logo
Cassava Technologies partners with the South African Artificial Intelligence Association to boost local access to Artificial Intelligence (AI) compute services

Cassava Technologies partners with the South African Artificial Intelligence Association to boost local access to Artificial Intelligence (AI) compute services

Zawya3 days ago
Cassava Technologies (https://www.CassavaTechnologies.com), a global technology leader of African heritage, is pleased to announce that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the South African AI Association (SAAIA), an industry body focused on growing responsible AI adoption, to deliver artificial intelligence (AI) solutions and GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaas) across the African continent.
In terms of the agreement, SAAIA's more than 3,000 AI practitioners, comprising entrepreneurs, researchers, and members of the wider business community in South Africa, will have access to Cassava's data centre GPUs to develop and deploy local AI solutions and initiatives. The two organisations will also collaborate on initiatives aimed at supporting the regional and broader African AI ecosystem.
'We are proud to partner with SAAIA to support the growth of Africa's AI ecosystem. By extending our advanced AI infrastructure and capabilities to SAAIA's growing community of AI professionals, we're enabling greater access to the compute power required to build, test, and scale innovative local solutions. We believe this partnership will deliver meaningful value to both organisations and, more importantly, to the business and research communities driving AI development on the continent,' said Ziaad Suleman, CEO of Cassava Technologies South Africa and Botswana.
As South Africa's leading AI ecosystem builder, the South African Artificial Intelligence Association is focused on promoting the advancement of responsible AI in the country by uniting thousands of AI practitioners across the commercial, government, academic, startup, and NGO sectors. SAAIA also hosts the largest AI event in Africa, AI Expo Africa, and serves as a driving force behind trade and investment in the continent's rapidly expanding smart technology segment.
'SAAIA is pleased to be partnering with Cassava Technologies in strengthening AI in South Africa. Supporting local AI entrepreneurs is a key pillar of SAAIA, and access to GPU-as-a-Service is a key enabler to growing the emerging AI startup ecosystem,' said SAAIA Founder and Chairman, Dr Nick Bradshaw.
Cassava's collaboration with SAAIA reinforces its commitment to providing world-class digital solutions and advancing responsible AI adoption, innovation, and growth in Africa. It follows Cassava's recent announcement of plans to build Africa's first AI factory, providing local businesses, governments, and researchers with access to cutting-edge AI computing capacity. This aligns with Cassava's vision of being the leading digital solutions provider in its chosen markets, empowering Africans to thrive in the digital economy.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Cassava Technologies.
About Cassava Technologies:
Cassava Technologies is a global technology leader of African heritage providing a vertically integrated ecosystem of digital services and infrastructure enabling digital transformation. Headquartered in the UK, Cassava has a presence across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the United States of America. Through its business units, namely, Cassava AI, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Liquid C2, Africa Data Centres, and Sasai Fintech, the company provides its customers' products and services in 94 countries. These solutions drive the company's ambition of establishing itself as a leading global technology company of African heritage. https://www.CassavaTechnologies.com/
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

France's Thales eyes radar factory in Saudi Arabia and AI centre in UAE
France's Thales eyes radar factory in Saudi Arabia and AI centre in UAE

The National

time40 minutes ago

  • The National

France's Thales eyes radar factory in Saudi Arabia and AI centre in UAE

French defence and technology group Thales is pursuing opportunities in Saudi Arabia for a radar production factory, and in the UAE for an AI research centre, as Gulf nations seek a role in global supply chains. Thales is seeking to expand a joint venture with Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) that was set up with the aim of localising defence production. "We have an intention to grow this joint venture to work, not only on radars, but more generally speaking on air defence," Pascale Sourisse, senior executive vice-president of international development at Thales, told The National on the sidelines of the Paris Airshow. "This joint venture should host the various activities we will have in Saudi Arabia … But I expect that there will be some work on communications systems." The move comes as Saudi Arabia strives to develop its own military production capabilities to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. The strategy is intended to diversify its economy from a reliance on oil, create more jobs for Saudis, attract highly-skilled workers, prioritise technical know-how transfers and become part of the global industrial supply chains. Saudi Arabia was the largest military spender in the Middle East in 2024 and the seventh biggest worldwide, according to an April report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). The kingdom recorded a modest military spending increase of 1.5 per cent, reaching an estimated $80.3 billion, but still 20 per cent lower than in 2015 when the country's oil revenue peaked. Ms Sourisse said it is "too early" to provide further details on the timeline and investment for a factory in Saudi Arabia. Thales' proposed plan in the kingdom will include local manufacturing, engineering and maintenance support services, similar to its agreement with the UAE, she said. The company's wholly-owned unit Thales Emarat Technologies will invest in a factory to produce Ground Master series air surveillance radars in the UAE, as part of an agreement with Tawazun Council. The factory, which is expected to be fully operational by 2027, will assemble, test and qualify advanced air surveillance radars for domestic use and to export markets, Thales said in a statement in May during the 'Make it in the Emirates' event in Abu Dhabi. The project is entirely funded by Thales, according to Ms Sourisse, who declined to provide the size of investment. The agreement includes co-operation with UAE companies to become part of Thales' supply chain, she added. AI research centre Now Thales is in discussions with the UAE to open an AI research centre in Abu Dhabi, according to Ms Sourisse. Thales' AI research centres, dubbed cortAIx, are currently set up in Singapore, France, Canada and Britain. This means the Abu Dhabi centre, if it goes ahead, will become the first of its kind in the Middle East. "Considering the number of equipment that we have in the UAE that will embed AI, it makes sense to set up a cortAIx centre in the UAE," Ms Sourisse said. While it is too early to firm up a timeline for establishing the centre, discussions are under way. "We are working on it, it's not yet announced … it's a bit early to say, but that is the direction we're heading. We also need to agree with customers like the UAE Armed Forces on how they want to proceed." The idea is to collaborate with military customers to work with them on use cases for AI applications in defence. "It is not only about setting up an AI competence centre, it's really establishing a partnership with users to work on use cases … they can directly tell us that this kind of information that we can derive from data-processing is the priority for them," Ms Sourisse said. Asked if the conflicts in the Middle East are accelerating Thales' discussions with customers in the region, the veteran executive said: "We are expecting an increase in the level of orders that we get in very many countries, in the region certainly, but not only [there]." "There's tensions in many areas of the world, so countries will continue to increase their investment in defence." The capabilities that are in high demand include air surveillance, air defence, weapon systems, communications systems, drones either used in offensive or defensive ways and counter-drones, she added.

Saudi Arabia pledges $25bln investments and opening more embassies in Africa
Saudi Arabia pledges $25bln investments and opening more embassies in Africa

Zawya

time2 hours ago

  • Zawya

Saudi Arabia pledges $25bln investments and opening more embassies in Africa

RIYADH - Saudi Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Walid Al-Khereiji revealed that his country intends to increase the number of its embassies in African countries to more than 40 over the coming years. He also expressed Saudi Arabia's aspiration to invest $25 billion in Africa. Al-Kheraiji made the remarks while attending a reception marking the annual Africa Day commemoration, held at the Culture Palace in the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh. Al-Kheraiji stated that Saudi Arabia will finance and secure $10 billion in exports to Africa and provide $5 billion in additional development financing to Africa by 2030. "Saudi Arabia also affirms its commitment to developing cooperation and partnerships with African countries, expanding trade and integration, and enhancing consultation, coordination, and mutual support within international organizations on issues of common interest," he said. Al-Khereiji explained that African countries occupy a significant position on the country's foreign policy map and diplomatic network. "Saudi Arabia has provided more than $45 billion to support development and humanitarian projects in 54 African countries," he said while noting that the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has provided more than $450 million in aid to 46 African countries. The deputy minister emphasized that Africa is a continent of promising opportunities, with its natural resources, ambitious youth, and renewable potential. "Despite the challenges of conflict and climate change, the spirit of African cooperation and the aspirations of the continent's people for peace, justice, and development remain stronger than any challenge," he added. © Copyright 2022 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store