Warp brings SA’s AI industry up to speed with Xibon AI acquisition

The SA-founded tech company Warp Development has made a strategic pivot to embrace the private cloud trend, and its acquisition of the machine learning startup Xibon AI and new infrastructure will fuel its global expansion.

Warp’s first big move was acquiring Xibon AI. For co-founder Adriën Erasmus, this wasn’t just about staying current and on trend. It was essential.

“Everybody needs to implement AI into their businesses,” said Erasmus. Rather than building from scratch, he opted for “a bit of a hack ... to get to market quickly and gain a customer base immediately”.

The scent of opportunity 

The deal came together after a collaboration with Mike Scott — the former CEO of Cape Town-based Nona Digital — who now heads up operations in Australia. Through that relationship, the company acquired Xibon and its co-founder Gaurav Devsarmah, who now leads AI strategy and solutions.

“It was a no-brainer,” said Erasmus. “Finding that kind of talent would’ve been a stretch. AI is still new, and people with real depth of experience are rare. Gaurav’s knowledge of the frameworks is next level.”

Claiming the SuperBrain 

Xibon’s crown jewel is SuperBrain, a platform that stitches together multiple layers of data to build highly contextual, personalised AI solutions. It doesn’t just process info — it learns how different pieces connect to give users intelligent, tailored outcomes.

Devsarmah describes it simply: “The more info I record, the more context the SuperBrain starts to form.”

That tech has now become a core part of the company’s plan to embed machine learning into every unit of the business.

More humans, not fewer 

The team sees AI not as a replacement for people, but as a tool to remove monotony and unleash more creative thinking.

AI might reduce the need for manual effort, Erasmus admits, but “there will always be a need for humans”. The focus is on efficiency, freeing up time for strategic work and modernising legacy systems.

Backed by a team of more than 100 in South Africa, the strategy combines acquisitions, traditional hiring and upskilling, including support for master’s degrees in AI.

Rewriting the cloud playbook 

Equally ambitious is the company’s pivot away from public cloud giants like AWS and Azure. Three years ago, it committed to building its own private cloud, cutting infrastructure costs by up to 60% along the way.

Warp's chief technology officer and co-founder, Rudi Mostert, said the goal was to match the scalability and resilience of the public cloud while ditching the unpredictable billing and restrictive architecture.

They went with OpenStack — open source, well-documented and already in use at major enterprises like Walmart and Deutsche Telekom — and partnered with OpenMetal to make it happen.

So why private cloud? 

It’s a trend gaining traction, especially among companies looking for more control and less vendor lock-in. Private cloud lets you build only what you need, customise everything and avoid the ever-rising costs of public platforms.

OpenMetal made it easy to spin up that infrastructure quickly and securely. And because the company owns all of it, there’s no need to pay for bloated extras or worry about usage surprises.

Plus, the tech teams now have more room to innovate. “It’s created massive growth opportunities,” said Mostert. “We’ve got incredibly talented people here who are hungry to learn.”

And why Amsterdam? 

That first private cloud deployment now lives in a data centre near Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. The location wasn’t just convenient — it was strategic.

Amsterdam offers top-tier connectivity (more than 210 network providers), renewable energy and strong data protection laws. It’s also a base for other South African-rooted players like Prosus (via Naspers) and BCX.

The AMS3 facility also provides redundancy and availability guarantees, giving the setup the kind of reliability needed for global operations.

While the Netherlands has placed restrictions on new data centre builds, this deployment focused on leveraging existing infrastructure — no permits or delays required.

Eyes on the world 

With infrastructure in place, the company is expanding fast — it’s now registered in Australia and has a satellite office in Atlanta, Georgia.

Erasmus says the US market moves faster and more decisively than Europe. “Build trust there and you’ll have loyal customers,” he said. But speed isn’t everything. “We’re not competing on being cheap or fast. We’re positioning as expert services.”

Operations now stretch across three time zones — Asia-Pacific, South Africa and the US — allowing for round-the-clock delivery.

 

SA still at the core 

Despite going global, the business still runs deep in South Africa. With two SA offices and a growing team, Erasmus speaks passionately about the entrepreneurial grit of South Africans.

“People here have grit and willpower — they’re like Jack Russells,” he said. “There’s a great work ethic, strong skills and a dedication that gives us an edge.”

At a recent global leadership event in Hawaii, South Africa received accolades across leadership categories. And Cape Town’s chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization is among the fastest-growing worldwide.

Plans are already in motion to replicate the Amsterdam cloud infrastructure locally, bringing world-class cloud tech into South Africa.

Big opportunity for SMEs 

There’s also hope that smaller South African businesses can benefit too.

As public cloud costs grow more unsustainable for scaling companies, Erasmus sees a “massive opportunity” for local SMEs to explore virtual private cloud alternatives — lower cost, more predictable and tailored to their needs.

Yes, the country’s tax burden is high. “We pay an awful lot of tax,” he said. But the talent, resilience, and potential in South Africa make it a great place in which to build. DM