Aya Data, an emerging AI consultancy firm based in Ghana, has successfully secured a seed investment of $900,000. This funding, comprising both debt and equity components, is earmarked for the expansion of the startup’s two innovative products, AyaGrow and AyaSpeech, as well as for the recruitment of additional skilled personnel.
With this latest financial infusion, Aya Data’s aggregate capital raised to date climbs to $1.15 million. The company’s initial capital raise involved a $300,000 investment from a consortium of investors, including Microtraction, Savannah Fund, and various UK-based investors. The most recent investment round was spearheaded by 54Collective and saw contributions from a number of angel investors.
Aya Data was founded in 2021 by Freddie Monk and Ama Larbi-Siaw and specializes in the procurement and categorization of diverse data types—ranging from images and videos to text—essential for the training of sophisticated Large Language Models akin to ChatGPT and Gemini. The company also prides itself on offering training to its data annotation workforce, equipping them with the skills necessary for advanced technical roles such as data engineering and data science. Currently, Aya Data’s team consists of 11 professionals occupying such positions.
In addition to its data annotation and collection services, Aya Data develops bespoke AI solutions tailored to the needs of various businesses. The company’s product lineup includes AyaGrow, a precision agriculture tool that utilizes AI to assist both commercial and small-scale farmers in monitoring crops and fields; and AyaSpeech, a comprehensive speech-to-speech platform designed to facilitate communication in local African languages for businesses, consumers, and government entities.
Aya Data is part of an expanding ecosystem of startups—including Shaip, Sama, iMerit, Cloudfactory, and Dataloop—that play a pivotal role in the global AI development landscape. These startups provide the essential service of data collection and labeling, a task that is often outsourced by major tech corporations such as Meta and OpenAI to companies in developing regions like India, the Philippines, Kenya’s Dadaab, and Lebanon’s Shatila. These companies, in turn, employ local talent to meticulously label and annotate the data.
Ama Larbi-Siaw, co-founder and COO of Aya Data, emphasizes the company’s commitment to fostering local expertise capable of harnessing AI to address Africa’s most urgent issues. While Aya Data operates in a competitive consultancy market against firms like Brainpool.ai, Deeper Insights, SandTech, Pro AI, and Faculty AI, it distinguishes itself by managing all operations within Ghana, thereby reducing reliance on third-party outsourcing and enhancing efficiency and speed, as highlighted by Gillian Hammah, the company’s Marketing and Strategy officer.
Aya Data generates revenue through its data annotation services and reported earnings of $500,000 in 2023. The company currently serves approximately 20 active clients, including prestigious organizations such as MIT, Seedtag, Unilever, and Labelbox. The company’s strategy is increasingly geared towards empowering African businesses with AI to bolster their competitive edge on a global scale.
Looking ahead, Aya Data has set ambitious goals to train 1,000 data annotators, engineers, and scientists in the near future and to further enhance its proprietary products. The overarching mission of Aya Data is to democratize the benefits of AI technology, ensuring that businesses and individuals alike can quickly reap its advantages, and to establish a foundation for world-class AI development within Ghana and other similar markets.
