In a groundbreaking move, PlotWeaver, the African AI company behind STORM OS, has signed a landmark Memorandum of Agreement with the University of Lagos (UNILAG) through the Institute of African and Diaspora Studies (IADS).
This historic partnership marks a major milestone in the development of indigenous language technology, positioning Nigeria as a leader in African Language AI.
The collaboration will focus on building the largest professionally curated Yoruba language corpus, covering conversational speech, oral traditions, folklore, film dialogue, chants, tonal expressions, and music-driven prosody.
This ambitious project will not only preserve Nigeria’s linguistic and cultural heritage but also drive innovation in Yoruba NLP, tonal modelling, and applied LLMs.
“Our partnership with UNILAG is historic,” said Oluwole Fagbohun, CEO of PlotWeaver. “Together, we are building the linguistic backbone that will allow African stories, voices, films, and creativity to be understood anywhere in the world.
This is more than technology; it is cultural sovereignty.”
Prof Ayodele Yusuff, Director of the Institute of African and Diaspora Studies (IADS), University of Lagos, echoed this sentiment, “UNILAG is proud to collaborate with PlotWeaver on a groundbreaking project that unites research, innovation, and cultural preservation. Yoruba language and performance will now shape global AI models, not be shaped by them.”
This partnership is a game-changer for Africa’s creative and technological future, offering new opportunities for Nigerian students, researchers, and creatives to shape the future of AI.
With shared intellectual property and global participation, this collaboration will position Nigeria as a key contributor to the future of ethical and inclusive AI.
As PlotWeaver and UNILAG embark on this journey, they invite Nigerians to join the movement, celebrating the power of language, culture, and technology to transform the world.
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