Wits University’s Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa, has been awarded core funding of US$1 million by Google.org.

Led by Professor Benjamin Rosman, who was named in the ‘Thinkers’ category of TIME magazine’s TIME100 AI 2025 list last week, the Wits Mind Institute is home to some of Africa’s leading fundamental AI researchers, and this landmark investment will supercharge its research and drive next-generation breakthroughs in natural and artificial intelligence.

Importantly, this strategic support will boost the Institute’s targeted capacity development and networking-building programmes, which centre around outcomes-driven collaboration across disciplines, and dialogue among academia, industry, policymakers and others.

The partnership aligns with Google.org’s mission to accelerate scientific discovery through external collaborations that enable real-world impact. 

A YOUNG INSTITUTE WITH EXPONENTIAL REACH

Since its launch in November 2024 — building on more than a decade of Wits University’s investment in postgraduate education, capacity building, and pan-African AI initiatives — The Wits MIND Institute has rapidly become a hub for cutting-edge research and thought leadership. 

It recently launched its inaugural cohort of 34 MIND Fellows, among them various research Chairs and National Research Foundation-rated researchers from all Faculties and core Departments at the University — a truly cross-functional group that sparks transdisciplinary engagement and research.

MIND Fellows and Chairs are already collaborating on more than 25 projects in domains from reinforcement learning to digital humanities. The MINDFund also provides targeted capacity and seed funding to novel research and is currently supporting five projects.

“The Wits MIND Institute was conceived to place African researchers at the forefront of the understanding and study of intelligence – natural and artificial. Google.org’s support cements our capacity to train talent, incubate disruptive ideas, and ensure our discoveries translate into societal benefit,” says Professor Benjamin Rosman, Director of The Wits MIND Institute.

CONTINENTAL SHIFTS

By developing and deploying AI models and dictating policies that consider the culture and diversity of more than one billion people on the continent, the Wits MIND Institute will ensure that Africa has a seat at the global AI table.

“Wits University is proud to host The Wits MIND Institute, a bold experiment in converging natural and artificial intelligence research. This funding from Google.org reinforces our shared vision for enhancing Wits’ historical role, from the first computer to the RADAR, in placing South Africa, and the rest of Africa, at the cusp of technological development,” says Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand.

JOIN THE WITS MIND INSTITUTE’S ECOSYSTEM

Researchers and stakeholders are invited to engage with The Wits MIND Institute’s growing ecosystem. Sign up to learn about the Institute’s events and opportunities, and look out for the next MIND Fellows cohort application in September 2025.