Pemhiwa said. “The GPUs themselves are like laying fibre, the investment is really about building the whole AI ecosystem.”
Each GPU costs between $45,000 and $60,000. With Nvidia holding a dominant 93% share of the global GPU market, Cassava saw the company as a natural partner, calling them “market leaders,” according to CEO Hardy Pemhiwa.
Another key advantage is that Cassava will be able to sell any excess computing capacity to other Nvidia cloud customers around the world.
Masiyiwa stressed that developing AI infrastructure is crucial for Africa to fully harness the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, positioning the continent for technological and economic transformation.
Cassava’s African AI factory aims to serve a broad range of users, including university researchers, start-ups, and developers across sectors like healthcare and fintech, as well as governments.
