Speech-native Intelligence

AI in the languages of Africa

Discover and experiment with our state-of-the-art voice models

Watercolour illustration of two speech bubbles, one marked HA and one marked FR, joined by flowing sound waves
Speech translation

Namu-Interpret

Hausa and French, carried both ways in speech. One side talks, the other hears it in their own language, and the conversation keeps its pace.

Watercolour illustration of a sound wave resolving into four written lines of text
Speech recognition

Namu-Transcribe

Turn Hausa speech into accurate text, across accents, dialects and the noisy rooms people record in.

Watercolour illustration of a megaphone with sound radiating outward from it
Speech synthesis

Namu-Voice

Natural, expressive Hausa speech from written text, shaped to be understood the first time it is heard.

Watercolour illustration of two overlapping speech bubbles with a sound wave running between them
Voice agent

Namu-Agent

An end-to-end conversation in Hausa. It listens, works out what you need, and answers out loud.

At Namu we develop voice models for underserved African languages, build the infrastructure required to deliver them through accessible channels, and work with organizations to apply the technology in service of the community.

Our mission

A future where African communities can access, shape, and benefit from Artificial Intelligence in the languages they speak and the realities they live.

Our Values

Access

We build technology that people can use naturally, regardless of their language, literacy level, location, or device.

Join us

We're a small, ambitious team of researchers, engineers, and builders working to make AI accessible to African communities.

You'll work on hard problems in speech, language, data, and product, and help reach millions of people the AI revolution has left out.

If our mission speaks to you, we'd love to hear from you.

Where we start

Depth before breadth. One language done properly, then the next.

One of Africa's largest language communities, spoken across northern Nigeria and Niger, and the language our founders grew up speaking. This is where the foundation gets built.

Mouhamad Mamane, Co-founder, Namu

Technology has the power to change lives, but only if people can truly access it. At Namu, we are building systems that meet people in their own language and context, so opportunity is no longer limited by where someone comes from.

Mouhamad Mamane
Co-founder & CEO of Namu