How consumers can employ advanced AI in their local dialects with the aid of SA’s Vambo AI
Users can now employ cutting-edge, highly advanced artificial intelligence (AI) in their local tongues thanks to a South African business called Vambo AI.
Vambo AI was founded in April 2023 by Isheanesu Misi and Chido Dzinotyiwei with the goal of creating AI that “understands the languages of people in the rest of the world.”
“The lack of AI in languages that most people can understand is the reason why most of the world has not used AI, or explored its revolutionary power for education, economic empowerment, and more,” Dzinotyiwei stated.
Individuals may write, search, translate, and transcribe using Vambo AI, while companies and creatives can utilize the startup’s developer tools and API to create solutions that work for individuals in different parts of the world and localize those that “have solved pertinent problems in other regions.”
At the moment, the site supports eleven languages, including French, Arabic, KiSwahili, and IsiZulu. Vambo AI was born out of the lessons Dzinotyiwei learned when he started Vambo Academy, a language-learning firm, in 2019.
“We have discovered a noteworthy void in the market for multilingual generative AI platforms that are especially designed to cater to the linguistic heterogeneity of communities with limited language resources,” the spokesperson stated.
There is a severe absence of digital representation for almost 95% of African languages, which has negative effects on societal development, language preservation, and economic engagement. Although there are many resources for studying and translating languages, they frequently concentrate on languages that are widely spoken or lack the complexity and precision required for lesser-known African languages.
There are established language-learning apps like Duolingo and Babbel, but they generally don’t give African languages’ subtleties and complexity enough of a priority.
“By concentrating on African languages and utilizing cutting-edge AI technology, we hope to close this gap by providing a platform that not only makes language learning easier but also allows content creation, communication, and cultural preservation in African languages. We differ from other solutions on the market thanks to our in-depth knowledge of African linguistic landscapes and our dedication to cultural inclusivity, said Dzinotyiwei.
“We have received interest from a variety of organisations with varying needs for language capabilities. Our business is based in South Africa, however we serve users and clients across multiple geographies. We have clients from as close as Kenya and Zimbabwe and as far as India and the US.”
Vambo AI has primarily used its own funds to launch the firm, with a few AWS credit payouts. B2B enterprise solutions and API licensing are part of its business model.
“Developing AI with constrained resources has presented certain difficulties, but we are steadfast in our resolve to see our solution through to completion. We now have 11 widely spoken languages in Africa, compared to our first MVP’s four, according to Dzinotyiwei.
The company participated in Grindstone Africa, a globally renowned accelerator that fosters high-growth business, last year before being chosen for the most recent Injini Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship accelerator in South Africa.
“We are looking forward to making good use of the resources on offer to further build Vambo AI,” said Dzinotyiwei.
“Our expansion plans revolve around building better models, adding more languages to our platform and including features that resonate with the needs of our client base.”
