NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, February 6, 2014

IBM began rolling out its Watson supercomputer system across Africa on Thursday, saying it would help to address continental development obstacles as diverse as medical diagnoses, economic data collection and e-commerce research.

The world’s biggest technology service provider said “Project Lucy” would take 10 years and cost $100 million. The undertaking was named after the earliest known human ancestor fossil, which was found in east Africa,

“I believe it will spur a whole era of innovation for entrepreneurs here,” IBM Chief Executive Ginni Rometty told delegates at a conference on Wednesday.