Bluechip Technologies announces the acquisition of YarnGPT at the Bluechip Data and AI Summit

Bluechip Technologies announced the acquisition of YarnGPT, an AI text-to-speech model, at the Bluechip Data and AI Summit on Wednesday, as Africa's tech leaders gathered to define the continent's role in the AI future.

African IT firm Bluechip Technologies announced the acquisition of YarnGPT at the Bluechip Data and AI Summit, held in Lagos, Nigeria, on 10 June. The announcement, made by Kazeem Tewogbade, Co-founder and CEO of Bluechip, on the main stage of the summit, was met with apparent excitement from the audience.

YarnGPT, a text-to-speech AI model that can read text aloud in a Nigerian accent and in at least four Nigerian languages, including Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa, was founded by Saheed Azeez, a University of Lagos alumnus who participated in and was awarded the first runner-up prize at the Bluechip Data and AI Hackathon in 2023.

Tewogbade added that as it progresses, Bluechip will build and acquire more products that serve its customers and fit into its ecosystem, which already includes Bluechip Data Platform, Cribro, BluPrime, and CashComplete.

The acquisition is notable for more than its commercial logic. It validates the work of African AI startups and emphasises that Africa’s role in the AI space does not need to replicate Western models. There is room for more innovative solutions that fit into Africa’s cultural context.

Additionally, YarnGPT’s path from hackathon to acquisition is uncommon in Nigeria’s AI ecosystem, and it highlights a way of identifying and absorbing local talent.

Africa’s opportunity in the AI race

Speakers at the Bluechip Data and AI Summit; Source: Supplied

The third edition of the Bluechip Data and AI Summit, themed, The Future, Now. AI-Driven Transformation for Africa gathered important voices to contribute to the growing conversation about what artificial intelligence means for Africa’s economic future and the role African companies can play in this growing environment.

The event featured leaders in technology, data, and artificial intelligence, like Rosanne Werner, Founder/CEO, XCelerate IQ, who gave a riveting keynote speech; Fola Olatunji-David, Founding Partner, Kickoff Africa; Victoria Ajayi, Group Managing Director/CEO, TVC Communications; Kola Aina, Founding Pa...