Altron, a data and technology company, has just handed South Africa its first fully operational AI factory powered by Nvidia’s AI software and infrastructure.
What makes it so serious? Apart from it being South Africa’s first AI factory, local data remains local, it strictly adheres to regulatory standards, and users can get infrastructure, training, and support under one roof.
So, what will this factory do? See it as a production line for AI. It provides the infrastructure that companies need to build, test, and deploy AI solutions faster without worrying about building their own infrastructure. It is also where researchers can scale prototypes and train large language models on African data for them to be tailored to African problems.
The platform is already live and has five businesses using it, including Dataviue, which creates customised systems that transform data into actionable insights, Lelapa AI, an AI research & product lab, and MathU, a platform for developing math and science skills.
Why this matters: South Africa’s artificial intelligence market size reached $809.34 million in 2024, and is projected to pass $5 billion by 2033. This factory is infrastructure for serious scale in the AI market. Having local capacity helps local companies avoid issues with data sovereignty while building models tailored to their environment.
Zoom out: Across Africa, countries like Uganda and Zimbabwe are setting up their own AI hubs, with national strategies and growing ecosystems. Altron’s AI factory could give South Africa a lead in homegrown AI creation.
