Novastar joins Google’s AI lab to back African startups

Novastar Ventures has partnered with Google’s AI Futures Fund (AIFF) on the newly launched Google Africa Applied AI Lab. This initiative will support African startups that use artificial intelligence to solve local problems.

The venture capital firm will work alongside 4DX Ventures, Norrsken22, and Ventures Platform to identify and support founders building AI-powered products across the continent.

According to the GSM Association (GSMA), artificial intelligence could contribute as much as $2.9 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2030 if access to data, computing infrastructure, and digital skills continues to improve.

“We believe Africa is one of the most important markets for applied AI anywhere in the world,” Steve Beck, co-founder and managing partner at Novastar Ventures, said in a Medium post.

“The reason is that entrepreneurs there are using AI not merely for productivity gains or entertainment—they are solving fundamental problems for everyday people.”

Google unveiled the initiative on Wednesday at its Cloud Summit in South Africa. The lab will operate from the Accra AI Community Centre in Ghana and connect founders with researchers from Google DeepMind and Google Research to develop AI applications for sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, and financial services.

Selected startups will receive early access to Google’s latest AI models, including Gemini, Gemma, and Veo. This will allow them to build and test products before the models become widely available.

Beyond providing access to Google’s technology, Novastar and the participating venture firms will offer technical guidance, product development support, and go-to-market advice. Novastar said it will also help source founders, support participating startups through its network, and consider investing in companies that emerge from the programme.

The firms expect to select between 5 and 10 startups and researchers for the inaugural cohort, with the first participants set to be announced in September.

The partnership comes three months after Novastar closed its third fund at $147 million. The Africa People and Planet Fund III will invest in businesses across different growth stages on the continent.

“At Novastar, we have been backing entrepreneurs solving Africa’s toughest challenges for the last twelve years,” Beck said.

“Increasingly, we’re seeing AI tools become a critical part of how those solutions are built, delivered and scaled. The ambition is to support a generation of African founders building globally significant AI businesses.”