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African AI Startup Raises 240 Million Dollars to Build First Continental Language Model

A Lagos and Nairobi-based artificial intelligence company has raised $240 million in a Series C round to build Africa's first large language model specifically trained on African l...

June 16, 2026 · By Taiwo Mensah
African AI Startup Raises 240 Million Dollars to Build First Continental Language Model

A Lagos and Nairobi-based artificial intelligence company has raised $240 million in a Series C round to build Africa’s first large language model specifically trained on African languages, cultures and contexts.

The company Lelapa AI will use the capital to train a foundational model capable of understanding and generating content in 47 African languages.

CEO Pelonomi Moiloa said existing AI models performed poorly in African linguistic contexts because they were trained almost exclusively on European and North American data.

Microsoft and Google are among the investors, alongside the African Development Bank’s venture arm.

Taiwo Mensah
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Taiwo Mensah

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