Nigeria Unveils N-ATLAS V1, a Multilingual Open-Source Large Language Model, at UNGA80

Nigeria has officially launched N-ATLAS V1, the country’s first open-source, multilingual, and multimodal Large Language Model (LLM), marking a historic step in Africa’s participation in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.

The announcement was made by Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy , on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80) in New York.

N-ATLAS V1 debuts with support for Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, and Nigerian-accented English, reflecting Nigeria’s linguistic and cultural diversity. By embedding African voices and languages at the foundation of AI development, the initiative positions Nigeria as a pioneer in inclusive artificial intelligence.

“This is the first step in a broader journey to make Africa a contributor and leader in shaping AI’s future,” Dr. Tijani stated, emphasizing the country’s ambition to move beyond AI adoption to AI innovation and leadership.

The model has been made freely available to developers and researchers on Hugging Face via NCAIR’s official page , inviting global collaboration on advancing its capabilities.

The launch underscores Nigeria’s broader National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, which seeks to drive innovation, digital inclusion, and global competitiveness through AI research and applications.

By prioritizing open-source principles and inclusivity, N-ATLAS V1 is expected to accelerate the development of AI tools that reflect Africa’s unique contexts and contribute to the global AI ecosystem.