South Africa Opens Locally Made Humanoid AI Tutor IRIS Factory with Goal of 20,000 Jobs in Five Years

South Africa has opened a factory and showroom for the locally made humanoid AI tutor IRIS at Durban's Dube TradePort. The company was founded by BSG and Technologies founder Thando Gumede. It plans to create 20,000 jobs within five years and ultimately deploy IRIS to 23,000 schools nationwide. The tutor is designed to assist rather than replace teachers, providing learning support, personalized help, and performance analysis.

The South African government views local production as part of strengthening domestic technology capabilities, potentially changing the supply of AI education products. Deployment to 23,000 schools would greatly expand adoption and create substantial related employment. Schools could reduce dependence on imported technology, while manufacturing, technical support, and training are expected to add 20,000 jobs.