Novastar Ventures has partnered with the Google AI Futures Fund on the newly unveiled Google Africa Applied AI Lab, an initiative designed to support founders across the continent who use AI research to address African challenges. Novastar will work alongside 4DX Ventures, Norrsken22, and Ventures Platform in identifying and supporting startups building AI-powered solutions for African markets. The GSM Association estimated that artificial intelligence could add as much as $2.9 trillion to the continent’s economy by 2030. Launched on Wednesday at Google’s Cloud Summit in South Africa and based at the Accra AI Community Centre in Ghana, the lab focuses on connecting founders and researchers from Google DeepMind and Google Research. Selected startups would receive early access to Google’s latest AI models, including Gemini, Gemma, and Veo. Novastar will provide technical mentorship and go-to-market support, assist in sourcing founders, and potentially invest in companies emerging from the program. It will evaluate applicants for the inaugural cohort, with five to 10 startups and researchers expected to be selected before the first group is announced in September. The collaboration comes three months after Novastar reached the final close of its third fund, raising $147 million for its Africa People and Planet Fund III.