60 initial signatories – frontier AI labs, researchers, companies, governments, community organizations, and philanthropic organizations – will bring expertise and resources to the effort and invite others to join
NEW YORK USA, 21 September 2026-/African Media Agency(AMA)/- Organizations from across the global AI ecosystem today announced a joint commitment to help close one of AI’s most significant access gaps: providing safe, effective AI services in the languages people speak around the world.
A group of 60 signatories are uniting behind a shared five-year goal: for an estimated 3.4 billion people who speak languages currently underrepresented in today’s AI models to be able to use AI tools in their own language and voice.
Initial signatories reflect the range of expertise needed to make progress, from locally led research and implementation to AI model development, funding, and public policy. They include: frontier AI labs, government ministries and departments, philanthropies, developers, and implementing organizations from across the globe. The statement invites others across the ecosystem to join the effort and contribute their own resources and expertise.
Making AI accessible in the languages people speak
Today, only a small percentage of the world’s roughly 7,000 languages are considered well-resourced enough to support strong AI capabilities. Many others – often described as “low-resource languages” – are underrepresented in the data, tools, and benchmarks used to build and test AI. As a result, people who speak them, including many in communities that are already less well served by today’s technologies, can be underserved by systems that are less accurate, less useful, or less able to understand how they communicate.
The challenge goes beyond translating text: voice can be particularly important where typing or text-based interfaces are less practical or accessible, allowing people to interact with AI through natural speech. Poor language performance is not just an inconvenience. Dialect, slang, idioms, and cultural context can change meaning, with potentially serious consequences when accuracy matters most.
Closing this gap could make AI-enabled information and services more accessible and useful to billions of people, across a range of sectors including health, education, agriculture, financial services, or public services.
Turning a shared goal into action
Participating organizations, each contributing their individual resources and expertise, will work together to accelerate progress across four areas:
- Building the open language layer: the shared, safe data infrastructure that every builder can draw on using open licenses
- Tracking progress honestly: assessments and benchmarks that measure real gains against the global goal
- Turning language data into working tools: models and applications usable by any AI builder, not just those with the most resources
- Reaching people safely: guided throughout by responsible practices that protect privacy, consent, and data sovereignty
This commitment builds on years of work across the global AI ecosystem to improve language and voice capabilities and make AI more useful to people who speak underrepresented languages. It brings together organizations working across datasets, models, benchmarks, applications, and implementation to connect and accelerate those efforts around a shared goal.
The joint commitment statement is available [HERE].
Signatory quotes are available: [Here]
Signatories:
The Agency Fund
Agentic AI Foundation
AI Access Initiative
AI Scaling Hub
AI Singapore
AI4Bharat
Amazon
Anthropic
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia
BharatGen
BHASHINI
Bhodan
Cassava Technologies
Centre for Open Societal Systems (COSS)
Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)
Coalition on Digital Impact
Crane AI Labs
CurrentAI
Data Science Nigeria
Deep Learning Indaba
Digital Green
Digital Umuganda
EkaCare
EkStep Foundation
ElevenLabs
Endless Networks
EqualyzAI
Ethiopia AI Institute (EAII)
Fab AI
Gates Foundation
Google
Indian Institute of Science
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Canada
Internet Society Foundation
IremboGov
Karya
KERA Health
Koita Foundation
Lagos Business School
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
Lelapa AI
Masakhane
Microsoft
Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Affairs, Senegal
Mistral
Mozilla Data Collective
NVIDIA
OpenAI Foundation
Qhala
Renaissance Philanthropy
Rwanda AI Scaling Hub
Sarvam
Sunbird
Translational AI for Networked Universal Healthcare (TANUH)
Technecultura
UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Unicef
Viamo
Wadhwani AI
World Bank Group
Zoom
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Gates Foundation
About the Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, we work with partners to create impactful solutions so that people can take charge of their futures and achieve their full potential. In the United States, we aim to ensure that everyone—especially those with the fewest resources—has access to the opportunities needed to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of Bill Gates and our governing board.
About the commitment
The joint commitment brings together an initial coalition of 60 signatory organizations working across technology, research, philanthropy, government, and civil society around a shared goal: an estimated 3.4 billion people who speak languages currently underrepresented by today’s AI models are able to use AI tools in their own language and voice. Participating organizations will contribute according to their respective expertise and capabilities. The coalition’s detailed structure, governance, and workstreams will be developed collaboratively over the coming year.
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