Financing Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure: Mapping AI Infrastructure Investment and Compute Governance Across Africa
Artificial intelligence depends on large-scale compute resources and their supporting infrastructure. However, AI governance debates treat compute primarily as a technical input rather than as an outcome of investment, ownership, and financial control. This paper examines AI infrastructure investment flows across Africa through a systematic analysis of 46 publicly announced projects totalling USD $12.7 billion between 2019 and 2025. Using a value chain framework, we analyze who invests in AI-relevant infrastructure and where investments concentrate. Our findings reveal a highly concentrated landscape dominated by global data center operators, hyperscale technology firms, and development f...
| Authors | Kai-Hsin Hung, Sumaya Nur Adan, Krupa Suchak et al. |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.CY |
| Published | 24 June 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 24 June 2026 |
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