Novastar Ventures and Google launched an Applied AI Lab for African startups and researchers building artificial intelligence tools in healthcare, agriculture and education.
Applications opened on July 1. The lab is backed by Google’s AI Futures Fund and supported by Google DeepMind and Google Research. The first cohort will select between 5 and 10 startups and researchers, with winners expected to be announced in September.
Selected participants will receive access to Google AI models, technical mentorship, Google Cloud credits and go-to-market support. Google may also provide equity investment and non-dilutive funding to some participants.
Novastar will support the lab alongside other Africa-focused venture firms, including Ventures Platform, 4DX Ventures and Norrsken22. The firms will provide mentorship and operational support to help founders move from product development to scale.
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Novastar co-founder and Managing Partner Steve Beck said African entrepreneurs are using AI to solve problems in daily life, not only to improve productivity or entertainment. Novastar has backed companies using AI in health, education and agriculture, including Penda Health, NewGlobe and Agrails.
Key Takeaways
The Applied AI Lab shows how global technology companies are moving closer to Africa’s early AI ecosystem. For many African startups, access to advanced models, cloud infrastructure and technical support remains limited. That can make it hard to build products that compete globally or solve complex local problems at scale. Google’s involvement gives selected founders access to tools that are often available first to larger companies or better-funded startups. The focus on healthcare, agriculture and education matters because these sectors affect large populations and still face gaps in access, cost and service quality. AI can help doctors make better decisions, teachers track learning and farmers manage risk, but only if the tools are built around local data, languages, infrastructure and user needs. The lab’s venture support also matters because technical products need business models, distribution and partnerships to scale. The challenge will be turning prototypes into trusted services that work in real African markets.