AURÄI Launches Global AI Governance Platform in Lagos to Address Oversight Gaps

AURÄI, a new global enterprise AI assurance firm, has officially launched its operations in Lagos, Nigeria. The launch took place during the 30th anniversary conference of the ISACA Lagos Chapter. The company aims to provide a platform for businesses to monitor, govern, and certify their AI operations, addressing a growing concern that AI adoption is significantly outpacing adequate oversight and risk management.

Founder and CEO Olayinka James highlighted the critical need for AI governance, noting that a vast majority of organizations use AI without comprehensive policies or strategies for auditing these systems. He drew parallels to the early 2000s, when the rapid adoption of ERP systems led to regulatory responses like Sarbanes-Oxley after major corporate scandals. James argues that the current AI landscape, where machines make critical decisions at speed, demands an even faster and more robust assurance framework.

AURÄI's platform combines AI agents to automate governance, risk, and compliance tasks with trained human professionals who provide oversight. This hybrid approach supports AI system discovery, evidence collection, control testing, policy drafting, and audit documentation. The company also focuses on training and certifying professionals in AI assurance, recognizing the emergence of a new specialized workforce need.

The firm's co-founders, including Mohammed Mijindadi, bring significant experience in audit, cybersecurity, and infrastructure, with Mijindadi having a strong background in negotiating major infrastructure agreements across African governments. This expertise underpins AURÄI's ambition to provide practical solutions for enterprises to demonstrate compliance with evolving AI regulations, such as the EU AI Act, to internal teams, external auditors, and regulators.