Google Is Playing the Long Game in Africa, but Will Its AI Center Pay Off?

Google's forays into Africa have culminated in the announcement of the company's first AI center on the continent, which is set to launch in Ghana's capital of Accra later this year. Google chose Ghana for its strong set of local universities in a bid to lure the brightest graduates. Ghana is also home to an office of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences. "We're looking at Ghana, and more widely at Africa, as a location where we want to invest in new areas of interest," Jason Freidenfelds, a senior communications manager at Google, told Adweek. "There are many talented researchers working on AI in Africa now, and it's our goal to collaborate with them more closely by opening a location in Accra."