PeopleofSuperintelligence

Builder

Elly Savatia

Elly Savatia is a Kenyan entrepreneur who builds AI tools for sign-language access. He took part in the Climate Action Project in 2018 and founded Innovate 4 SDGs in 2019 to equip African students with Sustainable Development Goals knowledge. With Emmanuel Mulengwa, he co-founded Veezaviz in 2019 and developed Sekani, a computer-vision interpreter for deaf communication in 2020. In 2023, he founded Signvrse, whose Terp 360 platform translates spoken and written English into Kenyan Sign Language through 3D avatars. He won the 2025 Africa Prize for Terp 360 and is Signvrse's founder and CEO as of October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2018–2019

    Climate work and Innovate 4 SDGs

    In 2018, he takes part in the Climate Action Project; in February 2019, he founds Innovate 4 SDGs to equip African students with knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals.

  2. 2019–2020

    Veezaviz and Sekani

    He co-founds Veezaviz with Emmanuel Mulengwa in 2019, an assistive technology venture developing AI and machine-learning tools for deaf communication. During the 2020 pandemic, the pair create Sekani, whose computer vision translates sign language to a video with text and speech on a device.

  3. 2023

    Founding Signvrse and Terp 360

    In 2023, he founds Signvrse, which develops the AI platform Terp 360 to translate spoken and written English into Kenyan Sign Language using motion-captured digital avatars.

  4. 2024

    Joining CMU-Africa's incubator

    In November 2024, he and Branice Kazira join Carnegie Mellon University Africa's Business Incubation Program to develop 3D avatars that translate speech into sign language.

  5. 2025

    Google.org accelerator support

    In 2025, Signvrse joins Google.org's Generative AI Accelerator and receives $2 million in funding, six months of mentorship, and technical support from Google's AI and social innovation teams.

  6. 2025

    Winning the Africa Prize

    He wins the 2025 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation for Terp 360, an AI app that translates speech into sign language with 3D avatars. The £50,000 prize supports the product's next phase.

  7. As of October 2026

    Founder and CEO of Signvrse

    In 2026, he is founder and CEO of Signvrse, an AI accessibility company building sign-language infrastructure for platforms, businesses, and public services. Its Terp 360 platform translates speech and text into sign language in real time through expressive 3D avatars.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 53% of people in our data with a known employment countryOur estimates of where AI careers are concentrated now and how countries’ shares of dated positions changed over time.
  3. 46% of living people in our data with known birth and employment countries work outside their birth countryOur estimate of cross-border careers in AI, from country of birth and the country of each current organization.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionOur estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Elly Savatia yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. ELLY SAVATIA wearefamilyfoundation.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. Veezaviz: Youth-led initiative big on deaf persons inclusion the-star.co.ke. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. ELLY SAVATIA wearefamilyfoundation.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. AI Avatars Bring Sign Language to Life africaone.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. From prototype to global recognition africa.engineering.cmu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  6. Kenyan Innovator Elly Savatia named the 2025 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation winner raeng.org.uk. Checked 19 October 2026.
  7. 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation Final Online highereducation.raeng.org.uk. Checked 19 October 2026.