In a technology landscape dominated by generic global platforms, one UK-based technologist is quietly building something different, and deeply needed.
Jacob Sanni, a computing specialist and digital innovator, is the founder of Tale-Nova, an AI-powered cultural education platform designed to help African and diaspora children connect with their heritage through storytelling, language, and immersive digital experiences.
At a time when artificial intelligence is often discussed in abstract or commercial terms, Sanni’s work stands out for its clear social value. Tale-Nova applies modern cloud and AI technologies to an overlooked problem: the absence of African representation, language, and cultural depth in mainstream children’s educational platforms.
Technology Meets Cultural Preservation
Tale-Nova is built as a modern web and mobile platform on https://www.tale-nova.com and blends interactive storytelling, gamified learning, and safe AI-driven creativity. Children do not simply read stories; they step into them.
Through a feature called “Live the Story,” users become the main character in African folktales, making decisions that shape the narrative and learning moral lessons along the way. Another flagship innovation, AI Story Builder, allows children to create their own African-inspired stories using guided prompts, characters, and cultural settings, encouraging literacy, creativity, and emotional expression.
Behind the scenes, the platform is powered by a scalable cloud architecture and advanced natural language generation systems, carefully designed to remain age-appropriate, culturally grounded, and safe for young users.
“Tale-Nova is not about replacing tradition with technology,” Sanni explains. “It’s about using technology to protect tradition, amplify it, and make it accessible to children growing up in a digital world.”
A Platform Designed for Schools, Families, and Communities
Unlike many consumer-only apps, Tale-Nova has been designed from the outset to work across families, schools, libraries, councils, and cultural institutions. The platform includes structured learning modules, language flashcards, educational mini-games, cultural maps, and progress dashboards that allow educators and parents to track engagement and learning outcomes.
This multi-audience approach reflects Sanni’s background in both technology and education-focused environments. With an MSc in Computing and professional experience in cloud engineering, AI integration, and digital product delivery, he brings a strong technical foundation to the project. His work as a STEM Learning Volunteer and youth engagement practitioner has also shaped how the platform balances innovation with safeguarding, inclusion, and educational value.
Innovation with Long-Term Vision
What makes Tale-Nova particularly distinctive is its forward-looking innovation roadmap. Planned expansions include augmented reality storytelling, virtual heritage environments for museums and schools, multilingual AI narration, and a secure digital registry for preserving folklore and oral histories.
These innovations position Tale-Nova not just as an education product, but as a long-term cultural technology infrastructure, capable of supporting research, education, and creative industries across borders.
Industry observers note that this kind of culturally specific, AI-enabled edtech remains rare in the UK market, despite the country being home to one of the largest African diaspora populations in Europe.
Creating Value Beyond Technology
For Sanni, the impact of Tale-Nova goes beyond metrics or market opportunity. As a father raising children in the UK, he has seen first-hand how difficult it can be for families to find digital tools that reflect their identity in a positive and meaningful way.
“That lived experience shapes every decision,” he says. “From the stories we tell, to the languages we prioritise, to the way we design safety and engagement.”
By combining technical excellence with cultural intelligence, Tale-Nova demonstrates how innovation can serve both economic and social goals. It contributes to the UK’s leadership in ethical AI, inclusive technology, and creative digital industries, while also supporting literacy, confidence, and identity formation among young users.
As the platform continues to grow, Tale-Nova represents a new model of innovation: one where advanced technology is used not just to scale faster, but to preserve culture, empower communities, and create lasting public value.
