Also backed Cisco and MTN, firm bets on decentralised AI infrastructure
Oran Development Corporation , an AI networking start-up recently backed by tech and telecoms giants such as Nvidia , Cisco and MTN Group, is positioning itself as a solution to growing frustration in Africa over where and how data is processed.
Last month, ODC secured $45m in series A funding to build what it describes as a “global distributed compute grid” that will “power the AI-native era”.
Globally, there is a push for data centres to be built close to where the majority of data originates. Data sovereignty and residency refer to the idea where information from local companies and governments doesn’t have to leave the country’s borders to be processed. The issue has grown in importance alongside the growth of cloud computing, where data is processed in large data centres that are often away from an organisation, in many cases being done in another country.
With much of the AI processing for platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude being done “in the cloud”, discomfort among many nation-states has grown over where and how sensitive personal information is being processed.
South Africa’s minister of communication and digital technologies Solly Malatsi recently highlighted the importance of sovereignty with the local launch of the Space42 satellite service.
Enter ODC. While in the past data processing was mainly done through data centres, ODC’s software platform — built using Nvidia technology — enables mobile operators to integrate AI directly into the radio control loop, allowing cellphone towers to perform real-time computing tasks.
The investment in ODC was led by Booz Allen, Cisco Investments, Nokia and Nvidia, alongside telecom operators AT&T, MTN and Telecom Italia. For network operators such as MTN and AT&T, ODC’s technology helps them move beyond simple connectivity to hosting heavy computing workloads such as those associated with AI through that infrastructure.
MTN is currently working to take over Nigeria’s HIS, the largest tower provider in Africa. Leveraging existing tower sites will likely be more economical than the billions typically spent on one large or hyperscale data centre.
Cisco built the networks that underpin much of the world’s communications infrastructure, while Nokia specialises in developing equipment that is used on cellphone towers and chipmaking giant Nvidia provides the processing units that power AI models. It makes sense that the partnership of companies backing ODC could create a viable alternative to the large-scale data centre builds that are anticipated to cope with the demand for AI services.
Investment in AI factories is another way in which players in the space are trying to address data sovereignty concerns. In early 2025, Strive Masiyiwa’s Cassava Technologies announced it had signed a deal with Nvidia to build Africa’s first “AI factory”. The term is one in a slew of buzz phrases that have accompanied the growth and use of AI systems in the world.
An AI factory is a complete industrialised system designed to build, train and deploy AI models at scale, much like an automated assembly line. This framework relies on specialised high-performance computing infrastructure, such as graphic processing units and vast data storage, to manage the entire AI lifecycle, from integrating raw data and training models to deploying them into production.Cassava has announced plans to install 12,000 Nvidia GPUs into its facilities.
In simple terms, the tech group is bringing the computing power necessary for companies to build and run AI models locally without having to store or process data in overseas facilities. To make its strategy a reality, Cassava is leveraging the infrastructure it has across its business units. For example, the group’s recently formed Cassava AI unit will house the GPUs in its Africa Data Centres facilities on the continent.
Rival technology group Altron has taken a different approach to the AI factory concept. In October, the JSE-listed group unveiled the country’s “first operational AI factory”, powered by Nvidia’s enterprise infrastructure. Altron’s team is providing specialised AI consulting and managed services. It says the combination positions the platform as “a complete AI ecosystem for South African enterprises”.
In Altron’s case, the Nvidia technology is hosted at Teraco, South Africa’s largest data centre provider. At launch, the group had customers already making use of the platform, including Dataviue, Lelapa AI and MathU. As a base, Altron has made Nvidia’s “AI marketplace” available to local customers. Companies choose which model they want and for what purpose, then Altron’s professionals help deploy or customise it in the business.
The development of AI in Africa is likely to require a combination model like ODC’s “towers as data centres”, AI factories, traditional data centre infrastructure and other solutions that will be developed in the future. At the same time, electronics companies are working to make smart devices more powerful so that as much computing as possible can be done on-device, with heavier tasks then executed in the cloud.
Key for local players MTN, Cassava and Altron is ensuring they can capitalise on whatever model is used. Nvidia, for instance, has its hands in all the various models and will likely be a winner, whatever the outcome.
MTN Altron Nvidia Lelapa AI Teraco Cassava Technologies AT&T Cisco Oran Development Corporation Africa AI Infrastructure Data Sovereignty Tower-Based Computing Nvidia Africa Decentralised Data Processing
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