Cassava Technologies, founded by Zimbabwean telecom entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa, may invest up to US$720 million in Africa’s first AI factory, developed in partnership with Nvidia Corp.

The facility will feature AI-powered data centers in South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco.

The project will kick off in South Africa, where 3,000 Nvidia GPUs will be installed by June 2025.

Over the next three to four years, Cassava aims to deploy 12,000 GPUs across the continent, each costing between US$45,000 and US$60,000.

The AI factory will support researchers, start-ups, developers, and governments, with applications in sectors like healthcare and fintech. Cassava also plans to sell excess computing capacity to Nvidia’s global cloud clients.

CEO Hardy Pemhiwa emphasized the importance of investing early to keep Africa competitive in the global AI race.

Nvidia was chosen for its 93% share in the GPU market, aiming to foster innovation and AI solutions across Africa.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg