Cassava Technologies is building a new supercomputer in South Africa as part of what it claims is Africa’s “first AI factory.”

It is the first stage of a plan to bring AI hardware to its data centers across the continent.

The AI factory will be built on Nvidia’s ecosystem using Nvidia cloud partner reference architectures, and be up and running in South Africa by June 2025, Cassava’s announcement said.

No further details on the type of hardware that will be deployed as part of the supercomputing set-up have been provided. DCD has contacted the company for further information.

“Building digital infrastructure for the AI economy is a priority if Africa is to take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution,” said Strive Masiyiwa, founder and chairman of Cassava.

“Our AI factory provides the infrastructure for this innovation to scale, empowering African businesses, startups, and researchers with access to cutting-edge AI infrastructure to turn their bold ideas into real-world breakthroughs - and now, they don’t have to look beyond Africa to get it.”

He added: “Collaborating with Nvidia gives us the advanced computing capabilities needed to drive Africa’s AI innovation while strengthening the continent’s digital independence.”

London-headquartered Cassava, which offers digital infrastructure products and services including fiber connectivity and cloud services, launched an AI business unit last year.

It operates data centers through its Africa Data Centres (ADC) brand. ADC has three data centers in South Africa, two in Johannesburg and one in Cape Town. It has not been disclosed which of these data centers will host the supercomputer.

In time, the company also intends to make AI infrastructure available in its data centers in Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria.

“AI is helping innovators solve our greatest challenges in agriculture, healthcare, energy, financial services, and many other industries creating opportunity in Africa,” said Jaap Zuiderveld, VP EMEA at Nvidia. “As an Nvidia Cloud Partner, Cassava is providing essential infrastructure and software to help pioneering companies and organizations accelerate AI development to foster innovation across the continent.”