NVIDIA's AI Facility with Cassava Technologies May Potentially Have a Price Tag of $720 Million
Cassava Technologies Expands AI Factory Across Africa
Cassava Technologies is actively expanding its artificial intelligence (AI) factory infrastructure across Africa, with a focus on deploying advanced GPU infrastructure to empower local AI development. The company has announced partnerships and plans primarily focused on South Africa and Botswana, aiming to deliver GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) and build AI capabilities continent-wide.
Initial Steps and Partnerships
In April 2025, Cassava Technologies partnered with Nvidia to establish Africa's first AI factory in South Africa, marking the initial major step in the continent-wide AI infrastructure buildout. By August 2025, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the South African Artificial Intelligence Association (SAAIA), granting over 3,000 AI practitioners in South Africa and Botswana access to Cassava’s state-of-the-art data center GPU infrastructure.
Geographic Deployment and GPU Count
While exact numbers of GPUs planned for deployment are not detailed in the current announcements, the partnership with SAAIA supports AI entrepreneurs, researchers, and industry professionals in these countries. The expansion plans to other African countries such as Ghana or broader pan-African deployment have not been specifically detailed by Cassava yet, although the continent-wide AI development momentum creates a conducive environment for future scaling.
Targeted Regions and Sectors
The target regions for the 12,000 GPUs deployment include South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco. Sectors like health and fintech are expected to be key beneficiaries of the AI infrastructure. The initial installation of 3,000 GPUs is planned for South Africa by June.
Building an AI Ecosystem
The AI factory's investment is not just about purchasing GPUs, but about building an entire AI ecosystem. The AI factory aims to establish a continent-wide AI infrastructure, providing resources to universities, startups, developers, and governments. Cassava Technologies has the opportunity to resell excess GPU capacity to other Nvidia cloud clients globally. Each Nvidia GPU costs between $45,000 and $60,000, making the total investment up to $720 million.
Hardy Pemhiwa, president and CEO of Cassava, emphasized that the investment is crucial to prevent Africa from being left behind in the AI revolution. Pemhiwa also stated that investing now, even with limited capital, is necessary to encourage others to follow in the development of Africa's AI infrastructure.
References:
- Cassava Technologies
- Nvidia
- Africa Declaration on Artificial Intelligence
- TechCabal
- Ventures Africa
- With the expanding AI factory, Cassava Technologies is aiming to invest in artificial intelligence and technology across Africa, partnering with Nvidia to create an ecosystem for AI development.
- As part of the AI factory's initiative, Cassava Technologies is planning to deploy thousands of GPUs, with a focus on key sectors like health and fintech, ultimately creating a continent-wide infrastructure for AI and investing in artificial intelligence and technology.
